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Breakdown: Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. Frutti Extra Bursaspor

Breakdown: Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. Frutti Extra Bursaspor

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17 April 20223 Mins read

Breakdown: Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. Frutti Extra Bursaspor

Undefeated at home this season, Partizan NIS Belgrade will try to use its Stark Arena home-court advantage when it welcomes the seventh-place team from Group B, Frutti Extra Bursaspor.

Eighthfinals

Round 1

game Frutti Extra Bursaspor vs Partizan NIS Belgrade

18:30, 20 April 2022

18:3020 April 2022

Eighthfinals

group h

Partizan NIS BelgradePAR

95103

Frutti Extra BursasporFEB

group h

Overview

The crowd factor

Partizan enters the eighthfinals undefeated at home and has been one of the most dominant home teams this season, by a wide margin. Partizan won five of its eight regular-season home games by at least 25 points, including each of its last four. The team had a pair of close calls, games against Joventut Badalona and Slask Wroclaw decided in the final seconds, but Partizan scored 86.6 points while allowing on average just 70.0 points at home.

What makes Partizan's home-court advantage for this do-or-die clash more significant is the fans, who are set to fill Belgrade's Stark Arena, the same place where the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four will take place almost a month from now. Partizan always gets a great boost from the stands to create one of the best atmospheres in the world of basketball. Playing in front of such a big, loud crowd could be a new experience for many of Bursaspor's players, but embracing and enjoying such an experience could also help them improve their performance.

Coaches hold the keys

One person who knows all about what to expect at Stark Arena is head coach Dusan Alimpijevic. This might be the first-ever game on the Serbian soil for Bursaspor, but it’s a return home for Alimpijevic. As the former head coach of city rivals Crvena Zvezda and FMP Zeleznik, Alimpijevic knows everything about fan support in the Serbian capital and he will use all of that knowledge to prepare his players, who won two road games this season.

Preparation is what Partizan head coach Zeljko Obradovic has stressed several times this season as crucial for his young team, which has six players born in the year 2000 or later. For Obradovic, this might be his first year in the EuroCup, but he is a man who has guided teams to nine EuroLeague titles, so a single-elimination game is nothing new. Expect Partizan to look prepared from the get-go.

Paying attention to the boards

Most eyes will be on Partizan's Kevin Punter (16.4 ppg.) and Bursaspor's Andrew Andrews (13.7 ppg.), two of the top scorers in the competition, but each team has plenty of other weapons. Partizan ranks fifth with 21.5 two-point shots made per game and fifth at making them with 56.0% accuracy. But where Partizan tries to set the tone is on the glass with the big-man duo of Mathias Lessort and Balsa Koprivica, as well as Zach LeDay. They have made Partizan the fourth-best rebounding team (37.5 rpg.) and one of only three teams pulling down more than 12 offensive rebounds per game (12.7 oreb). Partizan has six different players averaging more than 1 offensive rebound, led by Lessort (2.9 orpg.), Koprivica (2.3 orpg.), and LeDay (1.5 orpg.).

This will certainly present a challenge for Bursaspor, which pulls down 30.1 rebounds, fewest among playoff teams. Kevarrius Hayes (6.2 rpg.) and David Dudzinski (4.7 rpg.) will need all the help they can get in controlling the boards from the likes of Onuralp Bitim (3.8 rpg.) and John Holland (3.5 rpg.).

Highlight-makers collide

Once Partizan and Bursaspor tip-off, they could have the fans on the edge of their seats when it comes to seeing some can't-miss plays. Because this clash will feature several of the most athletic and prominent players when it comes to providing magic moments. Partizan's Lessort, Koprivica, Alen Smailagic and LeDay are fixtures on the highlight reels for their spectacular dunks, alley-oops and blocks that get fans in the arenas on their feet and those at home jump out of their sofas. However, Bursaspor has guys who can match them in every regard.

It is hard to find a better alley-oop connection in the competition than the one between Bursaspor's guards and Hayes, who catches just about everything Derek Needham, Andrews or just about anybody else tosses his way and slams it with tremendous power. Meanwhile, Bitim has long been growing into one of the best dunkers in all of Europe and has been elevating for some spectacular slams of his own, too. Fans watching this game might not have much time to blink.