Two of the EuroLeague’s top teams this season go head-to-head at 20:45 CET this Thursday night
Real Madrid vs. Panathinaikos: A chance to make a statement
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The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague returns with a bang on Thursday night, as Real Madrid (22-4) hosts Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (16-10) at WiZink Center. There are just eight rounds remaining in the 2023-24 regular season, and this meeting between first and third place, respectively, pits two of the best teams from this current campaign up against one another.
When the two clubs met at OAKA back in Round 13, Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman was still putting the pieces together after an eventful offseason that saw almost an entirely new roster put together, with the Greens going 6-6 through the first 12 games. Real Madrid, meanwhile, was still flying after becoming the EuroLeague champion last season and had started the 2023-24 campaign with an impressive 11-1 record; its only loss came in overtime to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 11. By the sound of the final buzzer in Athens, Real won 78-90 to improve to 12-1, while Panathinaikos dropped to a 6-7 mark.
Responding in style
Since then, though, the Greens have been on a roll. Ataman’s squad went 8-1 over the next nine games to shoot up the standings, before going 2-2 over its last four fixtures just prior to the two-week break. That means Panathinaikos heads to WiZink Center with a 16-10 record – the same as AS Monaco in fourth – yet there is a trend that the team will be looking to address, starting in Round 27.
Since the turn of the year, Panathinaikos has gone 1-3 on its travels, with its only win being a one-point triumph at Valencia Basket in Round 19 on January 5. Its other losses were at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (Round 18; January 3), Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (Round 23; January 25) and Zalgiris Kaunas (Round 25; February 2). At home, however, has been a different story, as the Greens have won six straight at OAKA since falling to Real in early December. Therefore, trying to carry that dominant home form on the road has to be the main objective for Ataman and his players following the break.
A worrying trend?
For Real, it has a four-game lead over second-placed FC Barcelona, yet there are a few things that head coach Chus Mateo will be looking to improve upon now that the EuroLeague is back underway. Los Blancos opened the new year by suffering their second defeat of the campaign, which came against archrival Barca at Palau Blaugrana, and that was quickly followed by the memorable quadruple-overtime victory against Anadolu Efes Istanbul. It was a win, yes, but going to quadruple overtime against a team that was in the midst of a five-game losing streak wasn’t exactly a great sign.
There was a comfortable win at FC Bayern Munich that followed, but then another overtime win – this time just one overtime sufficed – against Valencia Basket. Games that Real had wrapped up midway through the fourth period earlier in the season were now going to an extra period. Something had changed. One week on from beating Valencia, Coach Mateo’s side lost handily at Monaco, 98-74, which was the club’s heaviest EuroLeague defeat in three years. After appearing invincible in 2023, Real looked a different proposition altogether in the first month of 2024.
Nevertheless, Real closed the month with two home victories, where offense was the order of the day, against Olympiacos Piraeus (90-85) and Maccabi (106-101), before making it three home wins in a row by downing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (86-79). Yet, an 81-76 loss at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan left a bad taste in the mouths of many ahead of the FIBA window.
One thing that is important to bear in mind is that Real is still yet to lose at home this season, even if Efes and Valencia both made Los Blancos’ supporters sweat a little by forcing overtime. With just four home games remaining, it’s not unfathomable that Real ends the campaign with a perfect 17-0 home record, but Panathinaikos will certainly make things interesting.
And, with a win against Panathinaikos, Coach Mateo’s group will officially reach the EuroLeague Playoffs.
Star matchups on the court
Let’s go back to that Round 13 matchup between Panathinaikos and Real for a second. Despite losing, the Greens had three standout performers on the night – and all three are likely to be leaned on at WiZink Center. Kendrick Nunn went to work and finished with a game-high 24 points, Mathias Lessort contributed 18 points, and Dinos Mitoglou came close to a double-double by posting 15 points and 9 rebounds. Should they achieve similar numbers at WiZink Center, it could spell bad news for Real.
However, they were the only three Panathinaikos players to hit double figures in scoring. Real, conversely, had five: Mario Hezonja (19 points), Gabriel Deck (16), Dzanan Musa (14), Sergio Llull (11) and Walter Tavares (10). That ultimately proved to be the main difference, but with Real players playing more minutes than any other EuroLeague squad during the FIBA window, according to Marco Pagliariccio, perhaps fatigue may be something Coach Mateo has to be wary of.
There are so many exciting matchups to keep an eye on – Facundo Campazzo vs. Jerian Grant, Tavares vs. Lessort and Nunn vs. Musa to name just three – that this game is certainly worth tuning in for. Panathinaikos is looking to get its first win against Real at WiZink Center since March 21, 2013, while Real is keen to get back on track and notch its fourth straight victory over the Greens.
What more is there to say? It should be a lot of fun.