Panathinaikos vs Maccabi T-A

Panathinaikos was defeated in the last home EuroLeague game in the eighth round by Olympiacos, now having the 5-3 score. In that game, the stars performers were Kendrick Nunn, who scored 20 points and Juancho Hernangomez,Mathias Lessort who scored 13 points apiece.

In some ways, Panathinaikos has come to this EuroLeague season a little less desperate knowing that they are the current European champions and having achieved this they have all to play for despite lacking the edge which usually characterizes a team fighting to win games.

For this reason, there have of course been some slip-ups, for example the loss to Paris at the onset of the competition suggesting that Panathinaikos is still a work in progress. As such, they weren’t particularly awful against Olympiacos; their biggest competitor was just slightly more effective. Of course, Ergin Ataman’s team could have acted more effectively on defense during the first half, but, in general, they looked pretty good.

The third quarter was even more sensational for sure, the most entertaining EuroLeague quarter to date 33-30 in favor of Panathinaikos. Both teams showed great depth over that run. Lastly, it is important to look at the outline that gave a victory to the Olympiacos: Olympiacos made 10 times more offensive rebounds than the Panathinaikos.

Also, the home team had problems with Evan Fournier, who scored consecutive three pointers in the last two minutes of the game. By means of the sophisticated calculations including the offensive and defensive ratings, Panathinaikos has certain strong characteristics: their offense has an outstanding efficiency rating 121.7 points per 100 possessions, but their defense constantly gives 113.8 points per 100 possessions. They face the opposition with moderate intensity having an average of 70.9 possessions per game and this has birthed some of the results so far witnessed.

With Mathias Lessort under the opponent's basket, Panathinaikos will have a significant edge in the forthcoming game without Jasiel Rivero, which they must take advantage of. If the home team want to resume winning ways in the top competition, they must follow this route to success.

With a 3-5 record, Maccabi Tel Aviv is now at the bottom of the rankings after losing their last game, 84-77, on the road against Virtus in the eighth round of the EuroLeague. Rokas Jokubaitis scored 10 points and Levi Randolph scored 21 points, but neither player was able to pose a real danger to Virtus.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has had to adapt to the new environment as a result, and they have so far done rather well considering the position and lower expectations. Oded Kattash's club has also been struggling with injuries, demonstrating how bad luck frequently breeds bad luck. Maccabi Tel Aviv fought hard in their last match against Virtus.

They had a terrible start and had already given up 25 points after 10 minutes, falling down by eight points. Even though they closed the deficit to just one point in the fourth quarter, they were unable to rebound until it appeared to be too late. They ran out of energy and were unable to accomplish more.

The defeat was mostly caused by Maccabi Tel Aviv's heavy reliance on two-point shooting, as they made 52 tries from that range and went 7/17 from beyond the arc. Conversely, Virtus had the advantage thanks to their 11 three-pointers. With a defensive rating of 120.4 points allowed per 100 possessions, Maccabi Tel Aviv is the second-worst club in the league when it comes to defense. They rank 11th in the EuroLeague with 114.7 points per 100 possessions, thus they aren't very powerful offensively, but they could overcome this if they were. With an average of 69.9 possessions per game, they also play at a slightly slower tempo.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, who have no substitute for one of their greatest players this season, must figure out how to preserve the paint in the forthcoming match. They will have an opportunity to compete against the European champions if they can do it.