Opposites collide in Bourg and Ulm
JL Mincidelice Bourg en Bresse (4-0) is the only undefeated team in the competition and its perfect record will be put to the test when it hosts Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2-2) in the Round 5 opener on Tuesday. Neither team has jumped out in any of statistical categories, which is especially interesting for first-place Bourg which ranks only 12th in scoring (81.0 ppg.), though it does shoot the second-best from three-point range (40.2%) while playing solid defense that ranks fourth in points allowed (75.0 ppg.). Bourg is a team with tremendous balance where no player plays more than 24 minutes per game and it has only three double-digit scorers, with the bright spot being Jordan Floyd averaging 17.0 points off the bench. It's quite different for last season's finalist Bursaspor, which has five players averaging more minutes than that, including three starters – Onuralp Bitim, Derek Needham and Anthony Clemmons – playing 30 or minutes per game.
Bursaspor has lost its last two games, including in Round 4 at home against ratiopharm Ulm. That young Ulm (2-2) side, which has an 18-year-old Juan Nunez (5.0 apg.) and 23-year-old Yago dos Santos (10.8 ppg., 3.5 apg.) running its offense, will face Joventut Badalona (3-1), one of the most experienced sides in the competition. The 35-year-old Ante Tomic (11.8 ppg., 5.2 rpg., 3.0apg.) and Pau Ribas (7.2 ppg. 4.8 apg.), as well as the 29-year-old Guillem Vives (4.5 ppg., 4.0 apg.) fuel a Joventut offense that has dished 20.3 assists per game, which is tied for the second-most this season.
Canary pass extravaganza
When it comes to assists, only one team does it better than Joventut and only one other team is on-par with it and those two collide on Wednesday when Gran Canaria (3-1) takes on newcomer Hapoel Tel Aviv (3-1) in Group B. Gran Canaria leads the league with 20.8 assists and Hapoel is tied for second with 20.3 on average. No player has dished more than Hapoel's J'Covan Brown who leads the EuroCup with 7.8 per game, while Gran Canaria's Ferran Bassas is tied for third with 5.8 per game, Andrew Albicy follows with 4.0 and AJ Slaughter, Nico Brussino and Dan Duscak are each posting 2.0 assists or better through four rounds. Expect some sweet passes and a nice flow to the game between two potent offenses on Wednesday night.
Group B home-court advantage
In Group B, heading into Round 5, home and road teams this season have an equal amount of victories, 10 apiece. Two of the three teams that do not have a road win yet this season, Dolomiti Energia Trento (0-4) and London Lions (1-3) are playing away from home. The Lions travel to play Veolia Hamburg Towers (2-2) on Tuesday, while a day later Trento visits Turk Telekom Ankara (3-1), which is on a three-game winning streak. Trento is on a 16-game losing streak dating back to last season, but it is not the only winless team in Group B. Slask Wroclaw (0-4) will also be in search of its first win of the season when it welcomes Promitheas Patras (3-1) and the EuroCup's top scorer Joe Young (24.2 ppg.). The EuroCup's second-best scorer, Kyle Allman (22.5 ppg.) of Paris Basketball (2-2) will also be on the road, visiting Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (3-1), another winner of three straight games.
Roster changes and signing impacts
During the recent two-week break from action, a few teams made significant additions to their rosters. Among them, Hapoel added last season's Israeli League MVP, center Chinanu Onuaku who is set to make his debut against Gran Canaria. Meanwhile, U-BT Cluj-Napoca put veteran playmaker Nemanja Gordic into its backcourt. The 34-year-old guard, who has nine EuroCup seasons under his belt, will have a chance to play for his sixth different club in the competition when Cluj faces Brescia.
The team that arguably had the biggest number of high-profile signings during the summer, Umana Reyer Venice (2-2) has won its last two games and will hope to make it three in a row against 7-BET Lietkabelis Panevezys (2-2) at home on Tuesday. Those summer signings have been making a huge impact for Reyer with point guards Marco Spissu (11.0 ppg., 4.5 apg., 3.2 rpg.) and Jayson Granger (8.8 ppg., 4.5 apg.) running the offense, forward Derek Willis leading the team in scoring (12.5 ppg.) and Allerik Freeman also scoring in double figures (10.5 ppg.).
On the other hand, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (0-4) will be in search of its first win when it hosts Prometey Slobozhanske (2-2). Cedevita hopes to get help from veteran swingman Zoran Dragic who is yet to play this season after suffering a leg muscle injury during the EuroBasket. Cedevita has already made a roster change when it parted ways with veteran sharpshooter Aaron Harrison.