Semifinalists are the true cream of the crop

The top four teams in the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season have played true to form in the elimination rounds, all making the most of their home-court advantage to advance to the semifinals. Three of them have taken a common path to get here. Gran Canaria, Joventut Badalona and Turk Telekom Ankara have been this season's three most efficient offensive teams while also ranking in the top 10 defensively with near-identical numbers. Prometey Slobozhanske ranks in the top 10 on the defensive end, as well, but has otherwise been an outlier, finishing only sixth in offensive efficiency but separating itself from the other semifinalists by having dominated the possession margin all season.

Regardless of strengths and weaknesses, though, results mean everything in the EuroCup's single-elimination postseason format, and the table below displays the lineups that will shape this season's final outcome. It lists the five-man units that have been on the floor for most than 60 possessions over their teams' last five games and how effective they have been in those minutes. It is worth noting that nearly every team has found considerable success with one or more lineups. These four teams have their rotations down to a science at this point.

Digging into the data, it is clear that the science works a little differently for some teams than others as there's a big gap in usage between many of these top lineups. Gran Canaria has leaned heavily on a core group of players, while Prometey has substituted more liberally, with dozens of five-man combinations contributing on a nightly basis. Turk Telekom has rolled with the same frontcourt while shuffling its backcourt a bit more frequently. And Joventut has looked more than the others to leverage its depth at several positions. Regardless of the substitution patterns these teams have employed, they have optimized their personnel this season.

Looking ahead, it will be fascinating to see which of these lineups and individual players rise to the occasion under the continued pressure of a win-or-go-home scenario. Some things have been very stable for these teams from the regular season. All have won of their postseason games by 8 or more points, held serve at home, and been able to rely on the same lineups they did during their rise to the top of the standings.

Other things were a bit more unexpected, however.

For example, a 23-point outburst from Gran Canaria forward Damien Inglis in only 15 minutes of action against Paris Basketball in the quarterfinals qualifies as the type of performance that can shake up the status quo. Whether the end of the season plays out to true to form or has some surprises in store remains to be seen, but these teams have already proven beyond doubt that they are the cream of the crop this season.