Stay tuned in the coming days as we present the sleeper teams to make the Final Four as well as the NBA draft prospects competing in this year's Euroleague.
CSKA Moscow
Euroleague.net Team Clubhouse
Jonathan Givony
The returning Euroleague champions, there is very little reason to believe that CSKA Moscow does not have the weapons in their arsenal to once again compete for the title. Simply put, everything is in place for them to make it to the Final Four and beyond, as they are a team with almost no holes to be found.
Starting with their coach, two-time Euroleague champion Etore Messina, who is one of the most respected basketball minds in all of Europe. Continuing with their roster, stacked with expensive talent at every position, but built with an eye for complimentary pieces and internal chemistry. Speaking of chemistry, this is essentially exactly the same roster that won the Euroleague championship last year.
The major difference would be the fact that the roster is once again strengthened by Australian David Andersen, who broke his ankle mid-way through last season and was forced to watch CSKAs Final Four triumph from the stands. Andersen is considered by many to be the best center in Europe, and was formerly drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, but foolishly never brought over.
The biggest strength of the roster actually ironically comes from the bench, in the form of last years Euroleague Final Four MVP, Theodoros Papaloukas. The 6-7 Papaloukas solidified his place as one of the top basketball minds in the world, NBA or not, with the performance he put on against the US National team in the World Championships in Japan this summer, leading his team to victory behind 12 mostly spectacular assists. Hes widely considered the best player in Europe these days. Many expect him to take advantage of an NBA opt-clause in his contract this upcoming summer and finally test himself against the best of the best in the NBA. Papaloukas sees the floor and runs the pick and roll the way few players can, and is capable of providing an offensive spark as well if his team needs him to.
Rounding out the backcourt are three Americans; 6-4 sharpshooter Trajan Langdon, 6-1 creative combo guard JR Holden, and 6-5 Swiss army knife David Vanterpool. Off the bench is a new addition to CSKAs squad, versatile 20 year old combo guard Anton Ponkrashov, who will be followed closely by NBA scouts all year and seems to have cracked the teams rotation based off what weve seen in preparation games.
The other major cog to the team would be super skilled 6-9 mismatch threat Matjaz Smodis, who can punish opponents both with his back to the basket and facing the basket. Coming off the bench and playing an important role last year in CSKAs Final Four run were big men Alexei Savrasenko (7-1) and Tomas Van Den Spiegel (7-0).
CSKAs biggest strengths, besides their awesome depth and team chemistry, lies in the type of defensive mentality that Messina has imposed on his squad. CSKA is capable of playing lock down defense both in zone and man to man, and will quickly push the ball forward after getting a stop or getting in the passing lanes. Offensively, they enjoy excellent ball-movement from their backcourt to frontcourt, as all of their players possess solid court vision and are generally unselfish players, making them a very enjoyable team to watch. They play for each other and are for the most part all capable of stepping outside and knocking down perimeter jumpers as well. Were talking about an experienced team that has been to the Euroleague Final Four no less than four years in a row. It will be a shock if they dont make it five straight this April.