Star Trek: The Fall of the Superstars in the Euroleague - Walla! sport

Last Thursday, Yannis Sapropoulos feared that the nightmare scenario was about to shatter before his eyes - and Maccabi Tel Aviv will be the victim of the evening when Alexei Sheved will finally explode. The middle of the second quarter until the offending II Sofsl, Russian guard had to be involved in half of the 32 first points of CSKA Moscow; he scored nine himself, gave four assists and seven extra points and the index reached 13 in 12 minutes on the pitch.

Days As a correction, such numbers were an introduction to the show (and not necessarily to a victory), but a CSKA is not a Moscow-Khimpa-Sweden. Although Maccabi Tel Aviv lost to the Russians, No. 91 did not score a point until the end, and completed another nightmare in Swedish terms, like all those who preceded it; The former king of the baskets, who stood at 20.3 points per evening in five years in his previous team, did not reach double figures in most of his appearances this season - and failed to cross the 16-point mark even once.

And the thing is, Sheb is not alone.

This is a broad phenomenon that hardly skips anyone;

She also claimed victims from Mike James, who will return tonight (Wednesday, 21:05) to Tel Aviv, from the champions and MVPs Vassa Mitzic, Shane Larkin and Nando de Colo, and to some extent also from Scotty Wilbkin.

Common to all (1): are the guards who have carried the Euroleague on their backs in recent years;

Common to all (2): Each has different reasons and circumstances, and all suffer from a real decrease in ability and / or numbers.

Which of them will recover first, if at all?

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To the full article

9.5 shots vs. 16.5 at Himki, 10.6 points vs. 19.8, and 3.6 assists vs. 7.7.

Alexei Sheved in the truncated version of CSKA (Photo: GettyImages, Vladimir Pesnya / Epsilon)

Alexei Sheved: Averages that were enough for half in Himki

What was and what will be:

In the case of Sheved, the statistical decline could have been easily predicted. There is no single star in Himki, who does whatever he pleases, willingly throws the ball to the basket and willingly throws the coach home, just as good a player as he may be in CSKA - with partners like Will Claibren, Toko Shangalya and Nicola Milutinov, and above him a coach like Dimitris Itudis. "A. did not bring Sheved to be that player from Khimki, and the truth is that the obsessive dependence developed on him on the yellow side of Moscow also affected him. But the situation that has arisen so far has become a bit extreme.

Factually, Shevad plays quite a bit - close to 26 minutes in the evening (with only Claibren and Shangalya above him) - but the data he averages for an entire game in CSKA he reached last year at about the beginning of the third quarter: 9.5 shots from the field compared to 16.5 last season, 1.5 Visits on the penalty line vs. 4.3, 10.6 points vs. 19.8, and 3.6 assists vs. 7.7.

Okay, Shevad was not brought to CSKA to control it, but after James' trauma, the confrontations with him and the decision to throw him out in the middle of the season, Itudis seems to have fallen too much in love with the educator's position. And Marius Grigonis have not really started the season yet, which Naglia has already missed about a month, while the guards where Lundberg and Daniel Hackett are in bad shape. Points occurred a month and a half

"I like the current Shevd a lot more than he did in Khimki," CSKA President Andrei Vatutin complimented last week. The reality. Itudis will have to find the balance between Sheved's rare offensive talent and his restraint and education. And ask him to become a kind of landlord?

Confronted with the coach, had to go up to half for a free-kick, and crossed the 20th threshold only once.

Mike James in the hall he loves (Photo: Danny Maron)

Mike James: What happened to the announcement of the revenge season?

What it was and what we will be:

If in the case of Sheved it was possible to predict the drop in averages, then in James - the main opponent of Maccabi Tel Aviv, tonight (Wednesday, 21:05) - this is a complete surprise. At least in terms of personal averages, this was supposed to be the ideal situation for him: moving to a small, non-traditional group, which until his arrival was considered on paper to be one of the weakest in the factory. Even before the opening of the Euroleague, he defined it as the "season of revenge" on his very active Twitter account; For the past three years, the Guard has stood at 20 points per game, in slightly more ambitious and star-studded teams than Monaco, and the likely scenario was that the Princesses would become a sort of American Swede. But that's not really the case, at least so far.

In his first nine Euroleague games, James was averaged 14 points. Only once did he reach 20, only once did he reach three threes on a given evening, and he hit 28 percent off the arc. Like his previous teams, Monaco has automatically become competitive and ambitious, and currently holds a positive balance sheet and is ranked in the spot leading to the playoffs. He is ranked first on the roster in minutes, points and assists, and yet, he is still not the same superstar one would expect to be.

James encountered an objective professional difficulty this season, which he was not so familiar with in his previous stations. This time around he does not have Claiborne, Shanglia and Milotinov, nor James Nanley, Arthur Godaitis, Nick Klatis or Yannis Borussis, who have collaborated with him in the past; Donta Hall and his teammates in Monaco will still have to prove over time that they deserve to be included in this list, and in the meantime, the defenses are much easier to concentrate on, exhaust him and send him two and even three guards. To reach a free-kick, he sometimes had to go ten meters away. This does not prevent him from scoring, because it is still James, but in a low percentage.

Below the surface, quite a bit is happening.

According to stories unofficially coming out of Monaco, the American has already had time to confront coach (their own opinion) Zevzdan Mitrovic several times, and in general broadcast that the whole business is a bit small in size, preferring not to participate in French league games.

In the end, Monaco depend on James far more than you would be willing to admit.

He loves Yad Eliyahu, and against Maccabi Tel Aviv he had 19.4 points during his career in seven direct meetings.

The question is what will happen first: his explosion on the field, or the explosion between him and his friends on the field or the man on the lines?

The big winner of the Euroleague started to rise only in Garbage Time.

Why?

Shane Larkin (Photo: GettyImages, Sonia Canada)

Vasa Mitchic and Shane Larkin: Not Wanted or Unable?

What it was and what we will be:

Seemingly, everyone is sure they know where Anadolu Zero's ordeal will end. After all, she also started stuttering last season, and even had a negative balance at the end of the first round, and it ended in a historic championship title; So it's true that this time she found herself at 4-0 (the weakest start for the European champions since 1994), and a week ago she was still at 6: 2; And it is true that it was defeated by 26 points by the weak Panathinaikos, and Zenit St. Petersburg dismantled it in Istanbul; But who the hell can bet against her? And does the easy victory last weekend in Berlin, 63:90 over Alba, herald her return?

To understand Zero, one has to study her amazing pair of guards - and this task is twice as difficult this season. Mitchic, last season's player in the Euroleague and the Final Four's MVP, currently stands at 14.1 seemingly solid index points, only they are all but solid: 24 on average against CSKA, Villarban and Alba, compared to 4.3 against Real Madrid, Milan and Zenit.

Valarkin? The last two weeks can best illustrate his fragile situation: in both one-sided games (for good against Alba and bad against Zenit) he reached an index of 32 in a clearly unreasonable division - 11 in the first three quarters, and 21 in the last quarter which was a long and prolonged garbage time. When he wants - can he? Is it satiety? Physically limited? And maybe both? Mitigating

The physical aspect cannot be underestimated. Mitchic is carrying a leg injury, and despite two appearances in recent weeks (50 in a league game in Turkey, and 25 in one half last week in Berlin), he has not fully recovered and is currently defined as someone whose participation tonight is in doubt. Larkin, beyond the mental question, underwent back surgery this summer - joining both knee surgeries from last summer.

Now, with the return of the injured Krono Simon, James Anderson and Bryant Dunston, and after the requested addition of Elijah Bryant, the Euroleague champion faces a significant test moment: In her and wonder about her. Is she capable of producing a winning streak again and sticking to the top, on her way to another Final Four? The answers will be given, first and foremost, by this wonderful duo.

A moment that has become rare: the best penalty sling in history is on the line.

Only two visits in five games.

Nando de Colo (Photo: GettyImages, Epsilon)

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Nando de Colo: Age, Method and Situation

What it was and what we will be:

For six full and consecutive years, de Colo was the solid, efficient and stable guard in the Euroleague, and unlike other superstars, in terms of his ability to carry teams up to the most senior classes. But this season, nothing is left of it; Fenerbahce is ranked 16th with a 7-3 record, and just a few hours ago the French artist demonstrated his weakest game in the last decade, reaching a minus six index (two points, 1 of 10 from the field and a lone assist in 22 minutes) in last night's loss To Bayern Munich.

So what is more disturbing and worrying? His field of voice, in its ninth season in the Euroleague, is currently down for the first time from a double-digit average, standing at 9.8? Sde Kolo, the best penalty scorer in the history of the factory (947-888, 93.8%) reached the line only twice in the 107 minutes he played in the last five rounds? Or Sde Kolo, a 42% three-pointer throughout his career, stands on a streak of nine off-arc offenses?

De Colo is 34, and his peak is clearly behind him. The figure for his free throws is not accidental, and probably also stems from a physical difficulty that prevents him from being as aggressive and assertive as he always has been. In general, Fenner is a failing team this season, which does have a highly talented squad (alongside the French players Freie Henry, Jan Wesley, Devin Booker, Achilla Polonara, Dyson Pierre and Marco Godorich) who simply does not fit in with Sasha Georgeovich's method of play. ; The coach, it should be mentioned, came to the team only after it was built, following the tap of Igor Kokushkov.

In light of all that has been written here, is there any hope? Well, it's impossible to take the screen off De Colo's career. According to rumors from Turkey, replacing a coach is a scenario that should not be ruled out on the bench (by the way, given the state of the vacant coaches market there is one, Oded Katash, that this staff will fit his method quite perfectly). And it is worth remembering the situation his voice field was in two and a half years ago: CSKA lost the home advantage in the series against Basconia, in poor shape (8.6 points and 21% for three in six games), and went to Vitoria knowing that without an away win she would not survive. He swept her to two away wins, promoted her to the Final Four, where he also starred and brought her the trophy.His line in four games: 23.5 points, 58% for three and 24 from 25 from the line. Good as those who were then, but it is important to mention what happened in those days.

Is the group successful?

Successful.

The friends next to him are flourishing?

Blooming.

But in the long run he will have to score more.

Scotty Wilbkin (Photo: Danny Maron)

Scotty Wilbkin: Actually, what is he doing here?

What was and what will be:

It is important to open with a confession - if this article had not been published on an Israeli website, it is possible that the star of the Israeli champion would not have been mentioned in it at all. There is a fundamental and significant difference between Wilbkin and the other stars: despite his relative weakness (if you can call it that), his team is successful, establishing itself at the top of the Euroleague, playing well and winning.

In the last seven games, Wilbkin stands at 9.5 points and 19% for just three. As long as his back line partners, Keenan Evans and James Nanley, excelled - the player in the No. 1 jersey won compliments for not forcing himself, helping them and even catching his teammates with a defensive urgency. The thought was that on a not-too-distant day, when the other two would not be at their best, he would fill the vacuum; This day came last week in Moscow. Evans and Nanley got stuck on six points per man, and yet Wilbkin had a hard time, not throwing even a single three and reaching just nine points. Maccabi stopped at 73 and lost.

Mitigating

Alongside the retreat in Wilbkin's shooting averages, his teammates - Evans and Nanelli in the guard positions, for Derrick Williams as a forward, and up to chins Ante Zizic and Jaylen Reynolds - are flourishing.

He, his conduct and the way in which he employs the defense of rivalry, certainly deserve credit for this situation.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has reduced its dependence on Wilbkin this season, and this is one of the main reasons for its good condition and the winning streak it has wanted until last week.

It is not inconceivable that his exploding game is imminent (perhaps already tonight?), And it seems that he too - and the whole system - respectfully contain the difficulties he is experiencing on the personal level on the pitch.

In the long run, it is clear to everyone, Sapropolos will need more of it to get the most out of its cluster.