Hello everybody, this is Javier Gancedo, always from Euroleague Basketball, and this time around, just minutes before the deadline, so I better trade fast. I have been sick all week despite being to the 2009 Spanish King’s Cup final eight. I saw one of the best games of the season, the final between Tau Ceramica and Unicaja. T hose who did not have the chance to see it, well, you should give it a look. There is a nice recap on ACB.com and of course, there are less legal ways of watching it. It is a must-watch game, of course.
As for the NIKEiD Fantasy Challenge, well, all my players did well at home last week but now they all play on the road and that means trouble! The Top 16 gets stronger and stronger, so I don’t expect outstanding individual performances in Week 4, more like incredible games and incredible Team – with a capital T – efforts. Even with that, I gotta trade and this is what I will do now, just half an hour away from the deadline and with nine other games to take care about.
So, let’s go straight to business. I got rid of Sergio Llull because Real Madrid plays in Tel Aviv and Raul Lopez is back. I traded Stephane Lasme because I expect that Unicaja – Partizan game to be radically different that Partizan – Unicaja. And then I am getting rid of Sani Becirovic just because of his haircut. I don’t have any particular reason to trade him other than I need credits and he is expensive.
I am taking risks and signing Carlos Arroyo despite his mid-week problems with Maccabi Electra. It is a make-or-break game for Maccabi, so they need Arroyo to do well. I am getting Mirsad Turkcan because he is playing terrific in the last couple of games. Of course, I could have signed Tiago Splitter, but three Tau players was too much for me. That leaves me with a final trade and I have no idea what to do it whatsoever. So I will do whatever any conservative person would do – hey, I already risked with Arroyo, guys – and pick Immanuel McElroy of Alba just because of his consistency.
So my Meet The Boss team looks like this:
Carlos Arroyo – Decisive game for Maccabi, so Arroyo HAS TO do well against Madrid.
Dimitris Diamantidis – Still the best point guard in the game, so I kept him.
Immanuel McElroy – Looking for consistency here. Not expecting a good score, but he will be fine.
Juan Carlos Navarro – Must-win game for Barcelona, plus the next home game is against Madrid.
Igor Rakocevic – He has been sick lately, but I hope he plays at his usual level.
Pete Mickeal – His confidence is off any limits lately. Mickeal is ready for a big game against AJ.
Ioannis Bourousis – He always does well in games like this: Prokom at home? Bourousis time.
Felipe Reyes – The best player in Real Madrid right now. Expect a solid performance.
Nikola Pekovic – Honestly, I don’t see anyone in Lottomatica – and in many other teams – stopping him.
Mirsad Turkcan – The King of Rebound had an outstanding game in Zagreb – and now he plays at home.
That’s all for me this week, I gotta keep trading. Good luck this week and watch all Euroleague games in this exciting week!
