The derby of the round: Anadolu Efes – Real Madrid
Anadolu Efes Istanbul will host Real Madrid today in probably the most interesting game of Round 31 in the EuroLeague. The Turkish side is one of the teams that benefited from the reshaped standings after the licensed EuroLeague teams voted to cancel all the results of the Russian teams from this season. However, Efes is still just 5th and has a complicated week ahead with games against Real and Olimpia Milan. Not only the place in the standings is worrying for Ergin Ataman and the Efes fans, but the form of their team. This season Efes never really looked like the team that dominated Europe in the last two years and while they had a very good month of February, in the last two weeks they lost against Baskonia, Monaco (by 22 points) and just three days ago against Darussafaka in the Turkish league.
Larkin and Micic still play for Efes, Ataman is still at the helm of the team, so Efes certainly has the potential to beat anyone, but they should start to gear up now as we approach the most important part of the season.
Another coach that has to worry about his team’s performance and even his job’s security is Pablo Laso. Real played really well in the first few months of the season, but since the defeat in the El Clasico against Barcelona on January 23rd, the Blancos lost ten games in all competitions (they have a 10-10 record in this period). The home win against Milan was absolutely essential as it broke a four-game losing streak, but Real looked weak again on Sunday against Manresa, when they lost by 11 points. With four games left to play in the regular season, Real is 2nd in the standings but could fall to the 4th place (in the worst case scenario).
Right now Real seems tired, some of their veterans are starting to show their age and on the offensive end the team struggles. However, they have experience, a deep roster and a win tonight in Istanbul could mean a lot for the team’s confidence ahead of the playoffs.
Image: EuroLeague
Imre Halasz
