Asvel – Partizan
Euroleague, Round 2
12/10/2023 20:00 CET
The Expert
Asvel had a lot of problems preparing for the game against Crvena Zvezda last week. They arrived in Belgrade on the day of the game, which is unprecedented for the EuroLeague. They played late on Tuesday evening in the domestic championship against Saint Quentin, and on Wednesday, they didn't have a direct flight. This led to them arriving in the Serbian capital just a few hours before tip-off. On top of that, Crvena Zvezda hit 12 three-pointers in the first half, so that match was definitely not a reflection of anything Asvel possesses. Frank Jackson is expected to be one of the leaders this season, but he is still adjusting to European basketball. Joffrey Lauvergne is finally healthy, and Nando De Colo is always capable of performing at a high level. Asvel has many players with EuroLeague experience like Paris Lee, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Youssoupha Fall, so we should expect a better performance from them this time.
Partizan never had a chance to threaten Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first round, even though the opponent was without one of their best players in that game (Wade Baldwin). The black and white team still hasn't signed a center who could replace Mathias Lessort. New players (Frank Kaminsky, PJ Dozier and Mateusz Ponitka) are still adjusting and are nowhere near what the fans expect from them, while leaders like Kevin Punter and Zach LeDay are still finding their rhythm. Partizan has the offensive potential to score around 85 points on average again, but the defense will once again be one of the worst, if not the worst, in this competition. Without a center who can protect the rim, they will have significant problems defending opposing dominant players inside and controlling rebounds. This was best seen in Tel Aviv, where Balsa Koprivica and Alen Smailagic couldn't in any way slow down Josh Nebo, Jasiel Rivero and Roman Sorkin.
There is much greater offensive individual talent on Partizan's side. Asvel doesn't have a player like Punter, but defensively, the difference is huge in their favor. Egbunu, Fall and Lauvergne will definitely have an advantage against visitors frontcourt and will score a lot of easy points in the paint. De Colo played his best game of the season against Partizan last year, and players like F. Jackson, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Scott and Lee can shoot at high percentages. Zeljko Obradovic's team will almost certainly be in a much better position on the table than Asvel in April, but at this moment, Partizan doesn't have strength inside and will struggle against any EuroLeague team that can physically overpower them. Asvel is one of them.
Pistol Pete
Last season, Partizan was the most dominant attacking team in the Euroleague. The assessment of the European basketball public is that they now have an even better group of individuals, so the match away in Lyon against Asvel will be an excellent test of the quality of the Belgrade club on Thursday.
In the last nine matches, Partizan scored less than 81 points only once. Even in the convincing defeat of Maccabi in Tel Aviv last week at the start of the Euroleague, the "black and whites" acted sufficiently potent in attack (96:81). Then, as a reaction, came the victory in the ABA League against Krka in Slovenia 96:56, the previous weekend.
Partizan wants a good away edition in the Euroleague as soon as possible, and the duel in Lyon against Asvel is a real opportunity. The opponent, the most trophy-winning French club, does not have nearly as many quality players as the Serbian ABA champions. In the last four matches, Asvel lost three times. Last week, away to Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, the French team was completely disappointing in a 94:73 defeat.
Last season, the teams played an excellent attacking match, Asvel won in mid-December last year 91:87. After that, Partizan won easily on their court 92:71, on the last day of January. It can be said that the Belgrade team, led from the bench by the legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic, is in a perfect position to score at least 85 points in this match on Thursday.
Against Maccabi last week, the first scorer, shooting guard Kevin Punter, scored only 11 points for Partizan. Now a much better edition is expected from him, as well as from the power forward, American LeDay, who was stopped at only five points and three rebounds. Playmaker Avramovic is in excellent shape, and the overall impression is that Partizan has much better guards than Asvel.
The home team will count on the inspiration of veteran guard De Colo, who scored 13 points against Zvezda last week. Center Lauvergne, who previously played for Partizan, will be an extremely important option for Asvel - however, the impression is that the Serbian team has enough quality players to stop him.
The problem for Partizan last week was the injury of center Kaminsky... However, the former great NBA player has recovered and is expected to play an important role, especially in attack, in this game in France.
Matches between these rivals in Lyon in the past have mostly been thrilling and only settled in the last minute. That is why it is not easy to predict the victory of the guests, even though they are favorites, as never in the last two decades. However, it is easy to expect a large number of points from both teams, especially Partizan, counting on the large number of quality players when it comes to three point shots.