EuroLeague Round 10 Reactions: Paris Basketball can't stop winning
No one predicted that Paris Basketball would be tied for second place with a 7-3 record after 10 Rounds of EuroLeague action. Those of us at FanSided lumped them in the bottom tier of teams heading into the season (alongside Bayern Munich, so we’re taking L’s on those). Usually, when a team upends expectations like this it’s because there’s a key breakout player. Last season, for example, Virtus Bologna was at the top of the table for a large chunk of the season due to Tornike Shengelia’s MVP-level play. That faded off, and so did Bologna.
That’s not what’s happening with Paris Basketball. This is more or less the same team that won last year’s EuroCup championship. TJ Shorts and Nadir Hifi are cooking, Collin Malcolm and Tyson Ward are the versatile do-it-all wings that space the floor, Mikael Jantunen is spacing the floor — no one in particular is separating themselves as a true EuroLeague star.
Newcomers Maodo Lo, Yakuba Ouattara and Kevarrius Hayes added quality depth and all three look better than they did last season. But like the original core, none of these guys would be considered stars. So how, in a league that has largely been dictated by star power, has Paris gone on this six-game winning streak?
Paris Basketball buys into what it does best
For starters, they are intense. They are tied for second in the league in pace during their winning streak and concede very few transition buckets at the opposite end. This intensity isn’t sustainable for extended stretches. Their first subs usually come into games after three minutes, with another set two minutes later, and that’s usually a brand-new five on the floor or close to it by the halfway mark of the quarter. This substitution is a carryover from last season’s head coach, Tuomas Iisalo, who is now an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies.
On offense, their approach can best be summed up as trusting their scorers to do what they do best: score. Shorts, Lo, and Hifi have a clear green light when the ball is in their hands. There’s an understanding — implicit or explicit — that they should try to get the best shot possible. They use ball screens regularly and look to get to the rim, but if that gets cut off they can look to reset — or if the shot clock is running down, opt for a tough shot. Mid-range, floaters and stepback threes are all on the table for these three scorers. Based on the eye test, it also looks like they’re almost directed to take a pull-up three if an opposing defender goes underneath a ball screen on them.
Their trifecta of guards is more than scorers, they all look for open teammates while creating and the likes of Ward, Malcolm, Ouattara, and Jantunen help space the floor. Paris is tied for third in three-point attempts per game at 29.7 during their win streak, and tied for eighth in accuracy making 37 percent of them.
Paris wins the possession battle too, coming in sixth in offensive rebounds per game during their win streak with 11.8 per game. Part of the reason they do this so well is because of their utilization of the dunker spot. Hayes, Leon Kratzer, and their other bigs are often positioned perfectly for dump passes on drives and thus positioned well to crash the glass too.
Simply put, Paris’ offensive scheme does nothing more than lean into its strengths. The ball primarily stays with their dominant scorers, and they are trusted to generate offense, to the point that occasionally, yes, they put up a shot that makes you grimace. Their tertiary pieces feed off the scraps - drive and kicks, offensive rebounds, dunker spot finishes, and more.
Aggressive defense is the name of the game for Paris Basketball
Defensively, Paris sticks to their aggressive modus operandi. They regularly pick up full court and apply heavy ball pressure for the duration of most possessions. Against pick and rolls and most ball screen action, they hard hedge and recover. They are constantly sprinting to execute rotations. How do they hide their small guards like Shorts? The same approach.
Shorts rarely picks up opposing teams' guards unless they are an opponent's worst offensive player on the floor. Paris hides Shorts on the team's fifth option, or a shooter, almost entirely dismissive of potential size mismatches. Against Barcelona in Round 10, he regularly guarded forward Joel Parra. Against Partizan in Round 9 he guarded Frank Ntilikina and Vanja Marinkovic. All of it is working. During this win streak, Paris has the best defensive rating in the EuroLeague at 104.5.
There is no secret sauce to Paris’ success. They lean into their strengths: fitness and conditioning, on-ball creation, spot-up shooting, and defensive pressure to create advantages. Through 10 Rounds of EuroLeague action, they’ve been able to capitalize on those advantages more often than not. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to win games.