European Hoops Wrap-Up: Point guards rule the day

This was a packed week in European hoops, as Euroleague play featured two contests for every team, in addition to the normal Eurocup and FIBA slates. The result? A week driven by Europe’s top point guards. Every competition saw strong play from the top of the key.

In the Champions League, Ognjen Jaramaz of Mega Leks and Joe Ragland of Avellino took charge to deliver top performances. In Eurocup, it was new Cedevita point guard Pierre Jackson and UCAM Murcia lead guard Facundo Campazzo leading the charge. And in Euroleague, nearly every big-name point guard had at least one big game: Nick Calathes, Shane Larkin, Milos Teodosic, and Nikos Zizis.

Prospect(s) of the Week: Ognjen Jaramaz, Kostja Mushidi, Mega Leks; Ante Zizic, KK Cibona

The marquee game of the FIBA Champions League for NBA fans was a battle between Mega Leks and KK Cibona, and it did not disappoint. Mega Leks was able to squeeze out an 81-79 victory, in a game that put several NBA prospects prominently on display.

Mega Leks was powered to victory by point guard Ognjen Jaramaz, who had 22 points and three rebounds on the day. Jaramaz fits the high-volume creator role for the Serbs, primarily attacking one-on-one and creating looks for himself and teammates off of that. That recipe worked brilliantly against Cibona, as he was able to lull the Croatian side’s perimeter players to sleep with dribble moves, and then explode by them for baskets or pop step backs off the bounce.

Jaramaz had 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and has been a nice surprise for Mega Leks this year, taking some of the creating burden off of Memphis Grizzlies’ stash prospect Rade Zagorac. He has a small chance of getting drafted this year, and will need more performances like this to get there.

Jaramaz wasn’t the only prospect to make an impact for Mega Leks, as Belgian scoring guard Kostja Mushidi had his first major breakout game on the continental level. Mushidi, a probable first round pick in 2018, had 17 points and four rebounds, and was the squad’s most impactful perimeter defender, helping keep Cibona to just 4-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc. Mushidi made his biggest impact from three, hitting 3-of-6, mostly from the left wing, and he was able to hit a couple of those off-balance, which was good to see. He projects very similar to former Mega Leks wing Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, in that he is a versatile athlete who struggles with control and shooting. Seeing him connect on a few threes on Tuesday was a good sign.

We also can’t forget the reason Cibona almost won this game: Ante Zizic. The Celtcis’ first rounder from 2016 has been on a tour of destruction early in the season, and Tuesday was no different, as he posted 22 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks to carry Cibona. Zizic is one of Europe’s best interior finishers, and he had success putting the ball in the hoop in the pick-and-roll or off putbacks, even though he was facing last week’s prospect of the week, Alpha Kaba. The Celtics appear to have gotten a very quality player with the 23rd pick this summer.

Marko Guduric goes supernova

Barcelona’s been snakebitten by injuries to start the season, and their 76-65 loss to Crvena Zvezda was a microcosm of their issues. Playing without Juan Carlos Navarro and Justin Doellman already, Barca was dealt another blow with the loss of Pau Ribas to an Achilles tendon rupture. Throw in Tyrese Rice’s struggles and Joey Dorsey’s foul trouble, and it’s easy to see how Crvena Zvezda was able to take advantage.

And take advantage they did, behind the sharp-shooting of shooting guard prospect Marko Guduric. Coming off the bench, Guduric posted 21 points on 9-12 shooting, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 25 minutes, taking over with 13 points in the second quarter to put the Serbs up for good. Guduric has been a very good instant-offense guy for Zvezda, as he has one of the least conservative shooting consciences in Europe, and the numbers to back it up. So far, Guduric is hitting 53.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from three, and he’s been comfortable shooting uncontested, contested, or swarmed by defenders. He only took one three in this game, preferring to instead attack off the dribble, but that one deep ball was an absolute dagger to cap off 12-0 run to go into half:

Guduric was also able to rack up five assists, probing a demoralized defense throughout the fourth quarter to keep Crvena’s offense whirring. With Stefan Jovic and Charles Jenkins around him, Guduric often doesn’t get the chances to handle primary on-ball duties. But he’s capable, using deft touch and quick decision-making to initiate the offense, and he certainly earned the time with his play earlier in the game. While Guduric probably isn’t an NBA Draft prospect (he’s already 21), he’s a guy who should stay on the radar to get a crack in the NBA eventually, because his size, shooting stroke, and confidence should mean he has a very, very bright future.

Pierre Jackson gets Cedevita its groove back

After a disastrous start to the season that saw Cedevita waive Duje Dukan, Scotty Hopson, and David Stockton, the team rebounded to get its first Eurocup win over MZT Skopje Aerodrom. While Skopje isn’t the most threatening opponent, it was a good win for Cedevita, as they overcame a short bench and a six-point second half deficit to win. They did so on the back of former Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans point guard Pierre Jackson, who had one of his classic scoring outbursts.

Jackson went 7-of-18 for 29 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in the win. He was everything offensively for the Croatian side, playing 33 minutes and attacking relentlessly, drawing 14 free throw attempts. Jackson was pretty cold from midrange, but he was able to consistently beat Skopje’s guards off the dribble, and contort his body to draw and finish through contact. Jackson now appears fully recovered from his Achilles tendon tear, and now that he’s got his quickness back, he’s going to be a problem for many teams in this competition.

Jackson’s biggest surprise has been his three-point shooting, as he’s hit 44.4 percent of his threes in two games at Cedevita. He still has a very unconventional shooting motion, flaring his legs out or jumping forward with an odd leg kick as he releases, but it appears to work for him. And if he can be a threat on catch-and-shoot jumpers as well as on drives, he’s that much more deadly.

Jackson’s career didn’t exactly get off to a strong start due to injury, but he’s trying to work his way back to the NBA. With more performances like this, Jackson could earn his way back, and help Cedevita salvage a very rough Eurocup season in the process.

New coach doesn’t matter as Nick Calathes carries Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos is 3-1 in Euroleague despite a coaching change to start the season. A close 84-83 win over Brose Bamberg and a 70-59 win over Crvena Zvezda meant that new coach Xavi Pascual starts 2-0 in Euroleague. But he wouldn’t be 2-0 without Nick Calathes, who had one of the best cumulative performances of the week.

Calathes, the former Memphis Grizzlies point guard, nearly posted a triple-double against Bamberg, with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in the win. The playmaking guard made several key assists down the stretch for Panathinaikos, helped by some quality outside shooting from James Feldeine and K.C. Rivers (7-of-11 from outside). Calathes was also able to make some nice plays at the rim, hitting all four shots around the basket and using this to drive and kick for assists. But his biggest contribution would come at the end of the game, when his 11th rebound became his biggest:

Later in the week, against Crvena Zvezda, Calathes once again was the primary contributor for Panathinaikos. In a more sluggish, defensive affair, Calathes took the reigns, posting 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, primarily done through an effective pick-and-roll pairing with James Gist. He was also a big part of the Greens’ strong perimeter defense, as Crvena Zvezda was held to 27.8 percent from beyond the arc. Calathes used his size to overwhelm the smaller backcourt of Stefan Jovic and Charles Jenkins, and helped maintain the big lead that he and Gist helped create.

As Panathinaikos gets further into the Xavi Pascual era, it appears that Calathes is going to have a big part in the system the Greens will be running.

Don’t forget about the reigning MVP

Through four games for CSKA Moscow, Milos Teodosic has been the main player of note for the undefeated defending champs. And why not? He’s averaging 14.3 points and 9.5 assists per game, and has looked like the best offensive player in the tournament. But on Tuesday against Anadolu Efes, defending MVP Nando De Colo showed why he won the award in 2015-2016. De Colo absolutely torched Efes, to the tune of 26 points, four rebounds, and six assists.

Whether he was defended by Jayson Granger or Cedi Osman, De Colo was able to score in every way against Efes. He posted up, beat Granger on backdoor cuts, scored in transition, and out of the pick-and-roll. De Colo also kept the pressure on Efes to make changes, drawing 11 fouls and literally playing Granger off the floor thanks to foul trouble. CSKA should beat Efes, given the talent differential, but this was a phenomenal performance by De Colo, who should remain right in the MVP race, even if Teodosic has arguably been better this year.

5 Final Quick Hitters

Khimki Moscow has retooled their roster for Eurocup, and the results should be very good. Gone is Jacob Pullen, a volatile scoring guard who had struggled this year. In are three former NBA players: 2012 Slam Dunk Champ Jeremy Evans, former Nets guard Markel Brown, and former Timberwolves forward Robbie Hummel. Add in that Alexey Shved is back from injury, and an already strong Khimki squad should now be a Eurocup title contender.
Two former Rockets headline the other big signings this week, as Chase Budinger joined Baskonia, and Nick Johnson was picked up by Bayern Munich. Expect a few more signings this week as guys trickle over to Europe after training camp cut season.
Injuries have not been kind this week. Pau Ribas is done for the season for Barca due to his Achilles injury, and Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss a few weeks for Fenerbahce due to an ankle sprain. Coty Clarke will also miss significant time for Unics Kazan with a ligament injury to his knee.
Real Madrid lost to Baskonia on Tuesday, 91-87, but Luka Doncic had perhaps his best game of the competition to date, posting 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting, three rebounds and four assists.
Brose Bamberg is the early disappointment of the Euroleague season, sitting at just 1-3 through four games. They’ve played a tough schedule, losing to Fenerbahce, Barcelona and Panathinaikos by a combined six points, but things still don’t look quite right for them early on.

Home/NBA