Hole behind Alba Berlin, Bonn and Bavaria

An the weekend, the basketball Bundesliga concluded its first half of the season with the 17th matchday. With the exception of the three top teams from Berlin, Bonn and Munich, every team can also be defeated by representatives from the bottom of the table. This constellation creates tension, but on the other hand it is not a sign of quality.

A two-tier society with three teams on one side and 15 on the other is highly unusual. It didn’t come about because the teams improved below the play-off line. The teams in the bottom half of the table were just able to maintain their level, while places four to ten clearly went down. The Bundesliga has never been as weak as this season in recent years.

Chemnitz squad significantly weaker

The most recent matchday provided further evidence. In a top game announced in this way between third and fourth in the table, Bayern defeated BG Göttingen 105:74 at the beginning of a week that was exhausting for them with two Euroleague games. The difference of 31 points testified to a declassification. Nevertheless, it could be enough for the Goettingen to playoff participation.

This is also possible for the Niners Chemnitz, who are currently – like at the end of last season – in sixth place. In contrast to last season, however, the squad is significantly weaker. On Sunday, the Saxons lost 71:78 in the penultimate table in Braunschweig and thus missed the leap into the top four. The frighteningly weak hit rate of 19 percent in the three-point throws allowed Braunschweig the first home win. The lions only play with three foreigners.

errors and shortcomings

There are rows of such individual shots that come together to form an overall picture. The Fraport Skyliners were relegated after the end of the 2020/21 season, but were able to keep the league with a wildcard. The new line-up isn’t any better than the old one, but Frankfurt have a better chance of staying in the Bundesliga despite injury problems. Although Quantez Robertson, who is only 1.88 meters tall and now 38 years old, helps out in the center position for almost half of the season, the Hessians win games as probably the smallest professional team in Europe.

But that’s primarily because the competition has little to offer either. On Sunday, Veolia Towers Hamburg, who were still in the play-offs a year ago, gambled away a temporary 17-point lead in Frankfurt with a completely desolate second half.

Next example: The encounter between Ludwigsburg and Oldenburg was widely announced as a dress rehearsal for the “Top Four”. At the cup final tournament on 18./19. Both teams will meet again in the semifinals in Oldenburg on February 1st. After the duel on Saturday, the favorites from Berlin and Munich, who face each other in the other semi-final game, cannot predict any major difficulties for the final. Saturday’s comparison was marked by mistakes and shortcomings on both sides.

Oldenburg and Ludwigsburg have been among the extended favorites in recent years. They will also reach the play-offs this season, but the earlier expectations that they can threaten a favorite if everything goes very well do not live up to these teams at the moment.

Ulm made improvements twice

The big hole behind the top three teams Berlin, Bonn and Munich was created because many clubs that could be placed in the category just below reduced spending on their players. This is particularly evident in the people of Ulm. With Semaj Christon, Jarron Blossomgame and Cristiano Felicio, sports director Thorsten Leibenath had lured three former NBA professionals to the Danube before the 2021/22 season and signed a fourth with Sindarius Thornwell during the course of the season.

The Ulmer could not extend a single contract of these players and kept an eye out in much smaller leagues before this season. So Joshua Hawley’s previous professional experience was limited to Georgia and Romania. The new power forward from Ulm is not an isolated case. The tendency to bargain in weaker competitions may be related to many clubs with smaller budgets but is not conducive to the quality of the league.

Ulm has now reacted and made improvements twice. Brandon Paul and Bruno Caboclo are bringing back the NBA label. To explain the upward trend only with this would be monocausal and wrong. Nevertheless, the two newcomers make an important contribution. Other teams have also used the transfer market. But those who depended on smaller solutions like the Skyliners (Marcus Lewis from Poland and Isaiah Washington from Slovakia) could only improve marginally.

If there’s anything positive to be said for this quality hole from third place in the table, it’s that it should spur the top three teams on to grab pole position after the main round at all costs. Because as a Primus you get a much easier opponent in the play-off semi-finals, while the only serious competitors will face each other in a direct duel.

The author was coach of the year twice in Germany.