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Plaza: I would like to see someone else deal with so many injuries

Fenerbahce won their last 15 Euroleague home games, this season they won 15 out of 16 home games. Their record in Top 16 is currently 6-0 and they are really looking great right now with 11 straight wins (league and Euroleague combined). Unicaja are having a lot of problems with injuries that keep hitting them

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Fener have been looking like a steam engine. They are on an 11 game winning run, and in that streak they won all 6 Top 16 games. They are the only undefeated team at this stage of the Euroleague competition and even though there are eight rounds left, they pretty much secured their advancement. 

- We have to forget the situation in the league table - said coach Zeljko Obradovic. 

Of course, theoretically they can get eliminated, but that's very unlikely realistically. Especially with their performances. Their biggest advantage is that they can win games in different ways. They can play stronger defense when needed, they can demolish with their offense if the opponents have a weaker start. And they can combine these two things and they win like they did on Monday at home when they defeated Darussafaka by 20. 

After their six point lead at the halftime, third period was crucial and they won it 31-17, and Obradovic could rest his main players. No one played over 24 and a half minutes which is what Datome got, and he was their most efficient player with 16 points, and of the 12 players that went in, only Kalinic failed to score. 

Fener were shooting great in that game (14/25 three pointers) and they controlled the rebounds as well which will be important today against Unicaja. The Turks can do that, because they are also strong in the paint so it, with great offensive diversity, gives them an advantage. Just like the fact that they are playing at home where they won their last 15 Euroleague games, and in the entire season they won 15 out of 16 games (league and Euroleague). 

- We are facing a team I respect a lot. They are having some injury problems, and that is hurting them a lot. But they are an aggressive team, the best in Euroleague in rebounds so we have to be ready for a tough game - said Obradovic, and Bogdanovic is thinking similarly: 

- Injuries haven't forced them to change their game style. They are very aggressive and they have great offensive transition. 

We should also add that Sloukas and Antic are still out for Fenerbahce due to injuries. 

Unicaja are slowly getting out of the hole they dug for themselves in the national championship. Since they are a working team, they have to 'bleed' for every win, and the same happened at Canarias. Defense was great, they limited the home team to 57 points and coach Plaza can be happy with that. 

The thing that cannot making him happy is the medical bulletin. After Markovic's major injury, Nedovic's illness, Hendrix's injury, now Jamar Smith joined the injured list. Team't best scorer was their only true point guard so it is no surprise coach Plaza is disappointed. 

- If any other team in Europe were without their point guard, scorer with the most playing time in the team and their first center, I would love to see them play. Injuries are a part of the game, but this is really difficult. Either way, the team is training well and we will give our best. Fener are a top team, quality in all positions, but we will try to compete with them. 

That will be hard with all the injuries and absences, even harder if we know that they lost six of their last 7 away games. In Smith's absence, Jackson should get more playing time, while with Vasquez in the paint we should see Cooley. Offensively that means a lot of problems for Unicaja who will have difficulty attacking Fener's strong defense.