Partizan - Red Star

International - Liga ABA, Playoffs, Finals

The Basketball Expert

Partizan played an impressive first half in Game 1 of the ABA league Finals. They scored 56 points, went to up 20 and easily kept the lead until the end. They showed why they were the best offense in the Euroleague this season in terms of offensive rating. Kevin Punter and Zach LeDay scored almost all shots in the first 20 minutes of basketball, while Alen Smailagic had a great sequence in the third quarter. Some players like James Nunnally, Ioannis Papapetrou and Danilo Andjusic were completely out of rhythm, but despite that, black and whites were dominant. However, to repeat the result from Game 1, an even greater contribution from the bench will be necessary.

The problems for Red Star in this final started even before the first game. Although he was expected to be available, Luca Vildoza was sidelined due to injury. Without him, the offense didn't work well enough. Facundo Campazzo was the only one in a good mood, while Ognjen Dobric joined too late. However, head coach Dusko Ivanovic will look for reasons for the defeat in poor defense, which is uncharacteristic for Red Star. They didn’t enter Game 1 with good energy and Partizan knew how to punish them. Vildoza should return for Game 2 and it will certainly be a big boost for the red and whites. More space is also necessary for Nemanja Nedovic as he spent only 17 minutes on the floor on Tuesday.

Red Star is sure to change a lot of things in Game 2. When they started double-teaming Punter consistently in the fourth quarter, good things started to happen. They got a few steals and easy points in transition. However, there is no doubt that Partizan will be ready for it. When you double-team Punter, it opens up space for other players to hit threes from good looks. It’s not realistic for Nunnally to repeat such a bad game, and Exum and Lessort were also not at their best. Home teams are on a 19-game winning streak in the ABA League finals, and don't expect that to change. Zeljko Obradovic is head coach with the most important trophies in the history of European basketball for a reason, and in this period of the season his teams look the best.

Pistol Pete

Despite the 88:80 defeat away to Partizan in the first match of the ABA League final, Crvena Zvezda, even weakened, showed exceptional attacking potential.
After the initial cramp in the match played on Tuesday, the "red and whites" scored 44 points in the second half and almost managed to make up for the big deficit. It is expected that they will be even more competitive in the fight for victory in the second match, again away from home, on the field of their biggest rival in Belgrade on Thursday.
The famous coach of Crvena Zvezda Dusko Ivanovic announced before the match that "this time his team will surely win". It is clear that the "red and whites" can hardly play such a bad defense as in the first half of the previous game (Partizan scored as many as 56 points in two quarters).
However, it will be extremely important for Crvena Zvezda whether the Argentine guard Luca Vildoza will be able to perform this time. He is at the end of his recovery from injury, the virtuoso and top defender trained the day before the game and Ivanovic will surely include him in the squad, if there is no risk of the injury worsening.
Partizan, on the other hand, will certainly not give up on the attacking and transitional concept of the game, especially in front of their fans. In the previous game, in front of more than 18,000 fans, the team of the legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic, after the form crisis at the end of May, showed that they are ready for impressive attacking games again. So power forward LeDay, after a series of disappointing releases, scored 24 points with 59 percent shooting from the field and important five rebounds.
In the previous victory, Partizan scored ten three-pointers, shooting them with a success rate of over 43 percent. One got the impression that this team still has reserves when it comes to the performances of some individuals - above all playmaker Exum and the French center Lessort. Also, Obradovic will surely insist that his key players do not get into trouble with fouls, which was the case in the previous game.
When it comes to Crvena Zvezda, the team will look for a way to improve the execution of both three-pointers and under the hoop. A large number of missed easy shots by the guests from the previous match was the reason why we did not see an uncertain duel until the very end. Such poor mental focus of Ivanovic's team will certainly not happen again.
In the previous match between the biggest ABA rivals, when Partizan was the host, it was 92:81 for Obradovic's team on March 13. Now, an extremely efficient match is again expected for both teams, with a potentially uncertain ending. In the case of the performance of both Zvezda's Argentines, Campazzo and Vildoza, we can even expect a game in the rhythm of transition during the entire 40 minutes... Which is a rare example in duels between these opponents, when it comes to previous years.
Nevertheless, now both clubs are part of the Euroleague elite - and according to the assessment of the European basketball public, are significantly better and more talented than all their previous generations in last ten to 15 years.