28/10/2023
Act. a las 20:46
CEST
The return to Europe of the Hernangómez brothers is taking very different paths in this first stretch of the season. Willy seems to fit better and better into the scheme of his new team in Barcelona, while Juancho He is performing well below what Greece expects of him.
After a journey in the NBA full of uncertainties and irregularity, Willy and Juancho They returned to the old continent under the banner of stars in FIBA competition, two players who in the European past had been instrumental in leading the Spanish team to gold. Both trained in ACB quarriesBarça and Panathinaikos were the destinations chosen by the brothers and, to date, their numbers on the court are widely uneven.
The eldest prevails over the little one
Willy is going from less to more in these first games as a Barcelona player, and it is the youngest of the Hernangómez family who is having a hard time adapting to Panathinaikos, a team that last summer hit the table with more than 11 signings. Juancho was the icing on the cake for the projecta player with aspirations of taking the Athens team to the Final Four again, which they have not visited since 2012.
His first two games in the Euroleague were remarkable, a state of form that has become a ‘nightmare’ in the last three. Against Baskonia, Maccabi and Fenerbachçe they had a total of 4 points in almost 50 minutesa deficit that his team is noticing at this start of the Euroleague. Ergin Ataman’s team has a record of two wins and three losses which places them in tenth position in the table, out of the playoffs right now.
In a team full of talents like Sloukas, Vildoza or Lessort, Juancho is without a doubt the ‘franchise’ player of this Panathinaikoswhere they expect a lot from his scoring ability and his dominating physique from the outside, capable of punishing any defender.
In Barcelona things are going better. Willylike his brother in Greece, also returned to Europe as one of the summer signings, a center under whom a large part of the Barça team’s aspirations fall this season. The sensations improve as the games go by, and his fit into Grimau’s scheme takes better and better shape.
After five games played in the Euroleague, The interior averages 11.4 points and 5 rebounds andn almost 17 minutes per match. His European staging was stellar, with 18 points against Anadolu Efes. Willy’s intelligence and low post skills are perfect for this ‘new’ Barça, in which the choral game prevails over individualities.
Jan Vesely is the starting ‘5’ to datea, a veteran forged in a thousand battles, but it is expected that the Spanish center can also occupy this position in the future. Nor is it ruled out to see Willy sharing important minutes on the track with the Czech and form a powerful interior duo at heights.
Despite the latest defeat against Real Madrid and a ‘limping’ start to the season, the general perception is that Roger Grimau has found the team’s key in these early stages of the season. In all competitions, the Blaugrana have accumulated a balance of 9 wins and 2 losses, second in the Euroleague and Endesa League. Not bad to start this new era.
In any case, many things are expected from the Hernangómez family for this campaign, two players who will need time to adapt for their respective teams. They have the Euroleague Final Four between their eyebrows…. Will they meet next May in Berlin?
2023-10-28 18:44:19
#Euroleague #Basketball #yin #yang #Hernangómez #Europe
