What does Bayern need?
I was in the Audi Dome Arena to see the games of the local team Bayern Munich against two strong opponents CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos Piraeus. Bayern had good moments, they fought every second, they struggled to gain the lead but they had no chances to win.
These experienced teams were too tough for the German powerhouse and the main reason for this is that Bayern has actually no strong center, I mean a classical one like Ioannis Bourousis or Ante Tomic. The German squad have talented guys on every position, but the roster is incomplete because they have just power forwards like Derrick Williams, Devin Booker, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel. The only taller player is coming from the bench for a couple of minutes: it’s about Leon Radosevic (2,08 m) who is averaging 2,9 points and 1,5 rebounds per game. Not enough even for a bench player.
The same problem of the missing center occurred for Bayern in the last game at Gran Canaria. Despite the win, the German team was dominated in the paint by the big men Ondrej Balvin (2,17 m), Anzejs Pasecniks (2,16 m) and Kim Tillie (2,10 m). Fortunately, Bayern won the clash with a 16-0 run in the 4th quarter, but the absence of the strong centers will be back every game! They need at least 2 big fellows to fill these position. They cannot be a competitive team without taller centers.
Graţian Cormoş, info@brainbasketball.net
