The final games of 2023 are upon us. Here’s your overview of Round 17 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
This week: Hitting the regular season's halfway point
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The midway point of the regular season arrives with seven teams tied for fourth place, with many of them preparing to face direct rivals in the most competitive league in the world. After this round, all of the teams will have played one another and the race for the playoffs will begin in earnest.
Thursday, December 28
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
The season's first Istanbul derby will see Efes (7-9) attempt to become the first team to defeat Sarunas Jasikevicius during his Fenerbahce (9-7) tenure. Efes is looking to bounce back from a home loss to Baskonia despite 23 points from star guard Shane Larkin, who has now poured in at least 20 points in five of his last seven appearances. His long-range scoring threat will be met by Scottie Wilbekin, who has hit top form with 5 three-pointers drained in each of the two games. Fener’s trio of victories under Jasikevicius have come via improved offensive output directed by Nick Calathes, who dished 13 assists to help overcome ALBA last week, so Efes needs to improve its defensive average of 86.9 points allowed, which is third-most in the league.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Virtus Segafredo Bologna
Two teams jostling for position in the playoff places go head to head as Partizan (9-7) welcomes Virtus (11-5). Partizan will look to recover its usual offensive potency after being held to 72 and 75 points in the last two games and can look for Bruno Caboclo to lead the way from deep after he scored 18 points on 4 of 7 long-range shooting in the Round 16 loss to Real Madrid. Virtus is a similar story, netting just 71 and 69 points in the last two games, despite Marco Belinelli doing his usual job by sinking multiple triples. Despite those recent wobbles, the two teams are still respectively the third and sixth-highest scorers in the league, so hopes are high for an entertaining shootout.
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
A historic matchup will see either Zalgiris (5-11) or Maccabi (9-7) bounce back to winning ways. Zalgiris will hope that Laurynas Birutis can maintain his strong form after netting 13 of his 16 two-point shots in the last two games and his battle with the equally in-form Josh Nebo – PIRs of 25 and 26 in the last two games – could be vital. Maccabi will lean on Lorenzo Brown to repeat his usual high standards of 14.8 points and 6.8 assists per night and should be welcoming back team captain John DiBartolomeo. Zalgiris will turn backcourt star and former Maccabi player Keenan Evans, who is comfortably his team’s top scorer with an average of 15.8 points.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Real Madrid
It's last versus first as ASVEL (2-14) aims to end 2023 with the upset of the year by toppling reigning champ Real (15-1). ASVEL has lost eight straight, with three of the last four losses coming by double-digit margins, and changing that statistic will require a big improvement in long-range shooting after making just 4 of its 19 three-point attempts in last week’s loss to Olympiacos. Real, in contrast, is riding a five-game winning streak and the last four of those haven’t even been close, triumphing by an average of 14.4 points. Veteran Sergio Rodriguez has recently been the main playmaker, dishing 8 and 9 assists in the last two games, so he’s one of the many weapons for ASVEL to stop.
Panathinaikos Aktor Athens vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Panathinaikos (9-7) will aim to protect its position in the all-important top six with a visit from dangerous Zvezda (6-10). The visiting team is boosted by last week’s MVP Milos Teodosic producing some of the best form of his storied career, averaging 15.4 points and 7.8 assists in the last five games. Many of those passes have gone to Joel Bolomboy, who contributed 20 points in Round 16’s impressive win over Maccabi. So that Teodosic-Bolomboy connection will be a target for the Panathinaikos defense, while the Greens will again look for offensive inspiration from Kendrick Nunn after he reached double digits in scoring in the last six straight, including 17 points in last week’s road win in Milan.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Baskonia (9-7) seeks another road win with a trip to Milan (6-10), which is looking to end a tough 2023 on a high by bouncing back to winning ways. The game features the league’s most prolific three-point shooters with Markus Howard (3.6 triples per game) taking on Milan’s leader Shavon Shields (3.2) But Howard isn’t Baskonia’s backcourt dynamo, with Codi Miller-McIntyre coming 1 rebound short of a triple-double to power last week’s victory at Efes and now averaging 10.8 assists in his last four games. Milan will hope to have perennial deep threat Billy Baron finding his best form after he made a relatively quiet return from a long-term injury last week.
FC Bayern Munich vs. Valencia Basket
On the rise Bayern (7-9) will attempt to threaten Valencia's (9-7) place in the top 10 as they meet in Munich. Bayern saw a four-game home winning run ended by last week’s loss, 80-91, to Monaco, so will be determined to improve its defense as a launchpad for another successful streak. That’s especially the case as Valencia boasts the league’s best defense (73.8 points per game allowed), most recently holding dangerous Virtus to just 71 points. Valencia will focus a lot of attention on Carsen Edwards, who has scored at least 10 points in six straight, and the Spanish team will also hope Kassius Robertson maintains his recent improvement after knocking down multiple triples in the last two games.
Friday, December 29
ALBA Berlin vs. Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos (8-8) is aiming to string together a winning streak as it travels to ALBA (3-13). The Reds cast aside their recent struggles to gain a 73-85 win at ASVEL last week powered by a near-record 8 blocks by Moustapha Fall. Another factor was a return to form for Shaquielle McKissic, who reached double digits scoring (13 points) for the first time this season. ALBA will hope for another strong performance from Matt Thomas, who made 3 of his 5 three-point attempts in last week’s loss to Fenerbahce, but needs to improve a defense that has allowed 85.8 points per game, fourth worst in the league, and could be haunted by memories of a 60-93 home loss to Olympiacos in February.
A top-six battle awaits as joint-fourth Monaco (9-7) welcomes joint-second Barcelona (11-5). The Spanish side ended a poor run of road form by grabbing a battling win at Zalgiris last time out, propelled by constant perimeter threat Nico Laprovittola draining 4 three-pointers, while Monaco was relieved to end a two-game losing run by beating Bayern on the road thanks to a season-high 28 points from the lethal Mike James. The ability of Laprovittola and Tomas Satoransky to guard James will be crucial, while Monaco must also deal with Barca’s powerful inside threat of Jan Vesely – who scored 15 points on 6-of-7 field goal shooting at Zalgiris – and Willy Hernangomez, who averages 11.4 points and 4.6 boards per game.