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We feel devotion
DataCenter
COACHES CORNER
Small Steps
The Coaches’ Column stays loyal to its strategy — even as surprises keep piling up.
Published: 14/10/2025 16:36
What have we learned from the first three rounds?
We’ve confirmed just how competitive the Euroleague is — with only one undefeated team left, Zalgiris.
The expansion in teams and games, combined with the late EuroBasket, has resulted in many squads still lacking full rhythm and form — they’ll adjust and improve as the season goes on.
The takeaway? Especially early on, we should expect more upsets than usual.
In Round 3, we had another surprise that impacted our long-term pick: Saras Jasikevicius lost in Turkey to Red Star, whose players clearly had extra motivation after the departure of Sfairopoulos (–5 points, –0.3 credits).
On the other hand, our short-term choices all delivered: Tabellini earned +20 points and +0.4 credits, while Scariolo added +0.3 credits.
So, we now need to seriously evaluate whether the long-term strategy still makes sense. The evidence so far shows that expensive coaches, even when generally consistent, are punished more harshly by a single bad result. We’ll keep monitoring this and revisit it later.
For now, there’s no time to rest — another double week begins immediately.
The column’s picks for Rounds 4 and 5:
1. Long-term option (two-round horizon, until the next unlimited transfers week):
Only Fenerbahce, the reigning champions, have two straight home games, both as strong favorites — against Dubai (without Musa) and Bayern (weakened). That makes Saras Jasikevicius the recommended long-term pick at 8.2 credits.
Other teams with back-to-back home games include Red Star, Maccabi, and Paris, but only Paris seems capable of pulling off two wins — against Baskonia and Hapoel.
2. Short-term option (one-round horizon):
Here, Ergin Ataman faces Villeurbanne, the weakest team in the Euroleague, at home — so his 9.6 credits look like a solid investment. Villeurbanne seems to be this year’s version of Alba.
For a cheaper, riskier alternative, we’ll stick with Tabellini, who we believe will edge out Galbiati. Paris’s up-tempo style will likely be handled better by Baskonia compared to Virtus last round, but at 6.1 credits, the French coach still offers excellent value.
We continue using data as our assistant tool — particularly the FDR (Home/Away) indicator from the Teams FDR (by selecting Home/Away from the filters and checking upcoming opponents). Naturally, with so few rounds played, the data set is still too small for solid conclusions.
Let’s keep giving coaches the credit — and attention — they deserve.
Devotion!
P.S. Let’s see if the coach in the main picture will continue his streak of… losing this round!
We’ve confirmed just how competitive the Euroleague is — with only one undefeated team left, Zalgiris.
The expansion in teams and games, combined with the late EuroBasket, has resulted in many squads still lacking full rhythm and form — they’ll adjust and improve as the season goes on.
The takeaway? Especially early on, we should expect more upsets than usual.
In Round 3, we had another surprise that impacted our long-term pick: Saras Jasikevicius lost in Turkey to Red Star, whose players clearly had extra motivation after the departure of Sfairopoulos (–5 points, –0.3 credits).
On the other hand, our short-term choices all delivered: Tabellini earned +20 points and +0.4 credits, while Scariolo added +0.3 credits.
So, we now need to seriously evaluate whether the long-term strategy still makes sense. The evidence so far shows that expensive coaches, even when generally consistent, are punished more harshly by a single bad result. We’ll keep monitoring this and revisit it later.
For now, there’s no time to rest — another double week begins immediately.
The column’s picks for Rounds 4 and 5:
1. Long-term option (two-round horizon, until the next unlimited transfers week):
Only Fenerbahce, the reigning champions, have two straight home games, both as strong favorites — against Dubai (without Musa) and Bayern (weakened). That makes Saras Jasikevicius the recommended long-term pick at 8.2 credits.
Other teams with back-to-back home games include Red Star, Maccabi, and Paris, but only Paris seems capable of pulling off two wins — against Baskonia and Hapoel.
2. Short-term option (one-round horizon):
Here, Ergin Ataman faces Villeurbanne, the weakest team in the Euroleague, at home — so his 9.6 credits look like a solid investment. Villeurbanne seems to be this year’s version of Alba.
For a cheaper, riskier alternative, we’ll stick with Tabellini, who we believe will edge out Galbiati. Paris’s up-tempo style will likely be handled better by Baskonia compared to Virtus last round, but at 6.1 credits, the French coach still offers excellent value.
We continue using data as our assistant tool — particularly the FDR (Home/Away) indicator from the Teams FDR (by selecting Home/Away from the filters and checking upcoming opponents). Naturally, with so few rounds played, the data set is still too small for solid conclusions.
Let’s keep giving coaches the credit — and attention — they deserve.
Devotion!
P.S. Let’s see if the coach in the main picture will continue his streak of… losing this round!
