Euroleague Group D preview and team-by-team analysis

GROUP D:

- Panathinaikos Athens

One of the top teams in this Euroleague competition, they return almost the entire roster from last year's Greek Champion team, losing Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Kostas Tsartsaris and marginal contributors in Marcus Banks, RT Guinn and Vasilis Xanthopoulos while adding Nikos Pappas, Vladimir Jankovic, Loukas Mavrokefalidis and veterans Mike Batiste and Antonis Fotsis (oh yes, and Chinese forward Shang Ping...).

Last season it seemed that Panathinaikos had a little trouble in rebounding the ball, particularly on the offensive end, if one between Stephane Lasme and James Gist was sit on the bench, but such a frontcourt also give to the team a poor offensive threat, particularly in the low post, despite the team's ability to feed these players: it could be very possible that coach Pedoulakis will chose to start with only one of them on the starting five, probably Lasme, the reigning Euroleague Defensive Player Of the Year, with Fotsis at the 4; Fotsis comes from a very disappointing season in Italy, but he reportedly did well enough in preseason, so the starting spot won't be a surprise. Batiste, also coming from a bad stint in Turkey, and Mavrokefalidis off the bench will have to guarantee that needed scoring production from the post.

The starting backcourt remains the same, with Dimitris Diamantidis, Roko Ukic (who's sidelined for the first month of competition because of an Achille's injury) and Jonas Maciulis, with the last one having a pivotal role with his defense, passing ability, shooting touch and post-up offensive threat. Michael Bramos and Ramel Curry will be needed off the bench, the former with his tremendous defensive presence, IQ and shooting from deep, the latter with his off the ball movement and ISO and pick and roll scoring. Jankovic will probably play at both forward positions, using his athleticism and shooting touch also as a 'stretch four'.

Is pretty obvious however that this team relies heavily on Diamantidis and has some trouble with playmaking when he's not on the court: Ukic is an excellent scorer with a strong first step but his decision making is often questionable, so this could very well be a big chance for Pappas to gain some minutes at the point, particularly with the Croatian player being injured. He won't be requested big responsibilities in setting his teammates up but will have to show good decisions with the ball, not hogging it and taking a smaller amount of shots than he used to.

With such a deep roster and players who know each other really well Panathinaikos is surely a front-runner in order to get the trophy, and could need a really small effort in order to win this depleted Group D.


- Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv

Another team that suffered a very bad 2012/13 season, Maccabi has made some major changein the roster: disappointing Nik Caner-Medley and David Logan have left the team as well as long-time member Lior Eliyhau, while Darko Planinic has been loaned to Cibona Zagabria.

Looking at the team the first thing that jumps to the eye is the absence of a true power forward other than rookie Jake Cohen: in fact in preseason David Blatt has played with an extremely small lineup with Joe Ingles and Devin Smith on the wings, Cohen playing sometimes at the 5 and a backcourt that often had on the court two between combo-guard Ricky Hickman, Yogev Ohayon, Tyrese Rice and Yuval Naimy.

The starting duo will likely be formed again by Ohayon and Hickman, with Rice and shooter Naimy coming off the bench: it seems that Rice will play more as a point guard than as an off the ball scorer, allowing Hickman to act mostly as primary scoring option, but his playmaking seems a little questionable to run the point in Euroleague; hence could be really important the presence of a smart passer and ball-handler like Ingles at the 3. The atypical starting five will feature Smith playing at the 4 and play defense on opposing power forwards, something that he has shown to be able to do better than Maccabi's other wing players, while Sylven Landesberg and veteran Guy Pnini will come off the bench. Landesberg has played very well in preseason and could be on the verge of a significant breakout season, as a swingman with tremendous physical and athletic tools that can easily score both off the dribble and off the catch.

Shawn James, an elite defender and one of the best shot-blockers in Europe, will be again the starting center and have a pivotal role in team's defense, especially in helping his teammates that will likely deal with a lot of mismatches. Behind him Maccabi brings back Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who comes from a disappointing stint in Athens but had previously well performed in his first experience in Tel Aviv; he will have a lot of scoring responsibilities in the paint and the 'larger' court and less crowded paint will likely make difficult to bring the needed double teaming on him. The last member of the frontcourt is Alex Tyus, an extremely athletic and tough player that should have a significant role in replacing James when he will forced on the bench, with the team needing some defensive impact and athletic contribution that Schortsanitis can't guarantee.

This is surely a team not as good as it was in the past, but still can be a tough matchup thanks to his 'small ball' that can easily stretch the court. However it seems that the lack of a big man able to play next to the three centers is a relevant one, that will probably make Maccabi suffer a lot inside the arc. Coach Blatt could try to overcome it by playing sometimes with two centers, but still it's a difficult way to play: that's probably why lately has been added to the starting five veteran David Blu, who makes a comeback after a one-year retirement.


- Laboral Kutxa Vitoria

Last season has seen the end of an era with the firing of Dusko Ivanovic. Sergio Scariolo is now back in Vitoria and has to deal with some inexperience in a young team that misses players like Nemanja Bjelica and Maciej Lampe.

In the backcourt has been added Walter Hodge and have been confirmed shooter David Jelinek and French duo of Thomas Heurtel and Fabien Causeur. Hodge is a good fit in this team, being a player who loves to hold the ball and needs to be able to create off the dribble, he has a lot of space and freedom on offense and will hardly have to ask for it; in Spanish Supercopa he has played in the starting five, but Scariolo could chose to start him off the bench in order to provide a quick change of pace the way he used to do in Zielona Gora, and let a more controlled player as Heurtel to run the offense. At the shooting guard spot seems that Jelinek will replace Causeur in the starting five after a really good preseason, and he'll have to guarantee the three point shooting that has brought Vitoria to choose him a few month ago in order to replace Brad Oleson. Maybe Jelinek could be a better fit next to Hodge with his ability to shoot off the catch, but a terrific all-around like Causeur will still have a pivotal role being the best backcourt defender.

In the paint have been signed Lamont Hamilton and Leo Mainoldi, which should be the starting duo and guarantee a high-level rebounding presence along with backup center Tibor Pleiss. Mainoldi is a really intriguing stretch four that can hit from beyond the arc while also be effective in the paint and play defense, but Hamilton despite the impressive toughness and assertiveness doesn't seem a perfect fit next to him, since Pleiss is a better defender and a more intimidating presence. Mainoldi has also suffered a sprained knee that will hold him off the court until November, and to replace him has been added with a two-month contract British center Dan Clark, a tall player with soft touch and deep range that however is not suited to play at the 4. So Andres Nocioni has been moved at the 4, with veteran Fernando San Emeterio taking the starting spot at the 3. This team's only Spanish player (besides youngster Ilimane Diop), he'll have again a pivotal role with his off the dribble crafty and smooth scoring.

Another tough loss is the one of Adam Hanga, who will likely be sidelined until December because of a knee injury: despite his relatively low experience, the Hungarian swingman is a player with impressive physique and athleticism that can score easily off the dribble, create for his teammates and get to the rim in transition, and could very well become one of the best European scorers. To replace him Laboral Kutxa has signed experienced Thomas Kelati, also with a two-month contract.


- Lokomotiv Kuban

As the reigning Eurocup champion, Lokomotiv Kuban has earned a C License to compete in Euroleague. This is a team that will rely heavily on pick and roll plays, having a backcourt that features notable ball-handlers in Marcus Williams, Sergey Bykov, Mantas Kalnietis, Krunoslav Simon and Maxim Grigoryev and two dynamic and athletic big men like Derrick Brown and Richard Hendrix that can set good screens and roll hard to the basket. Having often on the court three ball-handlers that can run the offense right from the defensive rebound will also allow a quicker transition, an area in which both Brown and Hendrix can hardly be stopped.

All of the guards can regularly score out of pick and roll situations, and the ball-share among them will surely help a player like Kalnietis, so athletic and explosive but also questionable in decision making. Williams instead seems to be a little out of place, having also the responsibilities to replace a much more steady player like Nick Calathes: he's and incredible passer with high-level court vision, but he's at his best if can have the ball in his hands and not in playing off the ball, and therefore this backcourt could limited him a bit giving also his streaky outside shot and poor effort on defense. A tremendous addition is the one of Simon, a much-needed glue guy that will have crucial tasks both in defending on opposite wings and in playing, as we said, as an effective ball-handler and passer on the offensive end. Maybe with Simas Jasaitis sidelined there's something missing in terms of three point shooting off the catch, a true backcourt specialist that could replace Jimmy Baron in hitting the open shot.

Jasaitis will likely have minutes both as a small forward and as a ‘stretch four’ once he'll return on the court, while the bench features Aleks Maric, Valeriy Likhodey and Alexey Zhukanenko, who is also sidelined in this season start, in the frontcourt. Overall it features good rebounders and pick and roll solutions, but the problem is that this team struggles in finding a way to score in the frontcourt besides pick and roll plays, and the inability to consistently feed the big men in post-up situations seems to hurt even more a player like Maric. Another key issue is post defense, since there's not a big man that can play consistent on-man defense in the paint: both Hendrix and Brown, despite the athletic profile, seems to lack the awareness to hold their own in this situations, and Maric has often foul troubles. But still this Lokomotiv Kuban team seems to have all the tools in order to get the Top 16


- Crvena Zvezda

Thanks to a good budget, the Belgrade team has been able to put together a good roster despite the painful loss of veteran Igor Rakocevic, who was last season's primary offensive weapon.

From what we've seen in preseason is Blake Schilb the actual go-to-guy thanks to his ridiculous versatility: with his advanced ball-handling and ability to score out of the pick and roll he's able to play the same type of side ISO that Crvena Zvezda ran for Rakocevic, while he can also run the transition right from the defensive rebound, which has an important part of Crvena Zvezda's scoring production. We've seen also that coach Radonjic has introduced one play in order to have Schilb to play a low post ISO, and the American player is also the best passer in this roster and the only one that can regularly make an entry pass to the big men.

Charles Jenkins otherwise seems to have too little possessions on the offensive end, still showing that he can score easily both with his jump-shot and in getting to the rim while playing under control. He could become one of the best scorers in Europe and play also at the point guard spot, but as for now he seems to have a marginal role. The third terrific addition to the backcourt has been Jaka Blazic, a top all-around player who can pass the ball and he's a terrific defender: this backcourt trio will have to handle the ball a lot and play the side pick and roll in order to create offensive opportunities, hence the uselessness of a true playmaker that can control the tempo.

In fact at the point guard spot has been confirmed athletic combo-guard DeMarcus Nelson, this team's top defender that can easily score in transition and get to the rim. A tough guard as Branko Lazic takes the starting spot next to Nelson, allowing Jenkins and Blazic to come off the bench, and he will be requested mainly defensive tasks and ability to knock open shots on offense. The backcourt is completed by young point guard Aleksandar Cvetkovic and 'three-and-D' contributor Marko Simonovic, a small forward that will likely play a good amount of minutes at the 4 giving Crvena Zvezda's poor depth chart in the frontcourt.

This frontcourt is indeed a little puzzling: Boban Marjanovic and Rasko Katic are the only realistic options at the center position, while the late loss of Boris Savovic at the 4 has been covered by a more limited player as Ivan Radenovic, moving young and inexperienced Luka Mitrovic into the starting five: there's a real chance that Crvena Zvezda will have to play with a three-man rotation in the frontcourt. What's more, Marjanovic is an enormous but really slow player and could struggle a lot in playing against tougher and more athletic big men, seeing his playing time well reduced in favour of experienced Katic, who is also a better offensive solution thanks to his soft touch.


- Lietuvos Rytas

Lithuanian team has earned a Euroleague bid by winning the Qualyfing Round on his own home court. The painful loss of Nemanja Nedovic at the point guard spot has been fixed with a kind of opposite player like Omar Cook: while the Serbian was able to easily get to the rim and struggled with decision making, Cook is instead a playmaker with an high IQ, who excels in set his teammates up, particularly on pick and roll plays, but can score mostly from beyond the arc being largely ineffective in attacking the basket.

A key addition in the backcourt has been the one of Martynas Gecevicius, a complete scorer and excellent shooter that will bring a much-needed alternative to Renaldas Seibutis on the wing, and also helps in improving a largely ineffective three point shooting. Both Gecevicius and Seibutis can also lessen Cook's offensive responsibilities by creating themself off the pick and roll, so can Milenko Tepic, a physically gifted combo-guard that however has always lacked the needed toughness and consistency in order to emerge. Off the bench come the two best perimeter defenders, Gediminas Orelik and particularly Steponas Babrauskas, which will have mostly a spot-up role on offense.

At the 5 there are two veterans like Andreas Glyniadakis and Darius Songaila, able to consistently score and get position in the paint but also with a rather slow footwork, while at the 4 will start Colombian Juan Palacios; off the bench come also a physical presence at the 5 like Tautvydas Lydeka, an intriguing inside-out option like Stevan Jelovac and face-up power forward Eimantas Bendzius. Despite having the trend of taking too many mid-range jump-shots on offense instead of trying to score in a more effective way like on cuts or on pick and roll plays, on the defensive end Palacios has a pivotal role in this team thanks to his rebounding prowess and versatility, being able to guard players both in the paint and on pick and roll plays: Glyniadakis and Songaila are a much bigger offensive threat, especially in the low post, but the 'small' lineup with a dynamic and athletic player like him at the 5 and one between Orelik and Babrauskas at the 4 has seemed to be the most reliable one, stretching the court and not crowding the paint on guards' drive. Another intriguing option is a Jelovac-Palacios frontcourt, with the Serbian that could be a good compromise between the centers' paint presence and forwards' court stretching ability.

There's a lack of bench scoring, particularly in the backcourt where an explosive and physical guard would maybe be needed, but overall this team is assembled well enough and could really aim for the fourth spot in this Group D.