By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Three of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoff series are at 2-0 and there’s only one with the two teams tied. Olympiacos Piraeus, AS Monaco and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul are one win away from the Abu Dhabi Final Four after getting two victories against Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Paris Basketball, respectively. In the meantime, Anadolu Efes Istanbul escaped OAKA with the dub over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Game 2, courtesy of Shane Larkin.
Ahead of the second – and maybe last – week of the playoffs, we take a look at eight things (two for each quarterfinal series) to look forward to. From the factors that can lead to sweeps, to what teams should do to survive and star players that need to raise the level of their game.
Paris Basketball vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
– Paris tapping on their relentless nature at home
Paris showed two completely different versions of itself in the first two contests against Fenerbahce. In Game 1, the French side led 71-72 with five minutes to play and was down by just two points, 80-78, with 1:07 remaining before the hosts got the win. In Game 2, Fener’s dominance was undisputed as their opponents trailed by as many as 25 points ahead of a second straight loss.
While Fener is now obviously an even stronger favorite to advance to the semifinals, Paris is defined by a strong fighting character that won’t give up so easily, even when odds are against them. At home, they can surely expect to shoot the ball better than the 8.5 out of 29.5 on threes they had in Istanbul while making the necessary adjustments to force an extension of the series.
– Fenerbahce further confirming they’ve got Paris’s number
Even the strongest teams of the 2024-25 EuroLeague suffered against this relentless Paris team. First-seeded Olympiacos lost to Tiago Splitter’s side in Piraeus back in December, reigning champion Panathinaikos got swept in the regular season by the EuroLeague newcomer, and Monaco suffered a home defeat to Paris in the first half of the season.
Fenerbahce, however, is a notable exception since they are now at 4-0 versus Paris so far this season. Sure, they needed a spectacular buzzer-beating triple by Nigel Hayes-Davis to overcome them at home in the second half of the regular season, but the point is that they possess a unique know-how of halting the action of the 2024 EuroCup champs and coming out on top. It remains to be seen if they can confirm their dominance by finishing the series in France.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
– Kendrick Nunn’s MVP self showing up
After a magnificent regular-season finish and claiming the 2024-25 EuroLeague MVP crown, Panathinaikos superstar Kendrick Nunn has struggled somewhat with the defense of Anadolu Efes in the first two games of the playoff series between the two sides.
Nunn averaged 14.5 points plus 5.5 assists in Games 1 and 2 but was quite inefficient, shooting 37.5% on two-pointers and 25% on three-point attempts with 4-of-16 shots made from downtown. While this shooting lapse didn’t come at a cost in Game 1, Efes got the win in Game 2 to tie the series.
Efes has done a fine job against Nunn so far, but it will be quite surprising to see the American player performing below his standards for a third straight game. If the MVP shows up in Istanbul, then everything will become much easier for Panathinaikos.
– Efes proving Larkin’s statement on the floor
“I personally think that this team is more talented,” Anadolu Efes superstar Shane Larkin said when asked to compare this version of the Turkish side to the team that won back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022.
It was quite a bold statement, but Efes has a chance to demonstrate how true that is in the upcoming games in Istanbul since the team does have a large amount of quality on their roster. Players like Jordan Nwora (1.5 points in 10:43) or Darius Thompson (7.0 points on 5-of-16 shots and 4.0 assists) can definitely contribute more, while Elijah Bryant will want to leave the poor performance of Game 2 (1-of-9 shooting) behind and return to his usual quality play.
Efes will need to get almost the maximum of its indeed talented roster to counter the expected reaction of the reigning champion, Panathinaikos.
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Real Madrid
– Evan Fournier recovering his shooting form
Olympiacos Piraeus is up 2-0 against Real Madrid and will look to finish the job as early as possible in Spain. What can definitely propel the Reds toward achieving their goal of sweeping will be an efficient display by superstar Evan Fournier.
After finishing the EuroLeague regular season shooting 37.3% on three-pointers, Fournier went 3 of 18 from deep in Games 1 and 2, having problems to convert shots – even solid open looks – that he can otherwise make in his sleep.
Will that change in Madrid? The French swingman actually had his highest-scoring game this season so far at Real when he poured in 28 points during a win back in January. If Movistar Arena inspires him in a similar fashion again, then Olympiacos’s chances of closing the series on the road will become vastly larger.
– Real Madrid finding some offensive groove
Real Madrid has been priding on being one of the best – if not the best – defensive teams in the EuroLeague. Their physicality, aggressiveness and defensive tactics helped them close the regular season with six straight wins and then beat FC Bayern Munich in the second round of the play-in to secure a playoff spot.
Defense alone, though, won’t be enough against Olympiacos. In the two losses at Piraeus, Los Blancos scored 72 and 71 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively – outputs that are way too low to get a win at this kind of level, especially against the first-seeded team. They also committed a damning number of 18.5 turnovers, which their opponents converted into 20.0 points.
Real needs to seriously improve its offensive game if they want to at least take the series back to Greece. As star guard Facu Campazzo admitted after the Game 2 loss: “If we want to win this series, we have to play great basketball. We aren’t going to win just by hustling and fighting.”
AS Monaco vs. FC Barcelona
– Monaco retaining the same rhythm
No team has been more dominant in the playoffs so far than AS Monaco. They have put on the floor well-balanced, effective basketball on both ends to go up 2-0 against Barcelona with relative ease. Indeed, the Monegasque squad won their two games by double-digit numbers, led by 19 points in both games and were in control for the vast majority of the two second halves, averaging 94.5 points in each contest.
Monaco has also posted a fantastic average of 24.5 assists in the series and had five players scoring in double figures in both games. “Everybody eats” in Vassilis Spanoulis’s system and this is the guide his team will trust in to secure an early Final Four return, having made it for the first and only time back in 2023.
– Barcelona utilizing some defense
Barcelona can’t hope to simply fight fire with fire against this Monaco team. They need to show much better grit, hustle and overall superior defensive effort to stay alive in the playoffs.
In the second halves of Game 1 and Game 2, Barcelona particularly collapsed on defense by allowing 32 and 31 points, respectively, in the third quarters as Monaco entered the final period with 17-point and 16-point leads. They ended up giving up 97 and 92 points.
Joan Penarroya’s players know that there’s no tomorrow in the series and their survival instincts should kick in with an extra boost by the crowd inside Palau Blaugrana.
The post Eight Things to Look Forward to in the Second Week of the EuroLeague Playoffs appeared first on Eurohoops.
