Returning to the records lists
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| Vladimir Stankovic, Euroleague.net |
Veteran sportswriter and Euroleague.net collaborator Vladimir Stankovic has been following the best basketball on the continent longer than almost anyone journalist, writing for decades about the sport in major publications in both Serbia and Spain. For the new 2009-10 season, he offers a series of opinion blogs about what's happening on and off the court in the Euroleague.
It is not very often anymore that just any player is able to crack the top-ten list of the best single-game individual performances this decade in the Euroleague. In fact, there had been only one player in almost four years who piled up a high enough index rating - the numerical result of a formula to turn game statistics into a performance ranking - to put his name in the Euroleague's top 10. The best-rated game ever - a 63 index rating by Tanoka Beard, came in 2004 with Zalgiris, the same year that Dejan Milojevic rated 55 for Partizan, an index matched by Jaka Lakovic way back in 2001, in just his second Euroleague game, when he played for Krka Novo Mesto of Slovenia. The 54 rating of Marko Popovic, then with Cibona, came in 2003, the same year as a 50 by Arvydas Macijauskas of Tau Ceramica. Only Tomas Van Den Spiegel, who also rated a 50 for Prokom in 2007, has been able to join that impressive list over the last four years...until now.
Already this season, there are two new names there. The first after so many years to break through came in this season's very first week, when Darjus Lavrinovic of Real Madrid, in his return to the Euroleague after four years, rated 49 against Khimki Moscow Region. The next list-jumper is complete Euroleague rookie, Aleksandar Maric of Partizan, who equalled Lavrinovic's 49 on Thursday with a rare double-double of 34 points and 16 rebounds. Those numbers made Maric the Euroleague's season leader so far in average index rating (26.1 per game), while he ranks second in rebounds (9.7 rpg) and third in scoring (18.3 ppg.). Most importantly, Maric's performance delivered a key victory against great opposition to Partizan and its legions of fans in Belgrade.
Partizan and Efes Pilsen offered up a great game, an offensive festival with two completely different playing concepts that were nonetheless equally efficient - save for one point at the end. Partizan forced its inside game to take advantage of Maric's dominance and its whole team's amazing rebounding superiority (40-19). Efes used its "heavy artillery" from a distance, relying on the perimeter trio of Charles Smith, Igor Rakocevic and Bostjan Nachbar. The end result was a 92-93 thriller with the crowning glory a sweet shot by Dusan Kecman with 2.8 seconds left, enough to win it for Partizan when Nachbar's last-moment attempt failed. The 185 points between the teams was the season's third-highest point total. The have been bested only by an amazing one-night stand in Group C during Week 4, when Olympiacos beat Efes 105-90 and Caja Laboral defeated Maroussi 86-103. In that same group that week, Maccabi beat Lottomatica 90-92 in overtime. Except for that last one, we are talking a lot of points for a 40-minute game.
Another big night
All of which is not to forget what Mirza Teletovic of Caja Laboral did on the road in Tel Aviv to help his team defeat Maccabi Electra, 81-92. His career-high of 28 points not only paced Caja Laboral to victory on one of the toughest courts to visit in the Euroleague, but his 8-for-14 three-point shooting tied him for the third-most triples this decade. He is now tied with Milos Vujanic, who hit 8 of 13 with Fortitudo in 2003, both following Thomas Kelati of Unicaja, 9 for 19 last season, and Saulius Stombergas, who was a perfect 9 for 9 with Tau Ceramica back in 2001. Performances like those of Maric and Teletovic promise a special season in terms of records, but for now, their night of records will be one to remember for all who watched.
The question
Of course, this week's Fan Mail promotion on Euroleague.net happens to be directed at Maric. Fans were invited to send him their questions - or which he'll answer the 10 best next week - even before his big night. That prompted me to think of the following:
How can this same player have averaged only 12 minutes, 4.36 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.4 index rating last season playing for Granada of the Spanish League?
Threes and fours
My grandmother used to say - I don't know why - that "the first cats get thrown in the water". I remembered this saying while considering this season from the viewpoint of the results by Lottomatica Roma and Asvel Basket. The team from the Italian capital started with three victories and won praise in this blog under a section called "Roman Holiday". Alas, after those three consecutive wins have come four consecutive losses, and Roma looks like it will have to fight to survive over the final three weeks of the regular season....The reverse process has touched Asvel. The French champs began the season 0-4 and now, after three consectuive victories, are sitting at 3-4, tied with Fenerbahce Ulker for third place in Group A, but holding a tie-break advantage between them. As always, it's less important how your start than how you finish.
The road to 200
Regal FC Barcelona veteran Gianluca Basile returned to the court for his team against Cibona in Zagreb last week, and in so doing, prevented Theo Papaloukas of Olympiacos and J.R. Holden of CSKA from passing him as the players with the most games played in the Euroleague this decade. All three have now played 184 games. If they stay healthy and one or more of their teams reach the Final Four after a playoff series of five games, any of them can make Euroleague history by becoming the first player to reach 200 games.
Speaking of numbers
Trajan Langdon of CSKA made 4 of 5 three-pointers to help his team win on the road at Roma this week, but he still needs one more triple to join the "300 club", which has only four players so far: Basile, Holden, Lakovic and Marcus Brown of Zalgiris.
With 9 assists against Zalgiris in Kaunas this week, Terrell McIntyre reached 246 in only 50 Euroleague games, for an average of 4.9 per game, the best career-long average of any player in the Euroleague this decade.
POSTED BY
Vladimir Stankovic, Euroleague.net
DATE:
Saturday, December 12, 2009