The times they are a-changin’
2023–2024 EuroLeague | Final Four Day 2
Any basketball fan in the Uber Arena last night, without any allegiance to Real Madrid or unbridled by any previous animosity toward a team or a coach, would have cheered for Panathinaikos. Such was the power of collective joy… It was a beautiful celebration of the game.
Real Madrid showed flashes of its brilliance early on. But Panathinaikos was able to ride the Real Madrid wave, and surfed up to the shore in the second half gloriously. When Real Madrid started missing the shots they were supposed to make, the feel of the game changed, and the light at the end of the tunnel was apparent for all to see. PAO did not take their eyes off it even for a second… The Nunn dunk at the end of the game was a brilliant piece of improv, channeling all the energy and feeling in the arena in a genius stroke….
Watching PAO dismantle a completely different team in a surprisingly similar manner helps with perspective. And inevitably gets one thinking about coaching. Sometimes it is difficult to assess causality on the court, and dismantle what your team didn’t do from what the opposition did. And in the heat of the game, like searching for your keys under a street light, one tries to make sense of the game just by looking at the players. And PAO players were brilliant. Lessort was a joy to watch, and I still cannot get over the possession where Grant denied Tavares the ball out of sheer will power under the paint. Sloukas had a game worthy of his name. But these kind of games are for a coach to win or lose. And Ergin Ataman won both games convincingly. Although some FB fans will need some time to process it, this is a big moment for Turkish basketball. And we were happy to be there to witness it.
They have to scratch the third place game. It is a most futile, meaningless endeavor that seems to serve no particular purpose. Players don’t want to play it, fans don’t want to watch it. What it was good for was some photo ops with couple of Euroleague greats from back when, that the brother was delighted with (İbrahim Kutluay has such an uncanny ability to fake a happy smile, it is scary). Watched the game, we did. It was such a painful experience overall though we were somewhat relieved when it did not go to OT, go figure.
Happy to see Scottie bounce back. We love Scottie, his heart is always in it -9 or 24. And Nick was joyful to watch. Was it his last game in a FB jersey? Looks like it, that will be a big hole to fill, and I am not talking about the stats, things started to fall into place this season as he grew into the leadership role the team desperately needed. He delivered whatever was asked of him, and what he saw to be lacking… Hope he stays, and don’t get me started on the salaries, just don’t. But hey, how far can you go with Calathes as your tough guy. There is a reason I have been having Charles Oakley flashbacks the last couple of days.
It looks like Poirier is coming to town, I am pretty happy about it, he felt out of place in that playful Madrid roster. Hope he brings some of that angst he was feeling in the final with him. We all desperately need it.
