Euroleague Final 4 Analysis: Fenerbahce - Zalgiris Kaunas

FENERBAHCE (BSL-Turkey)

Player season stats per game

Some of their mot used plays

Elevator screen

Pistol action & exit screen

video credit: Ryan Pannone

ZALGIRIS KAUNAS (LKL-Lithuania)

Player season stats per game

Some of their mot used plays

 Side pick n' roll Spain action

Diamond set - Hammer screen

Iverson set-UCLA & 2 options

Zalgiris video playbook

Regular season games

December 14, 2017: Fener-Zalgiris 89-90 (Vesely 20, Wanamaker 19 - Pangos 22, Toupane 16)

March 9, 2018: Zalgiris-Fener 78-85 (Jankunas, Pangos 14 - Datome 16, Sloukas 15)

Important Game Points

1. Fenerbahce's defensive pressure is one of the best in Eurolegue this season, so it will be a crucial factor how Zalgiris' guards will respond.

2. Turnovers made will play an importan role, as Zalgiris commited most than any other team (13,1 TPG) and is essential for them to be more focused.

3. Kostas Sloukas & Brad Wanameker for Fenerbahce dictate the offense and their scoring & passing is the key to Zeljko Obradovic's offense. Kevin Pangos is the on-court leader for Sarunas Jasikevicius's team and his shooting and precision passing has helped his team throughout the season.

4. For Fenerbahce, an "X-factor" could be Gudiric, a guars who replaced Bogdanovic and showed flashes of his scoring skills mainly in the last regular season games, as well as Nicolo Melli, a stretch PF with great shooting ability. As for Zalgiris,  

Team Stats comparison

Euroleague Final 4 Analysis: CSKA Moscow - Real Madrid

CSKA MOSCOW (VTB League-Russia)

Player season stats per game

Some of their mot used plays

Horns set - guard post-up & flare screen

Middle Pick & Hammer screen

Real Madrid (Liga Endesa-Spain)

Player season stats per game

Some of their mot used plays

Horns set - Dribble hand-off to floppy

Transition Stagger or Stack exit

Shuffle Screen the Screener

video credit: Ryan Pannone

Regular season games

October 19, 2017: Real - CSKA 82-69 (Randolph 16, Doncic 14 - Clyburn, Higgins 11)

February 1, 2018: CSKA - Real 93-87 (Rodriguez 18, Higgins 16 - Doncic 21, Carroll 16)

Important Game Points

1. Both teams play an uptempo game, looking for fastbreak points and scoring a lot. So their defensive strategy and execution will be crucial, hence the team with lower field goals efficiency will probably lose.

2. The offensive rebounds and scoring off them, since both teams are among the best in Euroleague going at the boards.

3. Defending the pick n' roll actions of Doncic & Llull for CSKA and Rodriguez & De Colo for Real. All four guards are top quality payers, capable of scoring and creating through pick n' roll plays.

4. Each team has its "X-factor" players: Real has Jaycee Carroll (best catch n' shoot player in Euroleague) and Felipe Reyes (offensive rebounder and hustle player who can score in the paint), ehreas CSKA has Kyle Hines, an undersized but very effective center who comes from an iunjury (he won the Defensive player of the year award).

Team Stats Comparison