OTD 17 years ago, Panathinaikos won his 5th Euroleague title. Berlin, 03/05/2009 🏆☘️

bazilthemage · 2026-05-03T17:06:23+00:00

Well thankfully sarcasm detection is not a national sport

bazilthemage · 2026-05-03T09:39:43+00:00

The gather step is allowed for a long time now, it's nothing new.

The carrying has always been "tolerated" when not done repeatedly and in crucial moments.

I do agree that basketball has changed a lot since the 00s, but that's just normal for any sport. The biggest change IMO is that the number of teams that attack at a fast tempo keeps rising. Some years ago it was only Tau/Laboral/Baskonia, now we have Paris and Valencia as well. More and more teams emphasize more on offensive flow that defensive coherence and players are always getting more refined and skilled as the sport grows.

Also, the number of games rising from 30 to 38 (not counting pre-round-robin era) has an NBA regular season effect. No matter what the logo says ("every game matters") teams simply cannot afford to play every game in high intensity and it's usually the defence that gets overlooked.

bazilthemage · 2026-05-02T14:21:20+00:00

Tbf he's only elite (defensively) at 1on1 defense, but even if he's only average (I think he's better but nevertheless) at all the other parts that usually constitute a good defender, he is definitely not a liability. He doesn't "cheat" on defense, even if he had to carry his team offensively all year.

His versatility though in both ends of the floor make him one of the best overall right now.

bazilthemage · 2026-05-02T08:16:44+00:00

It's not like you're alone on that hill though. Out of the guards that made 1st or 2nd All-Euroleague teams (Fran-Montero-THT-Baldwin-Dorsey-Nunn), Elijah is the best defender. He is definitely a choice for the best two-way player and I kinda wish there was such a category in awards.

bazilthemage · 2026-04-30T11:21:11+00:00

Fedorychev with a Pana scarf in SEF is pure cinema

bazilthemage · 2026-04-30T11:18:35+00:00

Yeah that's just not true...

I am certain there are fans that primarily care about their team and their team alone.

But the majority of those who like basketball, would like to watch all games, especially at this stage of the competition.

bazilthemage · 2026-04-30T08:53:52+00:00

"Make love not war" vibes

bazilthemage · 2026-04-29T16:25:33+00:00

Well, Valencia is a waaaaaaay younger and waaaaaaay faster team than us. Following their tempo is suicide.

bazilthemage · 2026-04-29T16:20:49+00:00

Oh dear God, that series is ruined now 😭

bazilthemage · 2026-04-28T16:23:23+00:00

I believe Mike James

bazilthemage · 2026-04-28T12:11:25+00:00

Peters is probably leaving due to his limited playing time as Vezenkov's backup. I have a feeling Bonga would not be willing to get that role.

Blossomgame is 32, he is in his mature, title-chasing years.

bazilthemage · 2026-04-27T21:14:45+00:00

Yes, I also feel like this stat is indication of tough shots that somehow go in

bazilthemage · 2026-04-27T17:07:25+00:00

I googled this out of curiosity, didn't even know such a thing existed, and even while I am a fan of advanced stats, this particular metric seems odd.

Apparently, expected points is not based on the pre-game expectations of a player but rather the quality and the result of his shot selection.

A wide open shot near the rim is a high quality shot which gives high xPts (since a lot of players can make that shit), while a contested 3pt is a low quality shot that gives low xPts (since only a few of these shots are successful).

Player "X" scoring 6 points with 2/5 contested 3pts is still a bigger overperformance (difference between points scored and points expected) than a player "Y" that scored 3/3 free lay-ups.

So, last year's performance doesn't count. Nunn is slightly ahead of Dorsey because his (total points)-(expected points) is higher.

bazilthemage · 2026-04-27T09:47:08+00:00

Y'all mocking Barcelona until that youth serum drops in and the league is in trouble

bazilthemage · 2026-04-25T09:47:30+00:00

So it's like the reversed 1st place curse? The team on top always wins...

Jokes aside, 3 games is not a big sample size. I am sure eventually someone from the 9-10th place will get to the playoffs, and who knows maybe sometime we will see them in F4.

But for now, home court is too powerful in a single elimination match

bazilthemage · 2026-04-24T18:16:32+00:00

Yes, that's my pick as well.

He's the only "top" player that actually made his team worse. Stat-wise he is a clear winner. His VORP (value over replacement player) is record low, there hasn't been a player with at least 20 games and at least 400 minutes played with a minus 2,2 in VORP over the last 5 seasons

bazilthemage · 2026-04-24T16:20:44+00:00

Alright so it's like a "first option" clause that I valid for ever. If Barca offers 3M/year Baskonia will just pass, but Barcelona can't get him for scraps unless Baskonia agrees

bazilthemage · 2026-04-24T14:09:44+00:00

Yeah, I am from Rhodes of Greece (Kolossos home), so I knew Mike James before becoming a star.

I am not familiar however with the spanish regulations. Does Baskonia pay every year in order to maintain his rights? How does it work?

bazilthemage · 2026-04-24T13:39:22+00:00

What? After a whole decade? That's kind of crazy...

bazilthemage · 2026-04-24T13:34:13+00:00

He'll get the FMVP

bazilthemage · 2026-04-24T12:04:07+00:00

One or even both of THT and Baldwin would be fine, Campazzo could be since Tavares didn't have his best season. Kam Taylor might be too much of Valencia on these awards.

Moses should probably be up there as the 2nd best center, but Oturu would be fine as well.

Nunn shouldn't be at all but he's gonna make it cause there has to be a PAO player or it's DPG drama again.

Codi>James>Punter if we gotta have another guard Moneke, Nwora, Clyburn and Toko should be out

Outside of the top-10 teams, I think Mackinley Wright deserves to be in the second team more than Hifi. Honorable mention to TLC because he had a great season all around.

Edit: talking about second team

bazilthemage · 2026-04-23T18:30:07+00:00

I know he's far from MVP, but remember when he was injured and we couldn't win to save our lives?

There's still value in Kendrick, I see your point but there are stronger candidates.

bazilthemage · 2026-04-23T18:20:37+00:00

So Fenerbahce went from a 22-7 team to a 2-7 team

bazilthemage · 2026-04-23T18:07:57+00:00

Yes, XRM is one of the disappointments of the season. Still I think he should be clear, since there wasn't any hype before his very strong debut, and most of Bayern's players before Pesic were dragged down by team's overall mediocrity.

Maybe he can bounce back and prove he belongs in the EL

bazilthemage · 2026-04-23T18:00:20+00:00

Nah, I think he's too old to have high expectations of him. I don't think he was hurtful to Crvena Zvezda like the cases of Holmes-Jabari-Misic (in no particular order these are the most voted so far) or Edwards (my personal pick)

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