An Unnecessarily Exhaustive Guide To The Euroleague Final Eight
The mainstay of the frontcourt, Felipe Reyes, is still doing his thing. He's scoring around the basket, hitting mid range jumpshots, occasionally venturing out slightly further than that, and still rebounding prolifically. As he's ageing, Reyes is beginning to struggle more defensively, yet he is covered in this regard by the rest of the frontcourt. Real's centre tandem of Ante Tomic and Mirza Begic stand a combined 14 foot 4 inches tall, ensuring that whenever you drive the lane, someone will be there to block the crap out of you. Begic, a midseason pick-up from Zalgiris (where he had averaged 2.3 blocks per game in only 21 Euroleague minutes per game), does not play much for Real. Yet that does not mean any less of a shotblocking onslaught, for ex-Maccabi big D'Or Fischer is also on hand, turning away 1.6 of his own in less than 20 minutes per contest. While Fischer does not have the height of the other two, he has far more athleticism than them both, and uses it to block shots and rebound prolifically, while also making a few midrange jumpers on offense.
The star frontcourt player, though, has been Nikola Mirotic. Not expected to be a big time player for Real, especially aged only 20, Mirotic has demanded a big role on the team based on his superior play. Mirotic contributes in pretty much all facets of the game - shooting, running, rebounding, finishing, driving, defending, even occasionally posting - and does so at all stages of the game, proving to be a vital clutch player in his first full season with this or any team. Mirotic has played so well that Jorge Garbajosa got released, as he was rendered surplus to requirements. Mirotic has played so well that versatile and once highly touted Serbain prospect Novica Velickovic now struggles to get rotation minutes, having to force a fit at small forward just to take the court. Mirotic has played so well that captain Felipe Reyes is also slowly seeing his role become marginalised, to the point that he will inevitably be squeezed out at some point in the next two years, just like Raul was.
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The star frontcourt player, though, has been Nikola Mirotic. Not expected to be a big time player for Real, especially aged only 20, Mirotic has demanded a big role on the team based on his superior play. Mirotic contributes in pretty much all facets of the game - shooting, running, rebounding, finishing, driving, defending, even occasionally posting - and does so at all stages of the game, proving to be a vital clutch player in his first full season with this or any team. Mirotic has played so well that Jorge Garbajosa got released, as he was rendered surplus to requirements. Mirotic has played so well that versatile and once highly touted Serbain prospect Novica Velickovic now struggles to get rotation minutes, having to force a fit at small forward just to take the court. Mirotic has played so well that captain Felipe Reyes is also slowly seeing his role become marginalised, to the point that he will inevitably be squeezed out at some point in the next two years, just like Raul was.
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