What Bayern can do in the Euroleague, with this roster?
What Bayern can do in the Euroleague, with this roster?
The story continues for Bayern Munchen in Europe most powerful basketball competition after winning another German title, second in a row. In the Finals, they beat ALBA Berlin, another great team from Germany and the second German team that will play in Euroleague. Bayern won all three games, by small difference, including a Game 3, where the match finished in overtime.
In last Euroleague season, Bayern finished in 11th place with a 14-16 record. At home, they played pretty well finishing with a 10-5 record, with victories over Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce or Barcelona. But away they managed to get only 4 wins out of 15 matches.
This year they surprised bringing in one of the biggest names to step in the European basketball ever. It’s about Greg Monroe (29 years-old, 2.11m, PF – Center), the former number 7 draft pick in 2010 for Detroit Pistons. He played in 632 NBA games, averaging 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. In the last few years, he faced many injuries that kept him to only 16 starts in two years. In his first years at Detroit, he was seen as one of the best power forwards in that period and he managed to be a very important piece in a rebuilding Detroit team. Last season he played for Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia.
Another addition to the squad was last year German league assists leader T.J Bray (27 years-old, 1.94m, point guard) from Rasta Vechta. He finished with 8.1 assists and 15.6 points alongside 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He had a wonderful season and will definitely help Bayern`s offense. The last addition for Bayern, as for now, is Josh Huestis (27 years-old, 2.01m, Forward). He played last four seasons for Oklahoma City Thunder and his G-affiliate. He played in 69 NBA games for OKC.
Bayern has kept several key members of the squad like Nihad Djedovic, Alex King, Vladimir Lucic and so on. But the departures of Stefan Jovic, Nemanja Dangubic, Derrick Williams and Devin Booker will count a lot.
With the addition of Monroe, Bayern affirms that have huge expectations from this year. They aim to clinch a playoff spot and battle for a place in the Final-Four. But, in my opinion, their squad is average. They need more players and more offensive power in order to gain a better place than last year. Maybe their budget will allow them to add some new players, but with the current roster, they will finish in the same place as last year: 11th.
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
What Bayern can do in the Euroleague, with this roster?
