How the semifinalists did against each other this season

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four bracket is set with teams that separated themselves during the regular season surviving the playoffs to advance to Kaunas. With the Spanish derby on one side and AS Monaco making its Final Four debut against an Olympiacos Piraeus team seeking its first championship since 2013 on the other, this season's semifinals hold no shortage of intrigue.

The regular season matchups between these teams also add an interesting layer of depth to both games. The statistics below show how each team fared against their peers still playing for a chance to lift the EuroLeague trophy.

As the team at the top of the regular season standings and the lone member of the cohort headed to Lithuania who secured a winning record against the remaining field, Olympiacos would seem to hold the upper hand coming into the weekend on paper. That would overlook, however, that Monaco was the lone team that the Reds did not beat at least once during the regular season. While they went 4-0 against the Spanish powerhouses, Monaco beat them by 5 and 4 points in Rounds 5 and 18, respectively.

That sets up a fascinating opportunity for Monaco in its first Final Four run. Not only did Monaco manage to beat Olympiacos twice in the regular season, but it did so with neither Mike James nor Jordan Loyd playing particularly well on the offensive end. The Monaco defense rose to the occasion both times, holding Sasha Vezenkov to just 17 points over two games – well below his EuroLeague-best 17.2 points-per-game standard on the season. As a result, Monaco was one of the few teams to get the best of Olympiacos on that side of the floor, holding the Reds to just 0.87 points per possession – a far cry from the third-ranked 1.05 per possession that the team from Piraeus averaged overall.

Monaco's ability to lean on defense in those victories stands in stark contrast to how its hard-fought five-game series with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv played out. James and Loyd combined for 39 points per game in Monaco's three wins but only 17 on average in the team's two playoff losses. The offensive output of James and Loyd was the clear-cut x-factor in nearly every game.

Which version of Monaco shows up in Kaunas figures to play an influential role in what this weekend's opening game looks like against an Olympiacos team that otherwise was this season's most dominant unit.

The Spanish derby has delivered drama twice this season already, with the first matchup between these teams, in Round 2, resulting in a 2-point win for Barcelona and the second ending in an overtime victory for Madrid. Defense was a factor in both games as these usually prolific teams combined to score just 0.95 points per possession – well off their near-1.00 per possession pace the rest of the season.

That puts a spotlight on the contrast in styles between Barca and Real on the defensive end of the floor. While both finished among the five best teams in overall defensive efficiency, Barcelona did so by limiting opponents to a league-low 15.4 points per game on catch-and-shoot jump shots. Not only did Barca do a stellar job chasing opposing shooters off the three-point line, but contested at a high level whatever shots those opponents did manage to release. Real, by comparison, allowed a league-low 24.9 points per game in finishing situations.

With their defensive merits falling on opposite ends of the spectrum but both teams doing a similarly good job limiting the other's offense, it will be interesting to see how the unique level of familiarity these teams have with one another plays out. This figures to be a chess match for the ages as Barcelona seeks to gain a measure of revenge for its Final Four loss to Real last year.