Credit: Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images
Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

When Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely were sidelined due to injuries, most of us thought Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul were out of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs. But Sasa Djordjevic and his crew turned things around.

Without two of their biggest stars, who combined 25.5 points per game, Fenerbahce went on a 4-game winning streak. How did that happen?

Under coach Djordjevic, everything always started from the defense in Fenerbahce.

Turkish powerhouse allows 73.67 points per game, and per BBallytics, shares the 5th best defensive rating in the EuroLeague.

In this 4-game stretch, Fenerbahce improved their defensive rating to 3rd best, showing elite numbers in main defensive categories, such as steals (8.5), forced turnovers (15.8), or rebounding (3rd best).

Offensively, they were 10th best this year. The slight increase of 3-point shooting accuracy (from 33.3% to 36.1%) and assists (19.8) improved the general offensive rating to the 5th best.

But looking at general stats, almost nothing changed.

Sources around Fenerbahce also didn't mention any specific change inside the team or Djordjevic's philosophy. The rotation was shortened, but injury problems united this group even more, and players got more confident taking more significant responsibilities.

At first, Pierria Henry's leadership example playing through injury against Olympiacos and later Zalgiris, the game where the point guard shouldn't have shown up, inspired the rest of the group.

And when Fenerbahce erased a 17-point deficit against Zalgiris, followed by a tremendous Sehmuz Hazer poster dunk, Fenerbahce just went off.

The main difference actually occurred in the 4th quarter.

In the first 17 rounds, Fenerbahce were 14th in 4th quarter points allowed (20.5). They were losing the last 10-minute stretch by 0.9 points per game.

Free throws this season

76%
12,0
Points made: 12,0
Accuracy: 75,8%
Place in standings: 10
Record max: 21
Record min: 4
Most made FTs: Jan Vesely

At the beginning of the season, Fenerbahce fell short in the most decisive games as 6 of 10 Fenerbahce's losses came with less than 5 points. Fenerbahce lacked killer instinct, right go-to guys, and accuracy to finish games in their favor.

But with two men down, Fenerbahce clicked as never before.

During the winning streak, Fenerbahce won the 4th quarter by 9 points on average, marking the EuroLeague-best both in 4Q points (23.8) and points allowed (14.8).

In most cases, the solid 4th quarter helped them to turn games around:

  • 17-9 vs. Milan
  • 21-13 vs. ASVEL
  • 29-16 vs. Zalgiris
  • 28-21 vs. Olympiacos

Numbers-wise, they were the best 4th team in EuroLeague by offensive rating, defensive rating, rebounds, true-shooting percentage, and assists.

More importantly, when needed the most, Marko Guduric emerged as a true Fenerbahce leader.

Dealing with post-injury problems, a 26-year-old Serbian struggled to find his rhythm early in the season.

In the first 17 games, Guduric averaged 8.8 points on 51.4% 2-point and 37.5% 3-point shooting, 2.3 assists, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 steals.

But during the latest 4-game stretch, Guduric numbers increased to 15.5 points (70% from 2-point, 50% from 3-point range), 4.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.3 steals in 22 minutes.

From the second-worst in Fenerbahce per +/- in the first 17 rounds, Guduric became by far the best Fenerbahce player.

You can hear the entire conversation about Fenerbahce's renaissance in the latest URBONUS podcast:

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Marko Guduric

Marko  Guduric
Team: Fenerbahce Istanbul
Position: SG, SF
Age: 26
Height: 196 cm
Weight: 91 kg
Birth place: Serbia