Anadolu Efes – Zalgiris
International - Euroleague, Round 7
09/11/2023 - 18:30 CET
Anadolu Efes is not performing well at the beginning of the new season. They have only two wins in the EuroLeague, against Asvel and Valencia at home. Last week, they were easily defeated by Virtus on the road, and it doesn't seem like all their problems will be resolved anytime soon. Will Clyburn is in terrible form, with the worst numbers of his career, averaging only 9.7 points (a career low) and shooting less than 17% from beyond the three-point line. Darius Thompson is far from the level that Vasilije Micic played at, and some other players are not particularly impressive either. Another issue is their short rotation, and head coach Erdem Can has used only eight players in some games.
Zalgiris has suffered two major shocks in the last two weeks. First, Valencia demolished them in Kaunas, and then Asvel took a victory from "Zalgirio Arena." In the previous season, the home court was a fortress for this club, but it doesn't seem to be the case at the beginning of the new season. Zalgiris had a strong start with away wins against Virtus and Baskonia and needs to play at the level of those games from this game onwards to avoid falling too far behind in the race for the top half of the table. Keenan Evans is playing as if he was never injured, which is great news for head coach Kazys Maksvytis. Defense in the paint has been a problem in the past two games, meaning that Kevarrius Hayes and Rolands Smits will need to defend more rigorously on every defensive possession.
Neither of these two teams has been impressive in the first six rounds, although it seems that Zalgiris left a slightly better impression. They have their system of play, and players stick to their roles on both ends of the court, executing what coach Maksvytis puts in front of them. On the other hand, Anadolu Efes is still searching for its identity under the new coach Can. Clyburn's catastrophic form, who was expected to carry this team on his back, doesn't help. They aimed for better defense compared to the last season, but Anadolu Efes is currently the second-worst team in terms of defensive rating in the EuroLeague. Zalgiris heavily relies on their three-point shooting, and if they can make their shots in Istanbul, they might hope for their third away win in the EuroLeague this season. Anadolu Efes has a lot more potential than what they have shown so far, but to start believing in them, they first need to play an exceptional game, which hasn't been the case yet.