Euroleague: Injuries, frightened and trouble in the emergency classic | Euroleague 2024

The Copa del Rey presented itself as an oasis for Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the opportunity of a title that would more or less relieved its tortuous seasons. Even a spring to straighten the way. It was easy to think that one of the two would return from Gran Canaria with a powerful mood impulse with which to face their reality, because of the last 15 editions they had won 14 (with 10 finals between both included). But not only did they become defeated, -one in the final, the other in rooms -also with more problems than they left. This Thursday they face in the palace (20.45 h., Movistar), a Euroleague classic loaded with emergency.

Ten days after the Unicaja was proclaimed champion, Real Madrid is missing a player, because Dennis Smith Jr.one of his winter reinforcements, hit the frightened and is already in Atlanta trying to redirect what was going to be a star race. For the non -white history, the 35 minutes of play will be left, distributed in four games, which came with the Vitola of having been a number three of the draft. “It has not adapted to our way of doing,” he confirmed Chus Matthew also that no one will come for him (the Euroleague market has already closed) and that he stays with the “14 that will fight until the end of the season” (Gaby Deck It is in the final stretch of its recovery). Including a Serge Ibaka from which his discomfort slid for his little importance in rotation (less after signing Bruno Fernando), even that he was also willing to leave. “Rumors that I don’t think have a very good intention,” in the words of his coach.

Nor does it seem that Barça will sign, despite Joan Peñarroya confirmed yesterday the injury of Juan Núñez (Inflammation of the external meniscus of the right knee), which does not rule out that he does not play again in the remainder of the season. The Madrid base joins Kevin Punterfallen in Las Palmas, Jan Vesely y Nico Lapstittle. The Barca ones remain with just a pure base in the template, Tomas Satoransky (Brizuela, even the young man Lady sarrthey will have to give a hand in the direction), and with many problems even to complete the call. They also experienced the failed incorporations. Raulzinho Neto by injury and the inexplicable trigger of Thomas Heurtelto which they returned from China and is now playing in the Leyma Coruña.

With all this, who is worse? A priori, it would seem that Barça himself, eliminated in cup rooms, seventh in ACB (11-9) and that he does not raise a title from the 2023 league (not counting his last years of hardships). Those of Peñarroya have, yes, one more victory in Euroleague. That is, in case of falling today they would be matched to Real Madrid with 14-13 (with the basket average Lost, because the whites won at the Palau 90-97). A victory would give them a good oxygen ball.

Because the truth is that Madrid is not for many wires either. From the final lost in Berlin, they recovered in part by lifting the ACB against UCAM Murcia, but they have lost two finals to a game, the Super Cup and the Cup, both against Unicaja. They are leaders of the Endesa League, but their panorama in Europe in the absence of eight days is alarming. “Now many direct confrontations with teams involved in this fight come, we want to make a good final sprint,” Matthew admitted to the playoff dispute. That is, end among the top six, something that seems complicated if it does not start winning today (next Thursday visit the track of the Panathinaikos champion). MINIMUM OBJECTIVE It would be to be at least in the Play In, which disputes a seventh match to the tenth.