It was a wild first week in this new Euroleague season. Wild – and entertaining, but not really the highest level yet on most courts. No surprise, it is only the beginning of the season, the teams need time to gel together, especially since it has been a busy transfer summer yet again, with not just players, but also a star coach [Ettore Messina] changing sides. No doubt, as the season unfolds, this competition is going to be extremely interesting. Just a random list of my thoughts here.
THE BIG SHOT
The Victor Khryapa buzzer beater to start off the Wednesday action shouldn’t have happened from Maroussi’s perspective. Clearly a great, difficult shot in a high rainbow arc over the outstretched arms of the defender, unlucky for the Greeks that this one went in. However, the crossfield pass to a three point threat that is facing the basket with only about 7 meters of distance towards it shouldn’t have happened, and even if it did, he shouldn’t have had the time to get a good look at the basket and bring the ball up without someone directly in front of him. Dimitris Mavroeidis didn’t recover quickly enough from helping out on the inside. Anyway, a very good game [13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks] for the young 1985-born center, who had already left a strong impression in the qualifying rounds. The same goes for his teammates: Maroussi had a very impressive, disciplined performance on both ends of the floor, executing the pick and roll clinically and creating plenty of open looks, which they had a bit of trouble converting – probably the only negative thing you can say about Wednesday’s performance. Never forget to put those performances into context: Maroussi is doing it with a mini budget, probably significantly less than two million Euros overall.
