The showdown between two unconventional power forwards who are also the heart and soul of their teams will have a lot to say about the outcome when ALBA Berlin hosts UNICS Kazan on Wednesday of Round 24.
Major Matchup: Sikma, ALBA vs. J. Brown, UNICS
Not many big men lead their teams in rebounds AND assists, but that is the case with Luke Sikma of ALBA, whose 7.1 boards per game rank third and his 4.3 assists ninth among all EuroLeague players. He also leads the team in steals (1.1) and is the team's third-best scorer (9.9 ppg.). ALBA often runs its offense through Sikma in the high or low post and will likely do the same against the stingy UNICS defense in hopes that his patented backdoor passes get the hosts some easy baskets.
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UNICS ace John Brown is just as unique at the defensive end of the floor, where he is the runaway steals leader with 2.9 per game, but not just for this season. No player has stolen balls at the same rate as Brown, a EuroLeague newcomer, in almost 14 years since Ricky Rubio's 3.2 per game as a rookie in 2006-07. Brown is the absolute anchor of the UNICS defense, and for that reason spends 30:10 minutes per game on court, longer than all but two other players in the competition.