Day 16 Euroleague

Baskonia - Unics Kazan

* I will begin with saying something provocative: if I was a GM, I would never take Langford to my team. True, he is leading the Euroleague with points and RKG, on his way to win again the Alphonso Ford trophy (And finished tonight another great personal statistics game with 19 points and 29 RKG). Nevertheless, Langford is one of those players who does not make their teammater nor their team better. The more he is performing better, the worse his team looks like. So he won awards for personal performances, but never reached a final four. Basketball is a game of 5 against 5. And not to mention his horrible defence - tonight he was guarding the athletic Beaubois in a James Harden style - mostly with his eyes. In the second half Pashutin tried to hide him in defence against Baskonia's SFs, but the damage was already done.

* Being a smart coach, Sito Alonso played he defence tonight focusing on Kazan's superstar. Baskonia were doing team effort each time Langford had the ball: automatic double ups after a screen, team sagging when he takes the ball to the rim and forcing him to go right (he is a left handed). Depite Langford's 19 points, despite leaving other players to make easy points (or against uncapabale defenders like Prigioni), Baskonia's defensive effort was succesful. Langford took the ball and played on against five. It ended most of the time either with a foul or with a russian turnover, and with the destruction of their offensive game. Baskonia won the first half by assists with an amazing 15-3.

* Bargnani's knee injury might be the best thing happened to Baskonia this season. They discoverd a gem called Voigtmann. Forget Zirbes or Pleiss, he is the best German center currently in the Euroleague, and has enough potential to be the best Euroleague center in upcoming years. That, of course, if he will not move to the NBA. Tonight it looked like Kazan need to send four players to the paint in order to stop him. Voigtmann is doing everything on the court: he is an offensive rebound machine, passes assists, makes points, plays inside as well as outside and even runs the court to finish fast breaks. The whole package.

* If Kazan still believe they can reach the playoff, they have to change their game philosophy. Langford should not be the man with the ball - he should be used merely as a finisher. Colom should be the one mastering the russian offence. He is being underrated - the andorian guard has great eye for passing. Unlike Langford, he can started somthing in Kazan which looks a bit like a team play. And tonight Kazan learnt how important that is.

#Euroleague #Baskonia #Kazan