By Cem Pekdogru
The synopsis
It was not really breaking news when Anadolu
Efes, formerly known as Efes Pilsen, wasted yet another season overpaying a
roster full of mediocre players who do not mix well together on paper. Efes has
been dealing with that bad habit of overpaying for nearly a decade now, but that
was last year when things went really berserk. Not only in terms of money
thrown away, but extent of contracts as well. Ilias Zouros actually did a nice
job to lead the team to the league finals after taking over that kind of mess.
That said, it was nothing more than a rebound romance for Efes.
The feeling of nostalgia with all its overwhelming aspects might be the
trickiest subject regarding Generation Y. This endless yearning for the past
eventually reaches a point where you romanticize even yesteryear. Well, that
last one certainly is not the case with Efes, but the management has had its
own share of nostalgia. After getting swept by Ülkerspor/Fenerbahçe Ülker two
years in a row under Oktay Mahmuti, they took their first shot at finding the
special one in David Blatt in the summer of 2007. While failing again and again
at those attempts, they revisited that famous 1996 team which set an unmatched achievement
by winning Korać
Cup. The Second Coming of Ergin Ataman, a fellow assistant at the same
time under Aydın Örs, was never as good as advertised. Ufuk Sarıca’s time at
helm was not one bit more successful, nothing to cope with the reminiscences
from that particular game against Fortitudo. They even tried to imitate the philosophy blindly
and gave a half-chance to Ekrem Memnun, a longtime assistant of Mahmuti, who is
hardly a leader in the mold of his predecessors. Every time it looked like a
pastiche of a good but outdated thing. Now they found -or think they found- the
solution in the problem itself, and pushed the reset button to the summer of
2007.
The newcomers
Desperately stuck in the shadows of Bo
McCalebb’s welcome party across the town, Efes pulled the trigger and signed a
top-notch point guard maybe for the first time since Damir Mulaomerovic’s
arrival from Fortitudo. Despite his promising lockout vacation in Tel Aviv,
Jordan Farmar is yet to prove he is capable of holding up to a full season as a
primary floor general. Finally he started to make use of his change-of-pace
ability and draw contacts at Maccabi. That new look in his offensive game got
his miserable free throw rate headed into the right direction. All things
aside, only time will tell if they are spot on with that one and my memories as
a Lakers fan tend to suggest otherwise.
Preparing for a testing season, Farmar probably
does not feel alone under the guidance of veteran playmaker Kerem Tunçeri and
also newly acquired combo guard Jamon Lucas. Ex-Hokie made his pro debut with a
low-level team in Turkey, but has since established himself as a Euroleague
regular. After successful spells with
Maroussi, Olympiakos and Galatasaray, he already has 51 appearances under his
belt and his all-around game combined with an always-as-high-as-humanly-possible
intensity level is certain to help. Speaking of intensity levels, how about
Semih Erden? Mahmuti is well aware of the indifferent attitude that made Erden look
lost and uninterested most of his time with Cavaliers. It looks as though he has
every chance of developing into their only legitimate low-post threat. Not
really the type of hefty big man they need badly to protect the rim, but his finesse
moves are too good to look past.
Efes needs to sprinkle a few more bodies into
the mix this time around, considering the post-lockout struggles they went
through last season. Birkan Batuk is known to bring hustle to the game, but
looks likely to be a marginal role player in this Efes roster. He is not quite
Caner Topaloğlu 2.0 though and has a big edge on two energizing bunnies like
Sinan Güler and Doğuş Balbay offensively thanks to his decent shooting touch.
Regardless, it is no secret why they coveted a guy like Josh Shipp to add to
the firepower.
The key: Coaching (Stat to know: 110 percent)
Even if it seems quite premature, given the
imbalance in this present core, Efes fans have a strong belief that Mahmuti
will turn their fate around once again. They understandably want to see some toughness
and defensive discipline from their team, once the defining attributes of Efes
tradition. Recognized as a rare defensive mind, Mahmuti leaves no room for any
concern in this matter. But make no mistake that it will be the most
challenging season he has ever faced.
Maybe a cliché, but Mahmuti has a reputation
for getting 110% from his team.
Surrounded by guys like Sasha Vujacic and Stanko Barac, that is exactly what he
will have to do if he wants to rebuild a defensive identity coming off of a
woeful season in that respect.
The flaw: Uncertainty on offense (Stat to know: 24
percent)
Yes, defensively this Efes roster includes some
shaky performers to say the least. But early impressions indicate that bringing
a flow to the offense is an even greater priority. The roles should be defined
as soon as possible to put the team on the road to consistency.
During his short tenure with Maccabi, Farmar led
his team with a usage rate of 24%
that made him seventh most-used player in the league overall (with 15.26
possessions per game) and that is the exact same amount Efes let the offense
funnel through Vujacic last year. In the absences of Lucas and Erden, they
seemed to rely on this ongoing (second) reunion of Farmar and Vujacic too much
in Rixos Cup. And yet again, my Lakers memories insist that Mahmuti needs to
reestablish the offensive hierarchy and reduce the latter’s role to a
catch-and-shoot option for the best of both parties.
Lucas has a big opportunity to be a focal point
in Mahmuti’s pick-and-roll heavy offense after the successful season they had
together. His ability to finish at the rim also stands out as a rarity in this Efes
roster. Then there is Barac, who I believe with a gentle nudge from his coach,
can redefine who he is. (Feel free to get nostalgic about that one solid season
in Vitoria.) Dusko Savanovic has always been a hard player to figure out, but
he is likely to fare better in an offense that brings ball movement back.
The expectation
“Let’s not dig into past again. I’m happy, if
we managed to draw respect.” These are the words that spilled from Mahmuti’s
mouth in a Euro Step interview last spring, when he was asked about those
stingy Efes teams from the mid-2000s. A rigorous group play is on the horizon
and the new Top 16 format may be too demanding for a team that lacks depth in
several crucial areas. But to me, this quote alone proves that Mahmuti is
simply the one to debunk illusions of nostalgia plaguing this club for a long
time.
C: Semih
Erden / Stanko Barac / Ermal Kuqo
PF: Dusko
Savanovic / Kerem Gönlüm
SF: Sasha
Vujacic / Birkan Batuk
SG: Jamon Lucas
/ Sinan Güler
PG: Jordan
Farmar / Kerem Tunçeri / Doğuş Balbay
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