EuroLeague Round 1 Reactions: Should anyone be worried yet?

With the first round of EuroLeague action beyond us and the second round to begin shortly, is there heavy pressure on anyone? Sure, a drastic response is never needed after the first game of any season but as the saying goes in the EuroLeague, every game matters. Round 1 primarily went the way it was supposed to, but a few teams suffered losses that already have fans, the media, and others asking questions. Let’s dive into them. 

Why couldn’t Olympiacos get a win over Fenerbahce? 

The marquee matchup of Round 1 was Olympiacos taking on Fenerbahce in Istanbul. Both teams added star power to their rosters in the offseason and expect to contend for the championship this season. Olympiacos came up short in this matchup, and there are a few key reasons why. 

For starters, they were on the road. Winning on the road in the EuroLeague is hard, no matter who you’re playing. Whether you’re traveling to Belgrade, Kaunas, Athens, or yes, even Berlin. Playing on the road always poses a challenge. With the talent they have, Olympiacos was able to negate most of that advantage and stayed competitive, but they were eventually overpowered by Fenerbahce. We mean that literally. 

With a center rotation of Khem Birch, Boban Marjanovic, and Sertac Sanli this was a game where the Reds desperately needed Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov. But they were without either of those giants and even though Moses Wright and Filip Petrusev put up impressive numbers they were still physically overmatched. 

Fenerbahce’s size advantage goes beyond the center position. We had doubts about Wade Baldwin taking over full-time point guard responsibilities but he was more than up to it. He’s got great size and length for a EuroLeague point guard. Mark Guduric and Devon Hall can each play the two, coming in at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5 respectively. Bonzie Colson, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Dyshawn Pierre, and Nicolo Melli all offer size advantages as well. Fenerbahce won the rebounding battle in this one 44 to 24. That plus a home-court advantage will almost always deliver victory, and it’s a clear tactical advantage Sarunas Jasikevicius will look to utilize for his squad all season long. 

One area of slight concern for Olympiacos was Evan Fournier. One of the biggest signings of the summer and highest-paid players in the EuroLeague finished with 5 points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field, one assist, and two turnovers in 22 minutes of action. He is past his best, and Olympiacos fans should be hoping Keenan Evans can take the floor sooner rather than later. 

Is it time for Milan to move on from Ettore Messina?

Moving on from Ettore Messina would be an overreaction but for the second season running this team looked nowhere near ready for EuroLeague basketball. Similar to Olympiacos, they got killed on the backboards as well: 23 to 36. That’s concerning for a team that added Josh Nebo, an All-EuroLeague center, this summer. 18 three-point attempts as a team — tied for second-lowest in the round with Maccabi — isn’t going to cut it either. Milano was weak, slow, and a bore on offense. They got rocked by Monaco and rightfully so, through Round 1, they are the team we are most concerned about. 

As an aside, not to sound like Joe Mazzulla, but every team needs to be getting more threes up. Too many teams hovered in the low 20s for 3-point attempts in Round 1 and every team should be aiming for at least 25 three-point attempts per game. That number is slightly arbitrary, but get those shots up. 

Barcelona comes up short thanks to shooting variance, not anything else

There is never any shame in losing in Kaunas, one of the best home crowds in the EuroLeague. Add in a star performance from Sylvain Francisco and Ignas Brazdeikis re-discovering his basketball talent — seriously, what the heck went wrong at Olympiacos for him last season? — and this loss should be more than tolerable. Also, a combined 2-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc by Alex Abrines and Jabari Parker is unlikely again. 

Most importantly for Barcelona, Kevin Punter looked great. We cast doubts on the bag they dropped on him this summer due to his age and the back issues he battled all last season, but he was in his bag and in it early. Get that three-point rate up — 20 attempted on the game, also not an acceptable number — and with the talent Barcelona has they’ll be falling at a better clip eventually, and that will lead to wins. This loss was tough, but not damning in any way.

Partizan Belgrade was put to bed by EuroLeague’s most underrated star: Tadas Sedekerskis

With a DNP-CD for Balsa Koprivica, everyone who took the floor for Partizan Belgrade in their opener against Baskonia was a new player. With that in mind, coming up short on the road in Vitoria-Gasteiz is understandable. Add in Sedekerskis doing Sedekerskis things: 14 points on an absurdly efficient 5-of-6 shooting that included perfectly timed cuts, catch-and-shoot 3s, and a scintillating stepback three while dominating the glass — and a loss is almost expected. 

Partizan competed in this game, and their two-big approach of playing Brandon Davies and Tyrique Jones together worked wonders. They were the team's leading scorers, Jones finished with 22 and Davies with 20. The Aleksej Pokusevski DNP-CD is odd, and something to monitor, but that should change. Carlik Jones added 4 points and 6 assists off the bench which was solid, but he was a drag on their offense. He isolated and opted for too much pick-and-roll, which appeared to infuriate Zeljko Obradovic on the sidelines. This is a common issue for players who come to Europe from China, expect it to resolve itself as Carlik adjusts to the EuroLeague style of play. 

Down goes Goliath, Real Madrid bested in a stunning loss to Bayern Munich

The Spanish media pressed the panic button after this one, but they would’ve pressed the panic button if Real Madrid only won this game by eight so let’s not read into that too much. They want a coach firing to write about more than a kid who wants candy on Halloween. Stating the obvious, this was a bad loss. And Facundo Campazzo’s attempt at foul-baiting on a 3-pointer in their final offensive possession was flat-out embarrassing, and the ensuing outburst was akin to a child who didn’t get the candy he wanted on Halloween. 

Real Madrid were without Mario Hezonja in this one, and he likely would’ve been a difference maker in this result, but that speaks to a larger issue: their dependence on Facundo Campazzo and Edy Tavares pick-and-rolls. The success of the two-man game between’s EuroLeague smallest and tallest stars is a blessing and a curse. It is often unstoppable, but that level of success creates a dangerous dependence on it. 

Last season, when Campazzo and Tavares sat down, they went to a Sergio Rodriguez and Vincent Poirier two-man game that was nearly as good. This season, it’s Andres Feliz and Serge Ibaka. That can work, but it’s not going to open up the floor for your firepower on the wings — Dzanan Musa, Mario Hezonja, and Gabriel Deck — like they’ve all become accustomed to. Hezonja’s return is needed, Real Madrid’s desire to bring in one more player is valid, but the playbook, particularly when Campazzo and/or Tavares sit, needs some refreshing. Chus Mateo will figure that out, and a few weeks from now this result will be a mere blip on what will otherwise be a dominant start to the season.