Partizan - Real Madrid
International - Euroleague, Playoffs, Quarterfinal
The Basketball Expert
Last week, Partizan humiliated Real Madrid in Spain. First, they defeated them with a three-pointer by Kevin Punter in the last second, and then in second game they didn’t allow the opponent to take the lead at any time. The job was made easier because Walter Tavares didn't play due to an injury, so black and whites didn't have problems with defensive rebounds like two days earlier. When Real Madrid seemed to be on their knees, a major incident occurred 100 seconds before the end of the game. Almost all players got into a brawl, and penalties followed a day later. Kevin Punter was suspended for two games and Mathias Lessort for one. Without them, Partizan will have a difficult task in game number three.
All season it was evident that Real Madrid was not playing up to its potential. On paper, they have the most powerful roster in Europe, but on the court it’s definitely not like that. Partizan exploited all their weaknesses. Defensively, they completely depend on Tavares and when he is not playing, it is very easy to overpower their backcourt. Due to the aforementioned brawl, Real Madrid will not have Guerschon Yabusele until the end of this series, while Gabriel Deck will only miss game number three. There is a chance that Tavares will return, which would be a big boost for this team's chances.
Although it is very difficult to play in "Stark Arena" in front of 20,000 Partizan fans, at the end of the day, players are the ones who play. Without Punter and Lessort, who are the best Partizan players, it will be extremely difficult for Zeljko Obradovic's team to beat Real Madrid. Dante Exum is also questionable due to injury he suffered in the clash with Yabusele and if he plays, he certainly won’t be 100% fit. Visitors have a lot more quality players in the roster and Deck and Yabusele absences will not be felt nearly as much as the absences of Partizan's best players. Especially Lessort, for whom there is no real replacement.
Pistol Pete
Regardless of the suspensions of important players – team's best scorer and guard Kevin Punter and starting center Mathias Lessort, Partizan is not an outsider against Real Madrid in the third match of the Euroleague quarterfinals.
The pledge for the optimism of the Belgrade team are the news, that the injury of guard Dante Exum is not so serious and that there is a chance that he will be able to perform in this game. The team of legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic fully deserved a 2:0 lead in this quarter-final and won two matches in Madrid. Now, on their home field, they will have a big and additional advantage - the support of fanatical fans, over 20,000 in the Belgrade ''Stark Arena''.
On the other hand, Real Madrid will not count on the great talent, the suspended center Guerschon Yabusele, as well as the extremely important player, the Argentinian forward Gabriel Deck. However, for the Euroleague's most trophy club, the return of the recovered starting center Walter Tavares is very important. There is also a chance for French center Vincent Poirier to play. This means that on the road, the Spanish giant will have an advantage in the battle under the hoop.
For Partizan, in a situation where there is no center Lessort in the rotation, the task is clear - to speed up the game further and look for an effective shot from distance. Everything that the Belgrade team has shown so far during the season is enough to believe that the "black and whites" can be extremely effective in this game as well.
The Belgrade team, with nine victories in a row in all competitions, scored at least 83 points in those nine matches. Against Real Madrid, in the four games so far this season, Partizan scored as many as 96.2 points on average!
Real have a 15-5 head-to-head record since the formation of the modern Euroleague, but are in poor form this spring, with five defeats in their last eight matches in all competitions. Also, unlike Partizan, the Madrid team could not focus exclusively on this match during the weekend. They had to play a tough duel against Zaragoza on their home field in the Spanish ACB league (93:86 triumph) and will surely enter the duel in Belgrade more tired.
Partizan is certainly more relieved because Zeljko Obradovic's team is not burdened with the pressure of having to win. And the eventual next, fourth match of the playoff series, which is played on the basis of three wins, would be played in Belgrade. The home team has an excellent chance to at least bring the match to a completely uncertain ending, so a convincing triumph of Real Madrid cannot be expected.
In the Euroleague, both teams record 85.5 points on average this season, and on their home turf, Partizan has an excellent 12-5 record in the European elite. Since December 8, the Belgrade club has been defeated only twice in the strongest competition on the continent, and that speaks volumes about how important the support factor of the fantastic local fans is, in this duel of strong emotions.