EuroView: Steindl's sizzling shooting
Clint Steindl continued his sizzling start in his debut European season with the Leuven Bears in Belgium, scorching Brussels a game-high 20 points in a tough 70-78 loss. Steindl connected on a sizzling 4/5 from beyond the arc alongside 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes. The sharpshooting forward has boosted his scoring average to 19 points per game (3rd best in the league) while shooting the three-ball at 47.2%, as Leuven sits mid-table in 6th place with a 3-3 record.
In Lithuania, BC Zalgiris Kaunas were able to earn a 13 point victory over Nevezis (81-68) to maintain their position at the top of the LKL with an impressive 8-1 record. Brock Motum was not really required in this contest, playing just 15 minutes and adding just 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal in that time. The Australian Boomer has been in great form so far, shooting 51.5% from the field and 45.5% from three-point range for 6.9 points in almost 15 minutes per game. Zalgiris has a deep roster and they have been spreading the minutes in the national league competition to ensure they are primed for their mid-week Euroleague games.
Right on the heels of Zalgiris in Lithuania are Ben Madgen's surging Lietkabelis, who improved their record to 7-2 after rolling through lowly Siaulai 101-66. Madgen has been in outstanding form for his new side this season, delivering 9.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 20 minutes per game. In their latest blowout win, Madgen only played 15 minutes and added 8 points and 4 rebounds, but like Motum, has been a model of consistency for second placed Lietkabelis so far this season.
Ryan Broekhoff has experienced a relatively quiet opening to the season with Russian outfit Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar based on his lofty expectations. In Lokomotiv's latest outing in the VTB United League, Broekhoff came off the bench to contribute 5 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes in a 93-66 demolition of Nizhny Novgorod. After making it to the Euroleague Final Four and the VTB United League finals last season, Lokomotiv have started their season off slowly, boasting just a 1-2 record to open their campaign. Broekhoff has only been able to add 5.3 points per game, well down from his 10.5 points per contest last season, something he will be looking to rectify over coming weeks.
In is first season of professional basketball, Jonah Bolden has quickly found out just how difficult life in Europe can be. Bolden came off the bench to play 14 minutes in FMP Belgrade's 68-87 loss to Cibona in the Adriatic League. In his time on court, the promising forward was able to contribute 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist as FMP were unable to improve on their 2 wins from 7 games (9th place). Across 6 games, Bolden is averaging 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Venky Jois is also in his first season as a pro with Estonian outfit Tartu Rock who are currently sitting on top of the national league table with an unblemished 3-0 record after their last game on 21 October. Tartu are also playing in the FIBA Europe Cup, dropping their last start to Pau-Lacq-Orthez 56-77. Jois added 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in a solid performance, but was unable to prevent his side from drop;ping their second straight contest to sit without a win on the bottom of Group E.
In the British Basketball League, Josh Wilcher's Cheshire Phoenix faced Daryl Corletto and Rhys Carter's Plymouth Raiders. Carter piled on 24 points on 10/14 shooting with 3 steals as Plymouth prevailed 93-84, overcoming a rare quiet game from Corletto who added just 5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. for Cheshire, Wilcher continued his great form in gathering 17 points with 7 assists, as Cheshire dropped to 2-5 on the season while the Raiders improved to 4-3.