Erdem Can’s squad has now beaten Virtus and Barcelona in back-to-back rounds.
EuroLeague teams, be aware: Efes is back
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5 Mins read
As frustrating as things became, Anadolu Efes Istanbul was never as bad as its record suggested.
Injuries ravaged the team in the early part of the campaign, forcing the arrival of a few new signings; those that had arrived in the summer were still adjusting to their new environment; later, rumors began to swirl about the future of first-year head coach Erdem Can; and there was a seven-game losing run, which – it’s worth stressing – featured just one defeat by double digits.
In the end, Efes decided to stick with Coach Can and that decision is now reaping its rewards. After ending its losing streak in style by stunning Virtus Segafredo Bologna 99-75 in Round 21, the Istanbul-based side built on that result by beating FC Barcelona 98-74 in Round 22. Not only are those two scorelines similar, but they are equally impressive, too.
A big boost to morale
By first downing Virtus and then Barca, Efes has managed to knock off two of the top three teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings in a matter of six days. Crucially, what it has done is inspire the Efes players and show what they are capable of, as star guard Shane Larkin explained.
“It feels like we’re trending in the right direction, we’re getting our guys back, everybody’s getting healthy,” he said after the Barca win. “We’re getting everybody acclimated and we’re continuing to grow. I think today was one of the first days we had a full roster all season; I think maybe [that was also the case in] our first game. We showed who we can be, now it’s all about continuing to grow every single day and seeing what we can do towards the end of the season.”
While Efes had played well through the first two quarters, taking a 42-39 lead into the halftime break, Coach Can’s troops notably began to take over in the second half and ended up outscoring Barca 56-35 in the final 20 minutes. That offensive explosion, led by 19 second-half points by Rodrigue Beaubois, was incredibly impressive, but so was the way in which Efes stepped up its play on defense.
Making key plays on defense
Three plays particularly stood out in the second half. The first saw Derek Willis dive into the front row to try and keep the ball in play following a block by Tibor Pleiss on Jabari Parker midway through the third quarter. That effort by Willis resulted in one of the loudest cheers of the night inside Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, and it was a sign of things to come.
Later in the quarter, Larkin turned defense into offense. After blocking Rokas Jokubaitis, Efes’s No. 0 quickly ran up the floor and was picked out by Beaubois, before avoiding contact from Tomas Satoransky and scoring a layup off the glass. Understandably, that was the Magic Moment of the Game.
But, a close contender for that accolade was a play involving Will Clyburn, who returned to action against Barca after having not played since Round 11 due to injury. With Efes up 83-67 three and a half minutes into the fourth quarter, Clyburn’s chasedown block to prevent Nikola Kalinic from scoring an easy layup showed just how seriously Efes was taking every play. And that is certainly a good omen moving forward.
“We’ve just got to continue to grow as a team and continue to take steps in the right direction by putting in energy and effort on both sides. That’s all that play was about,” Larkin replied when asked about his block on Jokubaitis.
“We had a lot of plays like that today. Derek dives for a loose ball and tries to save it and the whole crowd goes crazy. Those are the things that have to be our identity. Will had a chasedown block from half court coming from a foot injury, so we’ve just to continue to do those hustle plays and that’s going to galvanize our team; that’s going to bring us closer to us together as a unit. There’s no ceiling to where we can go.”
Indeed, Efes still finds itself languishing down in 15th place in the standings, five spots below the final play-in spot, but playing as it has done in the last two games, no one would bet against the two-time champion sneaking in. There’s still 12 games to go in the regular season and, as Coach Can himself made clear, “every single game – on the road, at home – is like a final for us.”
With basically its full roster now available and a group of players who are gelling more and more with each passing game, Efes is finally starting to make some noise this season. EuroLeague teams, be aware: Efes is back.