Lots of games for Fraport Skyliners

Bhe defeats against Bayern Munich (52:75) and Oldenburg (69:86) were too much for the Fraport Skyliners. Only once, against the newly promoted Chemnitz, did the Frankfurt Bundesliga club emerge as a certain winner from the first five games of the season. However, the Hessians met with Alba Berlin and Ludwigsburg on a total of four sizes in the league. From now on, however, the Skyliners are challenged among their own kind if they do not want to be among the very narrow circle of relegation candidates in the future.

Bayreuth at home this Saturday (6 p.m. at Magenta Sport), Crailsheim (December 22nd), Braunschweig (December 26th), Gießen (December 30th) and Weißenfels (January 2nd) are the upcoming opponents in the Christmas season and at the turn of the year. And the Frankfurters should definitely achieve three successes in the game rally that started suddenly in order to be able to start the new year with a feeling of security. From November 8th to December 12th, they played their first five league games. Now it’s five in just two weeks. Head coach Sebastian Gleim will be curious to see how his players deal with the new rhythm of the game.

With Joe Rahon, the new, old playmaker will probably make his debut against Bayreuth. Last Thursday, the American had passed the quarantine period prescribed after his arrival in Frankfurt. Gleim announced that Rahon “wants to integrate as well as possible in this short time before the game”. It’s good that the advanced player is familiar with large parts of the Frankfurt gaming system from the previous season.

With the presence of Rahon, whom Gleim values ​​as a “classic point guard”, “who has the passport in mind first”, times could turn for the better for Jon Axel Gudmundsson. Because in the 80:94 last against Ludwigsburg, the Icelander groaned under the burden of responsibility. The dual role he was assigned as playmaker and thrower led to him making wrong decisions.

These were also favored by the great pressure that the Ludwigsburg had exerted on the Frankfurt players who carried the ball. With Rahon behind him, Gudmundsson, who with 13.6 points per game is the second best thrower of the Skyliners behind Matt Mobley (16.5), should have new opportunities to develop. The Bayreuthers (6: 6 points) have always won the games against teams that are behind them in the ranking. The Skyliners now want to change that.