# Euroleague Final Four



## Vilius (Nov 13, 2006)

*Quarter-Finals*

**Montepaschi* 73-66 | 86-65 Fenerbahce Ulker
**TAU Ceramica* 74-66 | 55-76 | 85-68 Partizan
**Maccabi* 81-75 | 74-83 | 88-75 Barcelona
**CSKA Moscow* 74-76 | 83-73 | 81-56 Olympiacos

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*Semi Final, May 2*
Montepaschi vs. Maccabi
TAU Ceramica vs. CSKA Moscow

So all Top 16 group winners progressed to the Final Four. A shame Partizan couldn't make it. CSKA Moscow made it for the 6th consecutive time and again they are the main favourites.

I believe it will be CSKA vs Montepaschi in the final. On the other hand Maccabi were really good lately.

P.S. You can vote for All-Euroleague team here.


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## Vilius (Nov 13, 2006)

Final Four starts today!

*17:00 GMT Montepaschi vs. Maccabi* *live* here and/or here and/or here and/or here and/or here

*20:00 GMT TAU Ceramica vs CSKA Moscow* *live* here and/or here


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Maybe it's just really wanting it, but I voted for Maccabi.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Should be a great final game tomorrow. It's a shame Maccabi isn't at full strength (still without Fizer), because that does have an undeniable, serious impact on their team. If they win, it's irrelevant, but if they lose, it's hard not to ask "what if?" Regardless, they've still got a lot of talent, though. And it's not like a front line including Vujcic, Batista, Morris, Bluthenthal, Eliyahu, etc. is too bad.


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## Vilius (Nov 13, 2006)

Montepaschi 85-92 *Maccabi*

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TAU Ceramica 79-83 *CSKA Moscow*

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Montepaschi strated playing individually when they hada comfortable lead. Maccabi were getting closer to them and eventually took the lead and psychological advantage. They started hitting 3's and Siena couldn't respond. By the way, Montepaschi set a new Euroleague record in 3-point shot attempts in one game. They shot 45 times from 3-point zone!

I am not a fan of CSKA but I will be supporting them in the final because I want Siskauskas to finally win deserved MVP award


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

luther said:


> Should be a great final game tomorrow. It's a shame Maccabi isn't at full strength (still without Fizer), because that does have an undeniable, serious impact on their team. If they win, it's irrelevant, but if they lose, it's hard not to ask "what if?" Regardless, they've still got a lot of talent, though. And it's not like a front line including Vujcic, Batista, Morris, Bluthenthal, Eliyahu, etc. is too bad.


Eliyahu was particularly good in his limited minutes off the bench.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Krstic All Star said:


> Eliyahu was particularly good in his limited minutes off the bench.


I didn't watch, but did check out the stats and noticed that. 4-5 or something, with some nice rebounding numbers besides. That reminds me, I meant to try and find some online footage of him. I'm curious whether he looks like he's going to make it to, and in, the NBA, or whether Houston is just going to leave him.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I think he looks a bit bigger, but nobody else has mentioned that, so I could just be assuming...


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Do you know how to pronounce his name? I just watched clips from summer league and the announcer kept saying (phonetically) "Lee Ellie-AH-oo." Is that correct?


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

It's pronounced LEE-or El-ee-YAH-hoo


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## Vilius (Nov 13, 2006)

luther said:


> Do you know how to pronounce his name? I just watched clips from summer league and the announcer kept saying (phonetically) "Lee Ellie-AH-oo." Is that correct?


It should be Leeyor Ellyahoo. You can hear Israeli commentators pronouncing his name in this video.

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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Thanks. That's how I had been pronouncing it all along, and how it looks like it ought to be pronounced. That's why the clip I saw threw me.


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## Vilius (Nov 13, 2006)

Euroleague Final Live here!


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I was hoping for a Maccabi win SO much...  Great game by CSKA - no question about it.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

Langdon wins Euroleague Final Four MVP

I'm happy for Trajan. He was so much fun to watch in college. Did he make the right decision staying oversees?


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

From a salary perspective, I don't know what he's earning there. But I think while he belongs in the NBA in terms of pure ability, he is on a major-league club playing significant minutes. So from that perspective, yes, he did the right thing. In the NBA, it would take a perfect situation for him to be more than a bit player, and his salary would no doubt be at or near the minimum. 

It looks like, while Trajan had a great game, it was truly a team win for CSKA. A lot of players had very solid stat-lines: Andersen, Siskauskas, Papaloukas, Holden and Smodis joined Langdon in double figures.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

In the first half, it was _all _Langdon. I'm still not sure I could see him coming over to the NBA and being as much of a contributor as he's been for CSKA though.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Oh, definitely not as much a contributor as he is for CSKA. That's my point: I think he would range anywhere from not welcome on some teams to bit-player/shooting specialist on others to rotation role player. But that's probably the high end. And as I said, salary-wise, he'd be looking at near minimum. So if his goal is to get out there and really play, I think he's in the right place. 

I do think that in an NBA system with a lot of ball movement and where guys are running down court, he could flourish somewhat if given a chance, though. That, or in a system where they go to a lot of work in the half-court to get him shots. Clearly, he's too small to do much damage on his own, and he's no point guard. And he can't defend. But I can imagine him performing well either on a team like Phoenix/Toronto, or in a minor role somewhere like Detroit, where they run guys off a lot of screens. (The latter wouldn't make sense to me, though, because you just don't go to that much work to get someone like Langdon that many shots. He's just not worth them. I'm just saying it's possible.)


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

^ And maybe not in Phoenix if they let D'Antoni go. 

I think bit player/rotation is very accurate.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

luther said:


> Clearly, he's too small to do much damage on his own, and he's no point guard. And he can't defend.


Hmmm. I'm watching the ESPN360 replay right now, and they're saying he's a great defender. News to me. Must have been something he's gotten better at in the last 5 years. They also said he was All-League this year. Impressive. FWIW, I agree with everything that's been said. I really don't care to see him play in the NBA. He's no better than JJ Redick, and you see what happens to a player of that caliber and with that skill-set. Might as well stay over there and be a star.

Thought it was neat to see two other former ACC stars - Terence Morris and Will Bynum. All three of those guys look pretty much the exact same as they were in college.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

If he can defend NBA PGs or SGs, it's a miracle from nowhere. Because when he was last in the NBA, he was too slow to defend point guards and too small (and sometimes too slow) for shooting guards. But maybe he's become a smarter defender in the years since. Great, though ... I think not vs. NBA players. No, I'd find that hard to believe.


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## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

I think the "great" was in comparison to the fellas he's playing now. Like I said, it was mentioned during the game so they were obviously talking about him in context of the Euroleague.


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