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By: Freaknick / @euro_adventures
Each week the MVP is handed to the holder of the league’s highest index rating. It’s undoubtedly a flawed stat and there’s no criterion for team success, so when Chuck Eidson heard his 30 RKG in an ugly week one loss to Caja Laboral earned him MVP honors, he probably wasn’t texting his buddies to tel them the fantastic news. But he was scheming on how he’d pull Maccabi out of their mini-rut, and four wins later they’re on top of the world. That is, if you’re comfortable calling the latest edition of Hoopsquad Hierarchy “the world.” Get ’em Chuck.
| Rank | Team (EL record) | What they did to get here and who's up next... | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maccabi Electra (4-1) | They've washed off the stench of a 94-78 opening day loss in Vitoria by winning four straight---two on the road---by an average of 18 in the evenly distributed Group A. This week they'll have the chance to knock off the one team they couldn't best: Caja Laboral. Thursday vs. Caja Laboral | 2 (99-58 W vs. Asseco Prokom) |
| 2 | Zalgiris (4-1) | If I were so arrogant as to use my own rankings as a barometer of success, I would note that Zalgiris' only defeat came in Tel Aviv against new #1, Maccabi. You got any better ideas? Thursday at Partizan | 5 (73-65 W vs. BC Khimki) |
| 3 | Fenerbahçe Ülker (4-1) | I'm worried about them. I really am. It's not the loss alone that bothers me, but the manner in which they were out muscled, hustled and energied against Cholet. I love Emir Preldzic, but they'll be in trouble when he shines as the most assertive guy in blue and yellow. Mirsad Turkcan and Darjus Lavrinovic can't give these guys the activity down low that Gasper Vidmar offered up, so Kaya Peker needs to spark it up. Wednesday at Lietuvos Rytas | 1 (82-78 L at Cholet) |
| 4 | Union Olimpija (4-1) | Union Olimpija hasn't beaten anyone by more than 5 points all year, so the unimpressive margin against Valencia shouldn't come as much of a disappointment. Jagodnik, Pinkney, Gregory and Ilievski have been everything they needed to be, but a jolt off the end of the bench could carry these guys beyond the Top 16. I nominate Sasu Salin. Thursday at Efes Pilsen | 4 (72-68 W vs. Valencia) |
| 5 | Montepaschi Siena (4-1) | If voting started today, Bo McCalebb just might be my Euroleague MVP. It's rare that a player with his quickness and strength off the dribble adapts to different defenses so quickly, but the jump McCalebb has made in the last 365 days is significant. As long as he's around, Montepaschi will be just fine. Wednesday at Cholet | 6 (76-67 W vs. Barcelona) |
| 6 | Panathinaikos (4-1) | I had to knock Olympiacos one notch below their rivals after remembering that Panathinaikos' suffered their only L in Ljubljana. By one point. In overtime. Thursday vs. Valencia | 7 (71-81 W at Milano) |
| 7 | Olympiacos (4-1) | Even against a struggling Virtus Roma squad, a 15-point road win is always a good thing, especially when Milos Teodosic starts looking like the MVP again: 15 points, 7 assists, 2 steals. Thursday at Real Madrid | 8 (71-86 W at Roma) |
| 8 | Efes Pilsen (3-2) | Last week I urged Larence Roberts to step his game up, and he responded with a season-high 13 points to go along with 4 rebounds in their 14-point drumming of CSKA Moscow. And it wasn't just him recapturing some magic; Nikola Vujcic dropped the zombie act and put in 14 points for the Beermen.Big test this week. Thursday vs. Union Olimpija | 12 (86-72 W vs. CSKA Moscow) |
| 9 | Regal FC Barcelona (3-2) | Maybe I've given them a pass for too long now. They haven't looked like an elite basketball team since winning the Euroleague last season. It started with a sweep against Caja Laboral in the ACB finals and now five games deep, the combined winr ecord of teams they've beaten in the EL is 4-11. Montepaschi beat them, Fenerbahçe beat them in Barcelona, and now they'll cycle back through the same teams, hoping for different results. With Navarro out, the stage is set for Rubio to prove he's a capable scorer. The rest of the world is starting to wonder: is he? Thursday at Montepaschi Siena | 3 (76-67 L at Montepaschi Siena) |
| 10 | Partizan (3-2) | The Pionir mystique is alive and well and more importantly, so is Jan Vesely. Thursday vs. Zalgiris | 14 (74-71 W vs. Caja Laboral) |
| 11 | Cholet (3-2) | Three staright wins for the Frenchmen, but two came against winless (at the time) teams, Cibona and Lietuvos Rytas. Week 5 MVP Sammy Mejia will try to help them avenge the 32-point destruction they withstood in their first meeting against Siena. Wednesday vs. Montepaschi Siena | 15 (82-78 W vs. Fenerbahçe) |
| 12 | Unicaja (3-2) | A big road win in Bamberg saved them from a losing record, and Augusto Cesar Lima saved them from complete demolition on the boards with 8 of his own to replace the injured Robert Archibald.Thursday at Spirou | 17 (65-69 W at Bamberg) |
| 13 | Real Madrid (3-2) | In the history of pro basketball, I wonder if any team has ever gotten 16 more offensive rebounds than their opponents and still lost by double digits. I legitimately think it may never have happened before last week, when Madrid won the battle of the O-boards 21 to 6 and still lost 67-49. 17/70 from the field (or 24% if you haven't figured out your Mac's F12 function) can do that to you. Thursday vs. Olympiacos | 9 (67-49 L at Spirou) |
| 14 | Caja Laboral (2-3) | Three consecutive L's and a trip to Tel Aviv looming. You think Maccabi has forgotten the whooping they took in week one? Yeah. Me neither. Thursday at Maccabi | 10 (74-71 L at Partizan) |
| 15 | BC Khimki (2-3) | Keith Langford is averaging 9.5 PPG in weeks 4-5 after putting up 18 per game in the season's first three sessions. This team is at its best when he's hot and bona fide role players succeed around him. Wednesday at Asseco Prokom | 11 (73-65 L at Zalgiris) |
| 16 | Brose Baskets Bamberg (2-3) | Opportunity wasted last week as a reeling Unicaja team showed up and left with a victory. I'm all for Tibor Pleiss and his development (8 points, 10 boards, both season highs), but there's no reason for Kyle Hines' PT to dip below 20 minutes. Ever. Thursday vs. Lottomatica Roma | 13 (65-69 L vs. Unicaja) |
| 17 | Lietuvos Rytas (1-4) | If nothing else, Sarunas Jasikevicius' presence revitalized a Rytas team that was looking flatter with each loss. They bullied an overmatched Cibona team in front of a crazy Siemens Arena. Saras didn't score in 6 minutes, but four of his teammates scored in double figures. Big game this week. Wednesday vs. Fenerbahçe Ülker | 21 (90-62 W vs. Cibona) |
| 18 | Spirou Charleroi (1-4) | All of that hanging around---losses by 8, 9, 10 and 11---finally equaled a win in a dominant defensive performance against a Real Madrid team that looked to be on the rise. Andre Riddick's defense this season has been immaculate, peaking this past week with 4 blocks. He's averaging 2 per game in just 20 minutes, good for second in the EL. Wednesday vs. Real Madrid | 24 (67-49 W vs. Real Madrid) |
| 19 | Armani Jeans Milano (2-3) | Outside of Zagreb and Gdynia, Milan boasts the only Euroleague fanbase that hasn't witnessed a home win. Strange. Wednesday vs. CSKA Moscow | 16 (71-81 L vs. Panathinaikos) |
| 20 | CSKA Moscow (1-4) | OK. Finally got one. Check it off the list and take a deep breath. I'm feeling a big week from Trajan Langdon, who's still fully capable of going shot for shot with the likes of Rakocevic this week in Istanbul. Any doubters should take a peek at his Parisian outburst against Partizan in last year's third place game. Thursday at Efes Pilsen | 18 (86-72 L at Efes Pilsen) |
| 21 | Valencia (1-4) | At least new head man Svetislav Peic motivated Nando de Colo toward one of his best ever professional performances: 16 pts, 6 rebs, 4 assists, 4 steals and 7 fouls drawn for a RKG of 21. Build on that, Valencia. Thursday at Panathinaikos | 19 (72-68 L at Union Olimpija) |
| 22 | Virtus Roma (2-3) | Darius Washington has been your team's most consistent producer. Outside of Darius, it's been Vladimir Dasic. So it makes sense that Vlad played only 2 minutes last week in an embarrassing home loss. What the hell? Thursday at Bamberg | 20 (71-86 L vs. Olympiacos) |
| 23 | Asseco Prokom (0-5) | I don't know what to say about these guys anymore. Perhaps they're just more focused on Polish League success. Year to year, they're missing the toughness and smarts needed to compete with the big boys, yet they insist on ignoring their deficiencies. It's frustrating to watch such a high-powered offensive backcourt go to waste. Wednesday vs. BC Khimki | 22 (99-58 L at Maccabi) |
| 24 | Cibona (0-5) | Well. Thursday vs. Regal Barcelona | 23 (90-62 L at Lietuvos Rytas) |