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EuroLeague 26/02/2013, 19.35

Game of the Week, Top 16 Game 9: Top 10 questions

Montepaschi Siena vs. Fenerbahce Ulker...

EuroLeague
Montepaschi Siena vs. Fenerbahce Ulker

1 Off the mat?
With an 11-4 record since November 1, Montepaschi under head coach Luca Banchi is arguably the surprise team of the competition. However, Siena suffered its worst loss yet in losing by 31 at Maccabi last week. Can Siena bounce back quickly from its first knockdown of the season? 2 Answer man?
No stranger to FB Ulker, new head coach Ertugrul Erdogan was an assistant there since 2007 and even took over for his ill boss, Bogdan Tanjevic, for the playoff run to a Turkish League title in 2010. Can Erdogan make magic on short notice again? 3 Encore performance?
The only "problem" with Siena guard Bobby Brown's record-breaking 41-point explosion last month against FB Ulker, a Top 16 record, is that it came on the road in Istanbul. Can Bobby give Siena's crowd similar thrills against the same opponent? 4 Doctor defense?
FB Ulker's problems are defensive: it's allowing more points (90.1 ppg), two-pointers (25.1 pg) and assits (18.6 apg.) to opponents than any Top 16 team. Although he's facing Brown, can Bo McCalebb, the second-best stealer (2.1 spg.) in the Top 16, be the catalyst for an FB Ulker defensive turnaround? 5 Rebounding edge?
With two teams ranked in the bottom three in rebounding during the Top 16, one good rebounder could make a huge difference. FB Ulker has no player averaging more than 4.5 boards per game. Siena has two: Viktor Sanikidze (5.5 rpg), ranked sixth in per-minute rebounds this season, and David Moss (4.6 rpg.). Can they win the battle of the boards for Siena? 6 Shooting star?
With his 21.5 points per game, Fenerbahce Ulker forward Bojan Bogdanovic boasts the fourth-best scoring average in Top 16 history and the second best of the last decade. Can the 23-year-old gunslinger shoot FB Ulker back into the playoff race? 7 London calling?
Out of basketball a year ago and injured most of the regular season, Siena center Ben Eze is averaging 10 points and shooting 60% over the last four games, providing crucial cover for injured Tomas Ress. Now that he's back on form, can anybody be more inspired to reach a Final Four in London than Big Ben? 8 Heating up?
From a record-shattering 12.9 three-pointers per game in the regular season, Siena has dropped to 8.9 in the Top 16. In particular, Matt Janning and Kristjan Kangur have cooled off from 56.5% accuracy combined from downtown to 41%. But Janning made 4 two weeks ago, Kangur 3 last week. Is one or both about to heat up again? 9 Homecoming?
FB Ulker players Romain Sato, David Andersen and McCalebb won eight Italian League titles and played in four Final Fours over their combined eight seasons with Montepaschi. Will returning to Siena for their first official game since each last left inspire them to relive better days? 10 No-show?
Until he resigned from Fenerbahce Ulker's bench on Sunday, everyone in Siena was awaiting the return of former head coach Simone Pianigiani. Now, his absence from the sidelines will likely be on the minds of everyone, both teams and fans, at this game. How, if at all, will it affect FB Ulker and Montepaschi Siena?
E. Carchia

E. Carchia

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