This past week, the first stage of the major European competitions, the Euroleague, Eurocup and Eurochallenge group stages, came to a close. The final week of the Euroleague finished with a bang, with Unics Kazan failing to reach the top 16 despite having a high-budget roster featuring Keith Langford, after being upset by fellow Russian squad Nizhny Novgorod, who were playing without their star guard Taylor Rochestie. Although most of the European basketball community may be focusing on Europe’s top competitions, NBA