Ahrela Weisberg

Behind the Scenes

The complement is the perfect one: between Bryant and Dorsey, between Sharas and Lasso

Olympiacos found out the hard way that hanging on to Tyler Dorsey has a price, and Anadolu Zero got a record appearance from Elijah Bryant.

Coach Jasikevicius needs a creative lesson from actor Sharonas and a management course at Pablo Lasso's school.

Ahrela Weisberg concludes a huge evening in Belgrade

Ahrela Weisberg, Belgrade

20/05/2022

Friday, May 20, 2022, 10:15 p.m.

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Legend has it that at the end of the first Final Four in Tel Aviv, in 1994, all the fans of the new winner gathered in Dalona, ​​grabbed one taxi and went out to celebrate.

It is not inconceivable that a similar scenario will happen on Saturday night;

Anadolu Efes and Real Madrid, the two teams that attracted the least crowd to Belgrade, are the ones to compete for the Euroleague Cup.

The capital of Serbia was painted yesterday (Thursday) in red and white by Olympiacos, so much so that the spectacular meeting point between the Danube and Sava rivers resembled the port of Piraeus.

The Greeks washed the streets, that is, literally washed them — especially their throats in the capital — and were seen and heard in every corner of the city;

The Stark Arena was also very reminiscent of the Hall of Peace and Brotherhood, and around it there was a feeling that in the situation that was created, almost no one would be able to subdue this group.

Almost no one.

almost.

Except for the reigning, experienced and glittering champion, who once again faltered throughout an entire season, but knew how to rise in time to return to the moment of truth.

Anadolu Zero's flick on the way to this final was so varied and extreme that even Karma arranged a derby for it with reality: Argin Atman lost in the closing round in Belgrade to avoid a series against Real, and will get the Blancos in the final.

In Belgrade.

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Since 1983 he has not been a player to win the NBA and European Cup within a year.

Elijah Bryant with friends (Photo: Official Website, Anadolu Efes Twitter)

The early semi-final brought together the two Siamese twins of Maccabi Tel Aviv from the past two years.

On the one hand Elijah Bryant, who was and remains a complementary player, as he probably should be in a winning and unpretentious team;

And on the other side is Tyler Dorsey, on whom Olympiacos depends - for better or worse - more than she would have liked or needed.

Dorsey, as befits Dorsey, was the man who brought the Greeks back into the picture and made sure they did not leave the frame.

He scored all 11 of his points in the second half, but his rise - as in quite a few cases before - came at a price.

He recorded his last basket (from the penalty spot) with five minutes left on the clock, and the real money time was not there to cover for the non-appearance of the "regular" stars Sasha and Zankov and Kostas Slokas.

Bryant made an act of Nestoras Komatos, saving his season-high record game for the Final Four.

For too many weeks, this man was on the verge of disappearing, and not always through his own fault.

In a team that relies so heavily on two fine and dominant guards in the form of Vasily Mitchic and Shane Larkin, the others can usually enjoy crumbs.

And what a crumb cake was waiting for Elisha yesterday;

Unlike Dorsey, Bryant did not score a basket in the fourth quarter, and dared to throw just one ball, but the important minutes for him were earlier, when Mitchich did not hit and Larkin was given rare seconds of rest.

He finished with 16 points, more than any other game of the season, and now wants to get into the record books: to date there has been only one player to win the NBA Championship and European Cup in one year, and that is Jim Brewer from the Los Angeles Lakers and Ford Canto in 1982 And 1983.

How ancient is the record?

Even Bryant Dunston was not born when this thing happened.

At least you would not suck the fans this weekend. Tyler Dorsey comes off stage with Quincy Acey (Photo: Reuters)

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At zero as at zero, in the end it all depends on two people complementing each other in an idyllic and utopian way.

When we held the random coaches' poll this week regarding the guard from which the Euroleague team is starting to build, we did not assume that the consensus around Mitch would be so unequivocal, broad and contagious;

In a more than certain sense, he was wronged by Larkin.

So the American, in his typical way, was once again the most solid player on his team (21 points and seven assists), and once again forged his Serbian partner the last ball.

And he, of course, dived in, after Wasa stood at 4 of 15 throughout the entire evening.

SA (his full name is kept in the system), a good friend who has accumulated decades in the stands of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, has a solid theory: if you are already advancing to the Final Four, and if you are already dragging thousands of people to different cities in Europe, Bring a trophy, so it is better to at least lose in the final and not in the half, so as to at least not suck the whole trip, the weekend and the anxious anticipation.

As much as the people of Olympiacos, who came to Belgrade on night trips on buses, charter flights or just on regular and acceptable routes, now agree with him.

No less amazing.

Sergio Yui (Photo: Reuters)

In advance, this Final Four was perceived as having a particularly dramatic potential, with the participation of four teams neither of which falls short of its rival and that any combination that makes up the final will not surprise anyone.

Three participants came to Stark Arena, and only one did not play her basketball.

She is the one who suffered the most painful blow, losing in the most important El Clásico of all (after five consecutive victories during the current season).

Barcelona.

Oh, Barcelona.

She insisted on keeping the curse of first place in the Euroleague, and as has happened to her four predecessors since the move to league format - again the team that won the top of the table in the regular season, did not get to lift the trophy.

This time it is impossible to drop the case on Nikola Mirotic, and there is no way to hide behind it.

This failure is signed by Ronas Jasikevicius.

Barça do not have the killers with zero.

And it's not just because she does not have purposeful guards like Vasa Mitchic and Shane Larkin;

Enough to look at Nick Clathis to understand.

The Greek quarterback has never been a great scorer, and his shooting has always been an immediate suspect for throwing stones, but the more seniority he accumulates in his current team, the less he threatens the basket, does not look at it and does not even dare to think about it.

And so, the creative coordinator in Europe, who still exhibits sparks of genius, has become one that defenses can fake without risking.

This time it is no longer possible to hide behind Nikola Mirotic.

Sharonas Jasikevicius (Photo: Reuters)

Yes, Sharas, in fact, is one of them, castrating (in sporting terms) his players.

He attaches them to rigid patterns and deprives them of the freedom to create - the same freedom that was so important to him as an actor.

So it's true that statistically, Real had to beat Barcelona someday, but why in the most important meeting?

And how could that happen in a game where she plays without Nigel Williams Goss (who was injured in the first minute), Anthony Randolph, Trey Tompkins and Thomas Hartl (by the way, the dilemma of returning the last two from suspension, which Lasso announced a month ago, is already over?).

Jasikevicius' first trophy as coach will come sooner or later, but in the meantime he might as well learn a little lesson from Lasso.

For 11 years the Basque suffered criticism and also felt well how his chair rocked, but landed on its feet.

The first time Real's management tried to show him the way out, firing his assistants without his knowledge, he insisted on staying and won the Euroleague;

Recently, when the Blancos were in a terrible crisis, news of the impending dismissals was circulated in the Spanish media, but he survived again, and lo and behold, he is in the final again.

Lasso runs a game less well than Sharas, and seems less dynamic, animalistic and dominant on the lines.

He hardly absorbs technical fouls, he does not issue viral videos of roars about players and he certainly does not hit the audience in the stands.

But he knows how to manage a team full of pressure, ego and stars, and has been doing so for more than a decade.

And precisely in a season where it relies too much on the veterans and adults of its players (thanks to Sergio Yui 1), suffers from a blatant imbalance between the front line and the back line, and is even characterized by uncharacteristic disciplinary offenses, it leaves dust on all its rivals (thanks to Sergio Yui 2).

And that, whether it leads to a win or whether it will only suffice for the runners-up, is no less amazing.

• sport

• basketball

• Euroleague and European basketball

Tags

• Anadolu Zero

• Elijah Bryant

• Tyler Dorsey

• Real Madrid in basketball