Going into tonight’s games four, nothing has changed within the elite, though mid-pack much jostling for position may be seen. With the group leaders all in excellent position to at least solidify a strong hold on a semifinals berth, this could prove to be a make-or-break week for no fewer than those nine sides in the scrum.

The key word for week four, then, in BallinEurope’s estimation: Injuries. The ‘bug is truly hunkering down amid some Euroleague teams, and one could build a pretty decent roster from those who are out, questionable or hampered this week. Potential difference-makers who will be sitting include, among others, Viktor Khryapa (CSKA); Ante Tomic (Real Madrid); Omer Onan, Marko Tomas (Milano); Kerem Gonlum, Ermal Kuqo (Anadolu Efes); Steven Smith (PAO); and Shawn James (Maccabi Tel Aviv).

Below run another edition of the BiE power rankings as we enter this decisive week. Once again, please note that these rankings are an indicator of how teams are trending, with some consideration given to play in other leagues and heavy emphasis on Euroleague results.

Without further ado, then, onto the rankings! Go ahead, you can guess the first four, surely…

Prospective quarterfinalists
1. (↔) CSKA Moscow (13-0 in Euroleague play overall; 10-1 in VTB United League, 8-1 in PBL)
2. (↔) FC Barcelona (12-1 EL; 16-3 ACB)
3. (↔) Montepaschi Siena (11-2 EL; 14-5 Serie A) – Will anything change among the top four straight through to Istanbul? Barça and Siena are red-hot while, Viktor Khyrapa or no, CSKA is deep enough to have the luxury of choosing which two players to bench at upset-minded Galatasaray. No one could fault any of these team’s fans for looking into lodging in Istanbul in May.

4. (↔) Unics Kazan (10-3 EL; 10-1 VTB; 4-4 PBL) – Kazan took a loss in Russia on Sunday at Triumph Lyubertsy, 71-61, and uglied things up in last week’s 56-44 win versus Milano. Luckily, at this juncture when EL teams must avoid shooting cold, the Russian side gets to beat up on the Armanis again tonight.

On the cusp
5. (↑) Panathinaikos (9-4 EL; 14-1 Greek League) – They’re baaaaaaaaack! The only question is, is it for good this time? The team’s 77-56 immolation of Fenerbahce Ulker last week put PAO back in the driver’s seat for at least one of those two Group G seeds for the quarterfinals; this week, all the Greens must do is overcome that same Ulker team sans Omer Onan. And in Athens.

6. (↔) Real Madrid (10-3 EL; 15-4 ACB) – How concerned should Los Blancos be after losing to Gescrap Bilbao at home on Sunday? A bit, perhaps; how do you lose while shooting 58.33% overall, including 10-of-19 on threes? Not only does the loss knock Real back into second place on the ACB table, they enter tomorrow night’s match against Bilbao at 1-2 in head-to-head play and with Ante Tomic not 100%. (And that’s the sound of a few thousand Madridistas biting fingernails.)

7. (↑) Bennet Cantu (7-6 EL; 11-8 Serie A) – An impressive 82-74 win over Maccabi plus the addition of Doron Perkins equals this year’s Euroleague Cinderella story.

8. (↓) Maccabi Tel Aviv (8-5 EL; 18-1 ABA; 12-2 Ligat Ha’al) – BiE will quote his own answer to Euro-Step’s question, “Which team has underperformed the most?”: “Not even close: Maccabi Tel Aviv. Supposed to be a F4 contender and killing in the ABA … what is happening with these guys in EL?”

9 (tie). (↓) Galatasaray Medical Park (5-8 EL; 13-3 TBL)
9 (tie). (↑) Olympiacos (7-6 EL; 15-1 Greek League) – Blowouts as equalizer: The Reds may have put in their best Euroleague performance of the 2011-12 season with their emphatic 83-65 win over Fenerbahce Ulker, while Galatasaray simply could not hang with CSKA. BiE has the teams deadlocked because at present the Turkish side holds the tiebreaker in Group E.

The most excellent news for Olympiacos from the Ulker game was the excellent distribution in scoring. BiE reckoned the Reds need to find production from someone other than Vassilis Spanoulis, and last week they found lots of someones – Kostas Sloukas, Richard Dorsey, Kostas Papanikolaou … this is the kind of balanced attack Oly needs to bring for the rest of the EL race.

11. (↑) Gescrap Bilbao Basket (6-7 EL; 10-9 ACB) – Bilbao readied for its third match against Real Madrid in a week by topping the former ACB table-toppers on Sunday, though the Gescrappers can hardly count on the lights-out shooting they found then. This week, the storyline promises the upstarts homecourt advantage and the Euroleague-activated Mamadou Samb.

Struggling, crashing, and/or burning
12 (tie). (↔) Fenerbahce Ulker (7-6 EL; 11-5 TBL)
12 (tie). (↓) Anadolu Efes Pilsen (6-7 EL; 14-2 TBL) – Not such a great year for Istanbul to host the Euroleague Final Four tournament after all, perhaps. The three Turkish franchises remaining are a disappointing 5-10 in the past five weeks of EL play.

14. (↔) Zalgiris Kaunas (4-9 EL; 5-6 VTB; 12-0 LKL) – Hey, have you heard that Sonny Weems was the top vote-getter for the LKL All-Star Game? No, it doesn’t have much to do with the Euroleague, but it *is* good news.

15. (↔) Unicaja (4-9 EL; 12-7 ACB) – Now 2-7 in 2012, Unicaja’s recent 0-4 run has seen them lose by an average of 16 points. Of course, the offense could be worse. It could be like that of…

16. (↔) Emporio Armani Milano (5-8 EL; 12-7 Serie A) – Seriously? 44 points? That was in one half, right?

First, to set the table a bit for the thriller-capping final bucket in this week’s Eurocup match between the visiting Italian side and Lokomotiv Kuban: Benetton had trailed throughout the Group L matchup before finally putting together a 14-1 run to close out the third quarter and enter the final ten minutes up 55-53.

After some nip-and-tuck, Benetton found itself with a two-point deficit with 3.4 seconds remaining on the game clock. Taking the ball out of bounds after a timeout, Sani Becirovic appeared to have been ordered to look for a game-winning shot opportunity. (Gutsy call by coach Aleksandar Djordjevic; while common wisdom says to play for the win on the road, still. Gutsy.)

With 19 points already to his credit, Thomas broke free from his defender thanks to beautiful pick by Benjamin Ortner and found an open spot on the left side beyond the arc. Though Ali Traore came over to defend Thomas, well, just recall that old basketball axiom about never leaving your feet too soon…

Best of all for Thomas’ side, the clutch shot and subsequent W put Benetton into a tie with the Lokomotiv for group supremacy with three games to go in the Last 16 round.

Kyle Singler landed at Real Madrid after the departure of Rudy Fernandez, who had played the first 10 league games with Los Blancos, back to the NBA after the player lockout ended. The Real brain trust then decided to spring for the Real Madrid forward who until then had played the start of the 2011-12 season with Lucentum Alicante, contributing great performances and helping Alicante to stand firm in the top positions in the Liga Endesa.

As an athletic wing player with good physical abilities and great individual technique, Singler met the necessary criteria to substitute for Fernandez. Head coach Pablo Laso bet big on him, and Singler is gradually achieving a greater role in winning the team game. Madrid has a large staff, and it’s not easy for a newcomer to break into the team, but with hard work and commitment, Singler is improving his contribution within the team – something all his teammates are beginning to notice.

Singler debuted for Madrid in week 11 of the ACB season against Asefa Estudiantes, scoring his first five points for the Whites in 12 minutes. From that moment, he began to see more playing time, gradually seeing his minutes increase to about 20 per game; his work has proportionally grown in scoring, though with Madrid, Singler has not quite reached the numbers he achieved with Alicante. His 10 points last Sunday at Fuenlabrada was his high with Real Madrid in Spain, although in Euroleague games against Anadolu Efes and Unicaja Malaga, the new Madridista went for 12 and 13 points, respectively. His averages with Los Blancos include 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.75 assists in 17.5 minutes per game.

Beyond numbers, Singler’s real contributions to Real Madrid translates are in the intangibles of trust. Laso trusts him, and in recent games Singler has been a fixture on the floor late. The rotation allows Singler to team with Carlos Suárez, thus giving Los Blancos two tall and strong bodies able to shoot from outside while also cleaning up off the glass.

Singler is doing well in team play, providing safety and strength on D. His physical condition allows him to defend smaller players as well as bigs, with his ability to work his height and intensity against 2s and 3s. He makes few mental and physical errors, for which his team is grateful. Moreover, his technical proficiency makes him a great option on the fast break, the main feature of the Madrid game in 2011-12. In short, Singler is growing in importance within the team, and his numbers are slowly improving as he makes his presence more obvious.

What can Real expect of Singler for the remainder of the season? For now, Laso’s player has managed to adapt to his role within the template, i.e. in the starting forward role in rotation with Suarez. The team must expect an increase in scoring from Singler, as his confidence increases and he more completely adapts within the team. Singler must offer a greater number of shots, especially from outside, and to support Jaycee Carroll’s contribution from the perimeter. Singler is able to score threes, and should be exploited much more in this area. Most importantly, Madrid must keep working with Singler to keep him on his current path of success.

Traditional advisory warning: These ratings are pretty much highly subjective, as they are formulated from one source, i.e. BiE, and are based on the way teams are trending at present. While play in other leagues was considered, emphasis was put on Euroleague performance especially, and particularly on the two games each has registered in Top 16 play.

And on to the rankings!

The undefeated
1. (↔) CSKA Moscow (12-0 in Euroleague play overall; 9-1 in VTB United League, 8-1 in PBL)
2. (↔) FC Barcelona (9-1 EL; 13-3 ACB)
3. (↑) Montepaschi Siena (10-2 EL; 13-5 Serie A) – No surprises here, unless you count the emphatic statement wins recorded by each of these elite teams in week two at Maccabi Tel Aviv, vs. Anadolu Efes, and at Real Madrid, respectively. NBA fans are chattering about a shortened season? Ha! With each of these teams at 2-0 and having knocked off the no. 2 contender within their groups, they’ve all made the 2011-12 EL Top 16 round a hell of a lot more urgent for nearly every side in the big league.

4. (↑) Unics Kazan (9-3 EL; 10-1 VTB; 4-3 PBL) – Two exclamatory questions: One, who would have thought that the most important American player in Russia this season would be Henry Domercant? And two, how ‘bout this dark horse, huh? Right now, Bad Henry is penciled in on BiE’s Euroleague All-Star squad, and he’s certainly to be worth watching tonight against Emporio Armani Milano after his amazing 7-of-11 overall shooting display for 21 points at Panathinaikos in week two.

The undeterred
5. (↑) Galatasaray Medical Park (5-7 EL; 13-3 TBL) – Unlike other sides that squeaked through into the Top 16 (Olympiacos, Milano, BiE’s looking at you…), Galatasaray has shown itself to be capable of playing with the big boys after all. The inspiring overtime win against the Reds in week resulted in a huge step toward the tournament round and a big jump in these power rankings. Of course, with the Big Red Machine hosting this Turkish side tomorrow night, this may be as high as Galatasaray ascends on this table.

6. (↓) Real Madrid (9-3 EL; 15-3 ACB) – Perhaps BiE is calling this one a bit early, but could the disappointing home loss to Montepaschi – to be fair, one of the few teams in Europe who can keep up with this season’s free-shooting, fast-running Real – indicative of the team’s traditional late-winter swoon that annually seems to set them firmly in second place at home and abroad behind FC Barcelona? (Unfortunately, ACB wins against Caja Laboral Baskonia and at Fuenlabrada don’t tell us especially much.)

7. (↓) Panathinaikos (8-4 EL; 14-1 ESAKE) – Every week this Euroleague season, BiE measures his estimation of PAO’s true standing on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents utterly superstitiously believing that the Greens can’t advance to the EL championship and 10 represents the faith that clever coach Obradovic has his boys playing possum and conserving energy for later rounds, NBA-style. After the six-point loss to Kazan in which “the Greens allowed a Euroleague opponent at OAKA the most points in the regulation 40 minutes in [just over five years when] Partizan won there 93-80 on January 24, 2007,” the meter’s around a 3.5.

8. (↓) Maccabi Tel Aviv (8-4 EL; 17-1 ABA; 12-2 Ligat Ha’al) – BiE can’t decide which loss is more perplexing: The crazy 26-point beatdown Barcelona handed them last week (with Juan Carlos Navarro limited by injury, no less) or the five-point upset by visiting eight-place Maccabi Ashdod back home on Monday night. What is going on in Tel Aviv…?

The undefined
9. (↑) Gescrap Bilbao Basket (6-6 EL; 9-9 ACB) – Still hanging on in its inaugural Euroleague bid with a sweet win against the reeling Unicaja Malaga, Bilbao must face Real in Madrid tonight for the second time in three days … and on Sunday, Madrid delivered a 22-point defeat.

10. (↔) Anadolu Efes (6-6 EL; 14-2 TBL) – Yet another backer-in, Anadolu is now in complete stumbling mode after the drubbing handed them by CSKA Moscow last week. This Turkish side is a disappointing 1-3 in its last four Euroleague games and pretty much needs to win against Olympiacos to keep in the race for the tournament. No word yet on Tarance Kinsey, whose playing time has been limited in January due to a minor injury.

11. (↑) Bennet Cantu (6-6 EL; 11-7 Serie A) – Like Anadolu Efes, Cantu is on a 1-3 “run,” with its own losing streak snapped thanks to the heart-stopping one-point win against Zalgiris Kaunas. Like Galatasaray, this week’s ranking could represent the peak for this team in 2011-12.

12. (↓) Fenerbahce Ulker (7-5 EL; 11-5 TBL) — The return of Roko Ukic was enough to get Fenerbahce past Milano last week … barely. There doesn’t seem to be much chance of them holding Panathinaikos to just 32 two-point attempts tomorrow night, either.

The underwhelming
13. (↓) Olympiacos (6-6 EL; 14-1 ESAKE) – Vassilis Spanoulis’ Euroleague stat line: 31.0 minutes, 19.4 points, 4.5 assists, 0.5 steals per game. The best marks posted by other Olympiacos players: 21.0 mpg (by Georgios Printezis), 9.4 ppg (Printezis again), 3.1 apg (Lazaros Papadopoulous), 0.8 spg (Lucas Kalin, Evangelos Mantzaris). The solution to the Reds’ woes: Clone Spanoulis three times over and put them on the floor with, say, Pero Antic.

14. (↔) Zalgiris Kaunas (4-8 EL; 5-6 VTB; 9-0 LKL) – Poor Zalgiris. Into a tailspin in VTB United League competition, Zalgiris caught a nasty case of Lebron’s Disease for the EL Top 16 round, first managed to play Maccabi tough in Lithuania and secondly running up a double-digit lead on Cantu in Italy before falling apart in the fourth quarter each time. Zalgiris is still in the running, one supposes, but a miracle – like maybe the return of Ty Lawson and not this sort – will indeed be needed with a Barcelona back-to-back on tap.

15. (↓) Unicaja (4-8 EL; 12-6 ACB) – The power rankings are all about trending … and BiE dares say no high-level team outside of Washington, D.C., is trending worse than Unicaja right now. After starting the season at a combined 8-2 in combined Euroleague and Liga Endesa play, this Spanish side has bottomed out to go 2-5 in 2012 thus far for an overall mark of 16-14, sinking into a fourth-place tie on the ACB table and essentially facing EL elimination vs. Montepaschi Siena tonight.

16. (↓) Emporio Armani Milano (5-7 EL; 11-7 Serie A)BiE’s said it before and BiE’ll say it again: “So much talent on paper, such limited success on the court…” Are all fingers officially pointed at Sergio Scariolo yet?

Enrico Cellini has gathered a few choice quotes from la Gazzetta’s interview with Nowitzki, including the German’s thoughts on his favorite Italian player, meeting Angela Merkel and topping Arvydas Sabonis.

On January 27, Dirk Nowitzki did not play for the Mavericks against the Minnesota Timberwolves but still brought home two interesting souvenirs from American Air Center. As you are reading BallinEurope, you don’t probably care too much about the diamond-encrusted $40K NBA championship ring (courtesy of Mark Cuban) that Dirk received in a touching ceremony (courtesy of Rick Carlisle), do you? Instead, what’s worth reporting about that night is the fact that Wunder Dirk also received the Europlayer 2011 award, an acknowledgement assigned by Italian Gazzetta dello Sport to the best European basketball player of the season.

You may see the ceremony here.

All right, so it wasn’t quite as dramatic as the ring ceremony but still …

Gazzetta dello Sport later published in its printed version an interview with Nowitzki, in which Würzburg’s finest touched on several topics.

Said Dirk on the loss in the 2005-06 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat: “That experience actually helped me – it made me improve: Now I handle the fourth quarter with more intelligence.”

However, Nowitzki then add that, for last year’s finals, he left his parents and his sister home because of that 2006 series: “They came in 2006 and it went badly: Too many distractions around. This time I wanted to stay focused. They really got mad at me. And now I regret such a choice!”

Asked which Italian NBA player he would like to have in his team, Nowitzki said, “Tough choice. Perhaps [Danilo] Gallinari, as he can play both small and power forward. He’s got a nice shot and the ability to draw fouls. But I like [Andrea] Bargnani, too – he’s improved a lot. He used to play only from the perimeter, and now he steps up.”

On his meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel: “She’s nice, I spent half an hour with her, she asked me a lot of questions – even though she doesn’t know a lot about basketball!”

On his future, Dirk said that “I’ll play for at least two more years. Afterward, I’d like to stay in the basketball world. I see myself as a teacher to the kids, but I still don’t know if I’ll do it here in Texas or in Germany.”

Finally, he has no doubts on the next challenge: “This is my sixth Europlayer award, I want to get one more, beat [Arvydas] Sabonis and be no. 1 in [Gazetta della Sport’s all-time] rankings.”

Ricky Rubio, Los Gasoles, Gallinari and Bargnani: You have been warned.

Enrico Cellini is lifelong basketball fanatic and a long-time sportswriter with a focus on Italy and Spain. He was born among European hoops, was raised watching the NBA, and thinks choosing between American and European basketball is like choosing between one’s mother and father. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his Italian-language blog Hoop Addicted.

Marko Savkovic today takes a look at Radnički’s comeback, particularly in light of exciting things from American players David Simon and Michael Scott.

“Until one’s star fades the other does not begin to shine,” goes a well known Serbian proverb. While news of the week depicted Hemofarm’s imminent collapse, the players of Radnički Kragujevac meanwhile reserved their time under the spotlight. After a disappointing start, they have beaten the likes of Red Star Belgrade, Cibona Zagreb and Partizan, to mention just a few, and are a strong – some even argue the strongest – contender ahead of the Serbian Korac Cup.

One should not be surprised. Although a relative newcomer to the Adriatic League (as well as to Serbian basketball), this team has evolved. Built around the charismatic persona of Miroslav Muta Nikolic, well known for his direct, no-nonsense approach to basketball, supported by an ambitious organization,* Radnički has managed to beat opponents with star-laden rosters. And in this modern Cinderella story, two Americans – playing their first ever season in Serbia – have proven vital for the team’s success.

(*How ambitious? The mayor of Kragujevac and former Vice-President of the Serbian Government, to cite two names, helped initiate the club’s move to Kragujevac and attracted sponsors.)

David Simon, first of the two U.S. players on the squad, has been good enough that he’s on the way to becoming the ABA regular-season MVP. After suffering early injuries to both his knees, which prevented him from playing in the NBA out of Indiana University Perdue (IPFW), Simon came to Serbia after building his career in Korea, Bulgaria and France.

Along with two other “regular underdogs,” Miljan Pavkovic and Steven Markovic, Simon exemplifies the way Radnički likes to play basketball: wide. Most offensive plays start with Pavkovic/Markovic and Simon going for the pick. If it goes in, great; if not, there will be someone lying in wait for the perimeter shot. When and if opponent’s defense is well set, isolation is played for Michael Scott or Boris Bakic, a surprise package on the low post. Although Scott can get carried away – once managing eight turnovers in a single game – he is better known for his ability to posterize anyone who stands in his way, say, Marino Bazdaric.

Simon and Scott’s numbers are at times impressive. For example, in Radnički’s away win at Cibona Zagreb, Scott scored 31 points on 10-of-14 field goal shooting while Simon, despite limited playing time, managed to score 26 with a hard-to-believe 11-of-14 from inside the paint. Against Partizan, it was Pavkovic’s turn to shine: The team captain scored 23, followed by Simon and Markovic, with 18 and 17 points respectively.

With Europe already in sight, Radnički could actually reach another milestone, this year’s ABA Final Four in Tel Aviv. In order to do so, the defense must improve, something coach Muta has been insisting on. Yet, aside from Bakic and Stefan Sinovec, there are no dedicated and hardworking defensive-minded players in the rest of the team: This is why Radnički allows its opponents way too many offensive rebounds and second-chance points.

Nevertheless, Radnički’s amazing comeback has been the story of the season so far. More surprise results are sure to come.

Marko Savkovic fell in love with basketball because: a) his older brother used to play, so it must have been a cool thing to do; and b) he witnessed Vlade Divac, Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc play an exhibition match back in 1988. After learning the fundamentals with Partizan Belgrade, Marko spent four years in FMP Zeleznik’s youth system and another three playing lower-division ball. Years later, as a political science graduate, he found a different career for himself, yet remained devoted to hoops. For BallinEurope, he will be closely following developments in the Adriatic league. You may write him at markosavkovic@gmail.com.

Most recent departures from the club include coach Zeljko Lukjić, who resigned his position yesterday, and Galatasaray addition Boris Savovic.

The perhaps soon to be renamed Vrsac is currently mired near the bottom of the Adriatic League table, tied for 11th of 14 teams with a record of 5-12 after the disastrous nine-game losing streak leading to Lukjić’s departure.

The news marks quite a blow for a club that has enjoyed some fantastic success since the millennium turned, with a 2004-05 Adriatic League championship and a second place finish in 2007-08; a silver medal in the 2000-01 Korac Cup; three seconds in the Serbian Cup tournament; and five appearances in the Serbian league finals, including back-to-back showings in the past two seasons.

While indicative of the general financial problems affecting professional sports in certain European nations, fans cannot be happy with another step back in what some see as a general devolution of Serbian basketball.

CSKA Moscow vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
• CSKA leads the all-time series between the teams, 8-7.
• Nenad Krstic has scored in double figures in each of his last 16 Euroleague appearances dating back to the 2003-04 season.
• Andrei Kirilenko and Nenad Krstic lead the Euroleague in index rating with at averages of 27.8 and 21.5 per game, respectively.
• Kirilenko also leads the Euroleague in blocked shots (3.2 bpg).
• Milos Teodosic is ranked second in the Euroleague in assists this season with a career-high 5.6 assists per game.
• Darjus Lavrinovic needs three more blocks reach 100 for his Euroleague career. With his next block, Lavrinovic will tie former CSKA big man Terence Morris for 12th place all-time.
• 2010 Euroleague Best Defender Viktor Khryapa needs only 4 more blocks to reach 100 blocks in his Euroleague career.
• Khryapa needs two more rebounds to reach the 500 mark for his Euroleague career.
• CSKA’s win streak is now at 12 games in a row dating back to last season.
• CSKA faced Efes in the quarterfinal playoffs of the 2005-06 season. CSKA swept the series 2-0 and continued on to win the Euroleague title.
• Tarence Kinsey has recorded at least one steal in each of his last 11 Turkish Airlines Euroleague contests.
• All-Euroleague forward Dusko Savanovic has registered double doubles in three of his last five Euroleague games.
• Last week, Savanovic set personal career highs in index rating (31), offensive rebounds (7), defensive rebounds (10), total rebounds (17) and minutes played (35).
• Savanovic has made at least one three-pointer in seven straight Euroleague appearances.
• Anadolu Efes has won just one of its last seven encounters with CSKA.
• The last time Efes won against CSKA in Moscow was in the 1998-99 season.
• Kinsey and Darjus Lavrinovic played together in Fenerbache Ülker last season. Together they won the Turkish League and Cup titles.
• Savanovic played in Unics Kazan in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons together with Lavrinovic and Dmitry Sokolov. Nikita Kurbanov spent part of the 2007-08 with the above trio in Kazan as well.
• The lines: CSKA Moscow, minus-12.5; over/under 155.5 points.

Gescrap Bilbao Basket v. Unicaja Malaga

• These two teams have never met before.
• Gescrap is looking for its first-ever win in the Top 16.
• Gescrap has committed more turnovers (15.7) than any other Top 16 team this season.
• Marko Banic has scored in double figures in all 11 of his team’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague games this season.
• D’Or Fischer’s average of 1.55 blocks per game is the best in competition history among players with at least three seasons played.
• Raul Lopez needs four more steals to reach the 100 mark for his Euroleague career.
• Roger Grimau has made 11 free throws without a miss this season.
• Alex Mumbru has made at least one three-pointer in each of his last seven Euroleague appearances.
• Kostas Vasiliadis played for Unicaja for a season-and-a-half. He arrived during the 2005-06 season and played the following one as well in Malaga. He helped the team win the 2006 ACB title. Berni Rodriguez was a teammate of Vasiliadis during that time. Jorge Garbajosa was also there for the first of those seasons and current Unicaja coach Chus Mateo was an assistant coach that season.
• Unicaja leads the Euroleague this season in offensive rebounding at 13.0 per game and total rebounds at 37.8 per.
• Unicaja is ranked last among the Top 16 teams in three-point accuracy at 29.1%.
• Jorge Garbajosa has made 22 straight free throws in Euroleague action.
• Garbajosa needs six more free throws made to reach 400 for his Euroleague career. He’s ranked 15th on the all-time list of free throws made.
• Last week Luka Zoric set career highs in points and index rating as he recorded his first Euroleague double-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds and a 33 index rating against Real Madrid.
• Garbajosa was a teammate of Axel Hervelle, D’or Fischer and Josh Fisher at Real Madrid during his time there in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
• Nedzad Sinanovic was a teammate of Raul Lopez, Axel Hervelle, Alex Mumbru and Josh Fisher at Real Madrid during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
• Coach Chus Mateo started his coaching career in the junior program of Real Madrid and later was an assistant coach on the first team.
• The lines: Bilbao, minus-4.5; over/under 152.5 points.

Real Madrid vs. Montepaschi Siena
• Siena leads the all-time series, 4-3.
• Madrid has the top-scoring offense in the Euroleague with 87.3 points per game and has scored more three pointers than any other Top 16 team with an average of 8.4 per game.
• Nikola Mirotic has made 14 consecutive free throws in the Euroleague.
• Mirotic scored the last basket in the game last week in the last second to give Madrid an important 80-81 win in Malaga.
• Sergio Rodriguez leads the Euroleague in assists this season with a career-high 5.8 assists per game.
• Jaycee Carroll has made at least one three-pointer in every Euroleague game this season.
• Carroll leads the Euroleague this season in three-point shooting percentage at 57.4%.
• Mirza Begic is ranked second in the Euroleague in blocks this season with 1.5 blocks per game.
• Begic has blocked at least one shot in five straight and seven of his last eight games.
• Martynas Pocius was a teammate of injured Rimas Kaukenas on the Lithuanian national team at FIBA EuroBasket 2011.
• Nikos Zisis needs two more three-pointers to reach 100 for his Euroleague career.
• David Andersen joined the exclusive Euroleague 2,000 career points club last week. He’s ranked 11th all-time at the moment, but is still 40 points behind Luis Scola for 10th place.
• Andersen is also only two rebounds from becoming the third player in competition to reach 1,000 career rebounds. He will join Nikola Vujcic as the only players to register 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
• Bo McCalebb has scored in double figures in nine straight Euroleague games.
• The first four encounters between these two teams were decided in favor of the home team while the last three were decided in favor of the road team.
• Madrid and Montepaschi played for third place at the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. Montepaschi won 80-62.
• Igor Rakocevic spent the 2005-06 season with Real Madrid and was teammate of Felipe Reyes that season.
• The injured Rimas Kaukenas played in Real Madrid in the 2009-10 season together with Felipe Reyes, Ante Tomic, Novica Velickovic and Sergio Llull.
• The lines: Real Madrid, minus-7.5; over/under 157.5 points.

Fenerbahçe Ülker Istanbul v. Emporio Armani Milano
• Milano leads the all-time series, 2-0, with the only time these two teams meeting in the 1996-97 season.
• Fenerbahçe Ülker is ranked last among Top 16 teams in assists with only 11.6 per night.
• Bojan Bogdanovic has scored in double figures in four straight and eight of his last nine Euroleague games, and is averaging 16.1 points per game on the road this season compared to just 8.4 points at home.
• Roko Ukic and Jacopo Giachetti were teammates at Lottomatica Roma during the 2007-08 season.
• Milano is ranked last among Top 16 teams in steals with only 4.4 per game and in total rebounds with 31.5 a night.
• Drew Nicholas needs only one more steal to reach 100 for his Euroleague career.
• Omar Cook started the season 3-of-17 from downtown, but has made 11 of his last 23 three-point attempts.
• Ioannis Bourousis is only eight rebounds behind injured big man Kerem Gonlum for seventh place on the career rebounding charts. Bourousis has 830 career boards.
• Bourousis needs three more steals to reach the 100 mark for his career.
• Leon Radosevic and Bojan Bogdanovic were teammates at Cibona Zagreb in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
• Nicholas and James Gist both played college basketball at the University of Maryland, though Gist joined the Terps two seasons after Nicholas finished.
• The lines: Fenerbahçe Ülker, minus-7.5; over/under 147.0 points.

Panathinaikos v. Unics Kazan
• These teams have never met in Euroleague play.
• Panathinaikos is one of three clubs that have never missed the Top 16 phase in its 11 years. FC Barcelona Regal and Maccabi are the other two.
• Panathinaikos leads the Euroleague in steals with 8.7 per game.
• Dimitris Diamantidis has made 19 consecutive free throws in Euroleague action dating back to last season.
• Diamantidis needs only four more assists to become the fourth player in Euroleague history to dish 600 assists.
• Sarunas Jasikevicius needs only five more assists to become the fourth player in Euroleague history to dish 600 assists.
• Steven Smith has made 10 consecutive free throws in Euroleague games.
• Panathinaikos has never advanced past the Top 16 round the season after winning the Euroleague title.
• Ian Vougioukas has blocked at least one shot in five of the last six games.
• Sarunas Jasikevicius was signed to replace an injured Lynn Greer last season in Fenerbahçe Ülker.
• Henry Domercant has hit at least one three-pointer in 11 straight and in 21 of his last 22 Euroleague games.
• Domercant is ranked second in the Euroleague this season in three-point shooting percentage at 54.2%.
• Unics has won seven of its last eight EL games.
• Kelly McCarty has made eight straight free throws in Euroleague action.
• Lynn Greer played two seasons – 2007-08 and 2008-09 – for Panathinaikos’ archrival Olympiacos.
• Domercant and Romain Sato were teammates in Montepaschi Siena during the 2008-09 and the 2009-10 seasons.
• Vladimir Veremeenko became the first Unics player to be named Euroleague weekly MVP when he nabbed the honor after producing 17 points, 11 rebounds and performance index rating of 32 in a win over Fenerbahçe Ülker.
• The lines: Panathinaikos, minus-11.5; over/under 146.5 points.

Bennet Cantù v. Žalgiris Kaunas
• Cantù leads the all-time EL series between the clubs, 2-0, with those meetings over 30 years ago in the 1980-81 season.
• Gianluca Basile has made at least one three-pointer in 11 of his last 12 Euroleague games.
• Basile needs two more assists to pass Marcus Brown and enter the Euroleague all-time top 10 in assists. He has currently 456.
• Basile took over third place on the list of career Euroleague games played, leaving former CSKA guard J.R. Holden one spot behind. Basile played his 210th game last week.
• Žalgiris has allowed more points than any other team in the Top 16 with 81.5 points allowed per game.
• Žalgiris has committed more fouls than any other Top 16 team with 23.9 per game.
• Marko Popovic has made at least one three-pointer in 33 straight Euroleague appearances. His last Euroleague game without a triple came in November 2006 with Žalgiris at home against CSKA.
• Paulius Jankunas needs two more steals to reach the 100 mark for his Euroleague career.
• Milovan Rakovic played the last two seasons in Italy with Montepaschi Siena and beat Cantù in the final of the Italian league last season.
• The lines: Cantù, minus-5.0; over/under 149.5 points.

Ask any coach what a young player needs to develop, and he will answer: “playing time.” Readiness to open the floor to skinny teenagers in order to gradually turn them into match winners used to be one of defining features of ex-Yu ball. Coaches were not advised only by their instinct. The talent pool was wider and deeper. The league was more competitive. Local teams were built on youth systems and were proud of the talent in store. Due to restrictions, these teenagers were not sold abroad early, while guys with more experience were kept on the roster. What was the end result? When one team that was neither from Belgrade or Zagreb – namely, Jugoplastika Split – achieved its unforgettable threepeat.

Two decades later, things have changed dramatically. There are fewer players to choose from. Many youth systems have collapsed due to lack of funding. Yet, teams still must win in order to attract publicity and sponsorships. In doing this, defense is the key. Points are built on discipline, patience, positioning and calculated aggression: This in turn translates into fewer minutes for the youngsters who must learn fast and impress quickly or leave.

Take for instance Danilo Andjusic, who rose to prominence as a 19-year old sharpshooter with Hemofarm. He has struggled with playing time since his arrival at Partizan, earning his right to become the team’s go-to guy in Saturday’s Adriatic League loss against Maccabi Tel Aviv only after Acie Law’s controversial departure.

Though questioned about inconsistency, Andjusic played superbly against the Pride of Israel. Positioned as a combo guard by coach Vladimir Jovanovic, he passed the ball around, made steals, forced fouls, and did what he does best: drained two successive three-pointers to open a run which ended in game’s 15th minute with Partizan up 34-21. Andjusic’s offensive intensity was paired with fine role-filling by Vladimir Lučić and Milan Mačvan. It was only Maccabi’s depth – Jon Scheyer and Yogev Ohayon somewhat unexpectedly scored important points – that forced Partizan into defeat.

Having no point guard in sight might just turn out OK for Partizan, as long as young guys get the space they need. Things won’t necessarily go that way, however.

One year Andjusic’s senior, Nemanja Nedovic has to fight for his minutes again after a move to Vilnius was reportedly called off at the last moment. What was his main concern? You guessed it: playing time. An explosive fast breaker who helped the fledgling Red Star avoid relegation last season, Nedovic found himself sitting on the bench as renowned coach Svetislav Pesic looked for options on both sides of the floor, not only in offense. It remains unclear who exactly started the rumor of imminent transfer or whether the player was in fact really halfway out the door. But we do know that, after what must have been a sleepless night, he paid a house call to his coach, humbly choosing to stay and improve his game.

(The top bolded bit in the Serbian-language Mondo article has Pesic stating that he is proud to have Nedovic on the team and that the player came to him for a tete-a-tete. Pesic also confirms that Nedovic had received an offer from another club. –Ed.)

Whether Nedovic staying will pay dividends for Red Star is still unknown. But so far, so good: in Friday’s opening game, Red Star topped Zlatorog 70-56, with six points scored by Nedovic.

Marko Savkovic fell in love with basketball because: a) his older brother used to play, so it must have been a cool thing to do; and b) he witnessed Vlade Divac, Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc play an exhibition match back in 1988. After learning the fundamentals with Partizan Belgrade, Marko spent four years in FMP Zeleznik’s youth system and another three playing lower-division ball. Years later, as a political science graduate, he found a different career for himself, yet remained devoted to hoops. For BallinEurope, he will be closely following developments in the Adriatic League. You may write him at markosavkovic@gmail.com.