BallinEurope is previewing all 18 Euroleague Basketball teams ahead of the start of the season. Today it’s the turn of Pierric Poupet’s LDLC Asvel. Last year’s preview didn’t go over well with their fans. This year likely won’t endear Emmet Ryan to them either
On the upside, LDLC Asvel outperformed this site’s expectations for them last season. On the downside, they were still objectively awful by Euroleague Basketball standards. There’s little reason to expect a jump forward in this campaign.
Last season
Euroleague record: 9-25
Regular season position: 17th
Playoffs: NA
LNB record: 25-9
Regular season position: 3rd
Playoffs: Lost semi-finals 3-2 (Paris Basketball)
Other: Lost Leaders Cup quarter-final (Nanterre 92), lost French Cup last 16 (AS Monaco)
Who’s gone?
Youssoupha Fall (FC Barcelona), Noam Yaacov (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Mike Scott (Gigantes), Timothy Luwawu-Cabarrot (Baskonia), DeShaun Thomas (free agent).
Who is new?
Theo Maledon (Phoenix Suns), Melvin Ajinca (Saint-Quentin), Tarik Black (Reggio Emilia), Shaquille Harrison (Memphis Grizzlies), Admiral Schofield (Orlando Magic), Neal Sako (Cholet).
Who stayed?
Mbaye Ndiaye, Joffrey Lauvergne, Paris Lee, Nando de Colo, David Lighty, Charles Kahudi, Edwin Jackson.
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Need to know
As mentioned at the top, last season’s preview of LDLC Asvel’s campaign did not go over well with their fans. The pick was dead last. They managed one place better than that. Most of the issues that plagued that roster are still there. It’s a pity because the club’s decision to focus heavily on French players is quite cool. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to bridge the gap with even the fringe Euroleague Basketball postseason contenders.
What the bookies think
The sportsbooks have one disagreement over LDLC Asvel. They’re not sure just how long a price to put on them. At present they range between 100/1 and 400/1 in Euroleague Basketball betting. There’s no real consensus but a plurality of major bookies have them at either 125/1 or 150/1.
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What we think
This just isn’t a competitive roster. At the Euroleague Basketball level, you need to spend to compete. LDLC Asvel simply isn’t in the same position as others to make those big splashes. In truth, it’s not even likely to spend at the level required to be a solid dark horse. When that’s your reality, the result is inevitable.
Fearless prediction
On the upside for LDLC Asvel, I have them ranked higher than last season. The downside is that it still looks like they’ll struggle to get double-digit wins over the course of this campaign. Euroleague Basketball appears to have three tiers this season. There are the power teams, the very good, and the weak. Asvel appear to be the strongest of the weak. That’s basically it.
Pick: 16th in the regular season
