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COACHES CORNER
Lessons Learned
The Coaches’ Column begins its first corrective steps following the opening double week that kicked off the long EuroLeague marathon.
Published: 07/10/2025 22:59
What did we learn from the first two rounds?
The EuroLeague looks to be even more competitive this season, as the three new teams have already shown they’re here to stay — not just to make up the numbers.
Who could have imagined that the three unbeaten teams after two rounds would be Hapoel, Žalgiris, and Valencia? Itoudis’s work is immediately evident — he managed to turn a roster full of stars into a team from day one. The other two have also hit the transfer jackpot, building very strong backcourt trios: Žalgiris with Williams-Goss, Lo, and Francisco, and Valencia with Moore, Thompson, and De Larrea.
Dubai will also be dangerous, with Musa, Petrusev, and Kabengele already showing that they’ve arrived to make an impact.
The traditional powerhouses all lost, paying the price for limited preparation time after EuroBasket, which ended just two weeks before the season’s start.
Unfortunately, those losses affected our own coaching picks. Spanoulis managed to make up for the home defeat to Žalgiris with the only 20+ point win of the double week. Ataman, however, fared worse — losing to Penarroya at OAKA and barely edging out Bayern two days earlier.
Column Picks for Round 3:
1. Long-term option (horizon of 2+ rounds, ideally until the next week of unlimited changes)
At this point, neither Ataman nor Spanoulis inspire enough confidence to rely on wins — both face tricky away games (Baskonia and Milan, respectively).
There is, however, one team with three consecutive home games — the defending champion Fenerbahce, who will host Crvena Zvezda, Dubai, and Bayern. That makes Sarunas Jasikevicius a one-way choice at 8.5 credits.
2. Short-term option (one-round horizon)
Here, Scariolo faces the weakest team in the EuroLeague, ASVEL, at home — making 9 credits a solid investment. ASVEL looks destined to become the new Alba, even if they did beat Baskonia at home. The Harrison injury is a major blow to a team that relied heavily on him and De Colo.
For something cheaper but riskier, Tabellini is our bold pick to prevail over Ivanovic. Paris’s frenetic tempo and tough defense are hard to handle, and at 5.7 credits, it’s arguably the best value-for-risk choice on the market.
We rely on data as our ally, particularly the FDR (Home/Away) metric available through the Teams FDR tool (by selecting Home/Away filters to assess upcoming opponents). Naturally, in these early rounds, there isn’t yet enough data for fully reliable conclusions.
Let’s give coaches the attention — and the credit — they deserve.
Devotion!
The EuroLeague looks to be even more competitive this season, as the three new teams have already shown they’re here to stay — not just to make up the numbers.
Who could have imagined that the three unbeaten teams after two rounds would be Hapoel, Žalgiris, and Valencia? Itoudis’s work is immediately evident — he managed to turn a roster full of stars into a team from day one. The other two have also hit the transfer jackpot, building very strong backcourt trios: Žalgiris with Williams-Goss, Lo, and Francisco, and Valencia with Moore, Thompson, and De Larrea.
Dubai will also be dangerous, with Musa, Petrusev, and Kabengele already showing that they’ve arrived to make an impact.
The traditional powerhouses all lost, paying the price for limited preparation time after EuroBasket, which ended just two weeks before the season’s start.
Unfortunately, those losses affected our own coaching picks. Spanoulis managed to make up for the home defeat to Žalgiris with the only 20+ point win of the double week. Ataman, however, fared worse — losing to Penarroya at OAKA and barely edging out Bayern two days earlier.
Column Picks for Round 3:
1. Long-term option (horizon of 2+ rounds, ideally until the next week of unlimited changes)
At this point, neither Ataman nor Spanoulis inspire enough confidence to rely on wins — both face tricky away games (Baskonia and Milan, respectively).
There is, however, one team with three consecutive home games — the defending champion Fenerbahce, who will host Crvena Zvezda, Dubai, and Bayern. That makes Sarunas Jasikevicius a one-way choice at 8.5 credits.
2. Short-term option (one-round horizon)
Here, Scariolo faces the weakest team in the EuroLeague, ASVEL, at home — making 9 credits a solid investment. ASVEL looks destined to become the new Alba, even if they did beat Baskonia at home. The Harrison injury is a major blow to a team that relied heavily on him and De Colo.
For something cheaper but riskier, Tabellini is our bold pick to prevail over Ivanovic. Paris’s frenetic tempo and tough defense are hard to handle, and at 5.7 credits, it’s arguably the best value-for-risk choice on the market.
We rely on data as our ally, particularly the FDR (Home/Away) metric available through the Teams FDR tool (by selecting Home/Away filters to assess upcoming opponents). Naturally, in these early rounds, there isn’t yet enough data for fully reliable conclusions.
Let’s give coaches the attention — and the credit — they deserve.
Devotion!
