Real Madrid - Partizan
International - Euroleague, Playoffs, Quarterfinal
The Basketball Expert
Real Madrid were on their knees after first two games in Spain, but they didn’t give up. They went to Belgrade and won twice. Due to all the events at the end of game number two, Real Madrid had a big advantage. Captain and Partizan leader Kevin Punter was suspended, plus Mathias Lessort also missed one match. Los Blancos have more depth in their roster and it was obvious. Their veterans also woke up. Sergio Rodriguez hit two important shots in the fourth quarter of the last game, while Rudy Fernandez is constantly dominant in defense. Nigel Williams-Goss played the best game of his career last Tuesday and Walter Tavares is unstoppable. However, not everything is rosy for the reigning champions of Spain. Guerschon Yabusele is still suspended, while Gabriel Deck is out due to injury. Vincent Poirier is questionable and it will be very difficult for them if Tavares get into foul troubles.
Partizan missed a huge chance last week. When you are up 2-0 after first two games against a team like Real Madrid, you have to take advantage of that. Black and whites didn’t do that and now they will have to triumph for the third time in a row in Spain capital. Kevin Punter return will be a huge thing. When games number three and four were in crunch time, the leader was missing. Other players didn’t have the courage to take important shots and it cost Partizan. James Nunnally was terrible last game and Dante Exum didn't score from his open looks. It is to be expected that head coach Zeljko Obradovic shortens his rotation to seven or eight players. Throughout the entire series, Partizan were unable to solve Real Madrid's zone defense. It's hard to do that when the opponent has a 220cm Tavares in the paint, but there's a reason why Obradovic is the best coach in the history of European basketball. He had six days to "teach" his players how to properly attack the zone and we should expect the best edition of Partizan offense this time.
It's hard to imagine a series like this being decided without some big drama in Game 5. When they are complete, Partizan has shown that they can easily beat Real Madrid at road. Without Deck and Yabusele, things will be much more difficult for the hosts. Aleksa Avramovic will not play for Partizan, but he is not nearly as important to his team as Yabusele and Deck are to Los Blancos. In games number three and four, Partizan played some of the worst games of the season and were still in situation to triumph in both matches. Real Madrid can hardly do better than what they have shown so far. All this may indicate the fifth road win in this series. If that doesn't happen, expect Partizan to be close until the very end.
Pistol Pete
The return of team's top scorer, guard Kevin Punter, will be a big asset for Partizan in the crucial fifth match of the Euroleague quarterfinals, away against Real Madrid.
After two traumatic defeats at home, the Belgrade team will finally play with all crucial players in squad, against the most trophy-winning club in the Euroleague and Spain. Kevin Punter served two matches of suspension, and the previous two games showed how important he is for the game of the famous coach Zeljko Obradovic's team in attack.
In the previous two games, Real found a way to make the weakened Partizan team insecure in attack. Zone defense was a winning recipe for the Madrid "whites", especially in a situation when the recovered center Walter Tavares was completely dominant with defensive rebounds.
Now, in the decisive match for the place at the Euroleague final four tournament, Partizan will not be more dangerous in the three-point shot just because of Punter. Due to the presence of Punter on the field, guard Nunnally and Greek forward Papapetrou will be in better positions to score threes. Both had a modest performance in the previous game and the defeat against Real, missing key shots.
The fact that Partizan is now complete, of course, does not guarantee a triumph for the guests, who won in Madrid in this playoff series 89:87 in the first, and then 95:80 in the second match. However, the guests from Serbia can surely lead the match to an uncertain ending, so the option of a convincing victory for Real is not an option.
In the previous match in Belgrade last week, which Real won 85:78, weakened Partizan entered the match nervously. And until the end, the "black and whites" shot free throws very poorly, hitting only 10 out of 19. That moment of deconcentration was also the key reason for the defeat of the Belgrade team.
This time, Real will count on the great support of the home fans, but the big handicap for the hosts is the injury of forward Gabriel Deck. The Argentinian has finished the season, he will have a break of several months, and during this season he was statistically the second best player of the Madrid club in the Euroleague. His energy, in attack as well as in defense, will be greatly missed by the Real team, against the club that has shown this spring that it is one of the best on the continent.
Behind Real is an impressive attacking edition, in the victory over Unicaja in the Spanish ACB league, 102:70 last weekend. It will be difficult for Madrid to repeat such a high-quality shooting night against Partizan. Both teams expect a great fight until the very end of the decisive fifth match, and they are preparing for such an ending.
It is to be expected that the guests will look for more solutions from individual actions, Partizan has only 14.4 assists on average this season - and yet scores as many as 85.2 points per match in the Euroleague. The Belgrade team showed that they are specialists in situations where the main players solve matches with "one on one" solutions in attacks. Real, on the other hand, will certainly look for easy points through center Tavares, but they will also have to calculate with his playing time due to fatigue, which was not the case in the previous two matches.
The game will be decided by small details, as befits a match that resolves the question, who travelers to the final Euroleague tournament.