Euroleague Power Rankings: Jaycee Carroll and Real Madrid On Top

RANK	TEAM	THE RUNDOWN	LAST
1	Real Madrid (6-0; 13-3)	LAST WEEK: Won 86-78 (OT) vs. CSKA Moscow THIS WEEK: Thursday at Anadolu Efes Jaycee Carroll delivered one of the least conscious shooting episodes in Europe this season, hitting 6-of-8 from downtown and still somehow registering two assists (Did he pass? I don’t remember him passing.).  Meanwhile, Rudy Fernandez bested his all-time Euroleague self in the following departments: offensive boards (4), defensive boards (9), and yes, total boards, too (13).	1
2	CSKA Moscow(4-2; 13-3)	LAST WEEK: Lost 86-78 (OT) at Real Madrid THIS WEEK: Thursday vs. Panathinaikos CSKA lost. Barcelona won. Yet these rankings remain unchanged.  That’s because Madrid is the best team in Europe (for now) and CSKA lost to them in Spain, in overtime. The ‘(for now)’ means Moscow’s a threat for that top spot, while I feel Barcelona is not.  CSKA’s continuous gelling process, the recent re-addition of Serbian Godsend Zoran Erceg, plus the impending return of Andrey Vorontsevich (Russian, dangerous, look out below) all point to CSKA’s bar being centimeters above even Madrid’s, who is far closer to a finished product than the Russians.	2
3	Regal Barcelona (4-1; 13-2)	LAST WEEK: Won 85-66 vs. Montepaschi Siena THIS WEEK: Thursday at Maccabi Barcelona opened their door to the undefeated Tuscans and as most of Europe expected, quickly slammed it shut once Bobby Brown was halfway in. And as new ‘addition’ Brad Oleson watches helplessly from the sidelines for the remainder of the Euroleague schedule (he can only play ACB games since Barcelona acquired him after he’d already played Top 16 minutes for Caja Laboral; that’s a no-no), Xavi Rabaseda took a step toward becoming a rotation player, posting 16 points in 18 minutes and hitting all four of his threes. Xavi’s done this before, however, and you can never trust what a tease does against the looser-than-loose Siena outfit.	3
4	Khimki Moscow(4-2; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Won 83-71 at Caja Laboral THIS WEEK: Friday vs. Olympiacos Kelvin (KC, if you knew him at Clemson) Rivers’ defensive prowess makes him worth the floor time he receives. Rimas Kurtinaitis clearly likes him out there, sticking to the other team’s best swingman-ish scorer. But when you’re nearing 30 minutes per game, it certainly helps when you’re hitting 14-of-30 from three (47 percent) vs. 11-of-48 (23 percent). That’s how much he’s improved between the Regular Season and the Top 16. Guarding someone well makes you valuable; being worth a mark yourself multiplies that value.	4
5	Caja Laboral(4-2; 8-8)	LAST WEEK: Lost 81-73 vs. Khimki Moscow THIS WEEK: Friday vs. Montepaschi Siena Uh-oh. Back-to-back losses for everyone’s favorite riches-to-rags-to-riches tale has them looking a bit raggedy again. They’ve got a distinct size advantage against Siena this week and should exploit that; if they stage a Spaghetti Western draw-and-duel with the Italians, it may not end well. When in doubt, trust Zan Tabak. I think. Or thought, but probably still think.	6
6	Olympiacos(3-3; 11-5)	LAST WEEK: Won 82-71 vs. Fenerbahce Ulker THIS WEEK: Friday at Khimki Moscow Is Olympiacos a middling title defender scrambling to remember what clicked last season? Or are they a new team, with a new mentality, who are content to leave last season behind them in hopes to make room for a revelation they haven’t quite reached in the current one? It can be both, and it is. But the quicker they steer toward the latter, the better. An abundance of well-positioned talent will keep them afloat until that day arrives.	7
7	Montepaschi Siena(5-1; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Lost 85-66 at Barcelona THIS WEEK: Friday vs. Caja Laboral I promised myself I wouldn’t be that guy to grab vest/jump ship when the first signs of turbulence hit in Siena. Alas, promise broken. I’m even more embarrassed that the ‘turbulence’ was a mere road loss to Barcelona, whose breathe-down-your-neck brand of defense paired with indomitable size down low posed a near impossibility for Siena. Their real test–and chance to slide back up a notch on this list–comes this Friday when they host Caja Laboral, a fellow Cinderella down on her luck at the moment. It would be nice for Siena to pack that home win into their dop kits before flying to Israel to play Maccabi, who will be fiending for their fourth ad final taste of Montepaschi.	5
8	Anadolu Efes(5-1; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Won 78-73 at Unicaja THIS WEEK: Thursday vs. Real Madrid Yeah, yeah, so they’ve won five straight. And their guards defend the perimeter like their girlfriends are changing in the paint. Beat Madrid at home on Valentine’s Day. Then I’ll fall in love. Until then: you’ll be happy with eighth.	8
9	Panathinaikos (4-2; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Won 76-73 vs. Bamberg THIS WEEK: Thursday at CSKA Moscow So far, their four wins have come against the teams beneath them in the Group E standings. No shame in using your competition as a staircase to the Playoffs, but a sufficient stomping or three of lesser teams or just squeaking by one of the elites (CSKA, Madrid) would validate Panathinaikos as a team worth watching for the long haul. For now, the only thing that strikes me as Final Four-worthy about these Greens is the clover on the front of the jerseys, and the ‘Diamantidis’ on the back of that one guy’s.	10
10	Zalgiris (2-4; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Won 92-56 vs. Alba Berlin THIS WEEK: Friday at Bamberg After dropping three straight to the top teams in Group E, Zalgiris took care of business against Berlin as Marko Popovic (22 points, 8-of-11 from the field) enjoyed the freedom afforded him by Ibrahim Jaaber’s sudden leave of permanent absence. Round two of the German Blitz continues this week as the Lithuanians travel to Bamberg, where Brose Baskets are thirsty for their first Top 16 win and not entirely unequipped to pull it off.	11
11	Unicaja (2-4; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Lost 78-73 vs. Anadolu Efes THIS WEEK: Thursday at Alba Berlin Unicaja has beaten CSKA in Moscow and Bamberg in Spain, and struggled with the decent-to-very-good teams in between. In a stark contrast with Efes, Unicaja’s two American guards–Marcus Williams and Earl Calloway–try far too hard to impact the game offensively to the point where the role players are squeezed out of the picture. This week, instead of pounding it inside against Efes’ fluffy bigs, Williams and Calloway took 29 of Unicaja’s 66 shots (43 percent) and hit just 10 of them. Meanwhile, Andy Panko took just two shots in 24 minutes. You have to think a mismatch with Dusko Savanovic could’ve been exploited somewhere in there, no?  Yes.	9
12	Maccabi Tel Aviv(2-4; 10-6)	LAST WEEK: Won 77-55 at Besiktas THIS WEEK: Thursday vs. Barcelona Maccabi’s getting comfortable here in the twelfth spot, and unfortunately a win (even a big one) against the EL’s worst remaining side will result in not even the slightest budge upward. What might slide them downwards is a banged-up Lior Eliyahu; the forward and team captain (Guy Pnini lost out on that one) strained some knee ligaments during the Israeli Cup, and will miss at least a couple of weeks. Nik Caner-Medley’s progression to the anticipated mean is now more important than ever.	12
13	Fenerbahçe Ülker (1-5; 6-10)	LAST WEEK: Lost 82-71 at Olympiacos THIS WEEK: Friday vs. Besiktas Fenerbahce allowed opponents to score 80 points just three times in the 10-game regular season, and still their defense was unappetizing to both the trained and untrained eye. To remove doubt from either, they’ve since upgraded to clinically repulsive and allowed everyone to trample right past the 80 plateau. A perfect six-for-six in the Top 16. If Fenerbahce can’t keep Besiktas under 80 this week (they average 60 in this phase), Jordi Bertomeu should grab the next Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul and revoke their A License. (I’m kidding, I’m kidding. There’s a chance he’d fly private.)	13
14	Alba Berlin (1-5; 5-11)	LAST WEEK: Lost 92-56 at Zalgiris THIS WEEK: Thursday vs. Unicaja How do you turn it over 23 times, lose by 26, and hold your position in the power rankings? This is not a riddle, but the bottom tier of EL teams is starting to look like a joke.	14
15	Bamberg(0-6; 3-13)	LAST WEEK: Lost 76-73 at Panathinaikos THIS WEEK: Thursday vs. Zalgiris How did this team lose so horribly to Berlin a week before taking Panathinaikos down to the final minute, a minute in which Maik Zirbes getting either a little more or a little less finger on a loose ball could have meant upstaging the Greens in their own home? This question has no answer, I’m afraid, other than ‘Bamberg plays smart and therefore potentially good, but the gap between intelligence and performance more often than not leaves me disappointed.’ Sharrod Ford went for 15 and 14 and Jeremiah Massey will arrive from the Heavens the week after this one, which bodes well for their chances in the German League.	15
16	Besiktas(0-6; 5-11)	LAST WEEK: Lost 77-55 vs. Maccabi THIS WEEK: Friday at Fenerbahce Ulker Besiktas is averaging right around 60 for the Top 16, worst in the league. Yet even 60 might feel foreign to them now, as they’ve been flattened underneath it for the last four.	16

Nick Gibson, editor of EuroleagueAdventures.com, covers Euroleague and other international basketball developments for SheridanHoops.com. Click here to follow him on Twitter.