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Both opponents with new Americans on the team

Galatasaray acquired Young for the paint, while Kutxa somewhat surprisingly decided on point guard Mike James. Perkins and Huertel seem to be very close to leaving

Galatasaray lost center Furkan Aldemir for unpaid salaries, even tough Ataman claims it's an attempt to steal his players. Aldemir will be leaving for the States, while Patrick Young arrived to Istanbul a few days ago and might be on Ataman's disposal for this extremely important game. Who ever wins today will make what might turn out to be the crucial step toward Euroleague Top 16. 

Young is a 22-year-old undersized center (206 cm) who was never drafted by any of the NBA teams despite having spent four great years with Florida Gators.

- The whole night went by and the phone never rang. I couldn't believe it - Young said after the draft.

He was later invited to join the Pelicans for the Summer League, but they sacked him recently without giving him any time on the floor. He's a tough guy and New Orleans assistant coach once said he's afraid that the Saints, an NFL team, will acquire him. He is some sort of a version or Brandon Bass or maybe Mensah Bonsu. There are reasons to his lack of success in NBA, which are first and foremost poor offense, mediocre free throw efficiency and poor long-distance shots. But, we should not be surprised with Ataman deciding to bring him on. Aldemir was a player of similar quality and Ataman needs someone who will give extra strength in the key and who will bring their defense to the next level. He's got enough choice for offense as it is. Young can play at position four, where Ataman desperately needs a substitute for Erceg, who's averaging more than 30 minutes both in Beko League and Euroleague.

Galatasaray were defeated to Valencia last week and are now on a 3-4 record like their opponent Kutxa and Neptunas. Their win and the expected defeat for Neptunas in Greece would probably be the key step towards Top 16 for the Turkish team. A win is a necessity for them since they're still to meet Neptunas away and no team but Olympiacos managed to beat them in Lithuania (overtime), and Olympiacos home in he end, which no one wants to turn into a crucial meeting.

They managed to lose to Turk Telekom on Monday, with mediocre performances by Erceg and Arroyo. Turk's center was unstoppable in their key, finishing with almost 30 points. Those are the defense problems Atman will try and resolve with Young on the team. Today's opponents aren't very good in the key offense-wise, Begic and Iverson and not offense-oriented centers and this meeting will be settled in the perimeter mostly. Galatasaray were 5 or 6 points up in the very end of the game in Vitoria, Micov had a shot for the win, but after that, they had a few poor defense moves, allowing center Iverson to take the key shot.

Micov and Aldemir are not on the team today, but at least Pocuis is back.

Kutxa acquired an American ahead of this game as well. It's point guard Mike James that used to play in Zagreb, which was his first European stop. It ended badly, but he later ended up at Kolossos to be averaging 31 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4  assists this season. He is clearly more of a scoring point guard and another questionable acquisition in Vitoria. The reason he joined probably has a lot to do with Perkins and Huerte's possible departure. The Frenchman's contract expires at season's end and he won't be extending it. It's quite possible he will leave before that. Huertel signed for BeoBasket agency, which fueled the rumors that he'll be joining Efes Pilsen, since Misko Raznatovic, head of the agency already has a few players and a coach there. We all know there's no such thing as coincidence...

- James is travelling to Istanbul with the team. He's played minor leagues so far and did well. He has now joined a top-level team and his game has to change a bit. He's ready to work on it - coach Navarro said. He will have three point guards to count on today.

While Euroleague has no limit when it comes to foreign players on each team, ACB League does. If the coach wants James on the list for the Sunday game with Valencia, someone else will have to be taken off the list.

- Perkins is a member of the team. He'll be here, he wants to stay and help - Navarro said about Perkins, who  was making a tandem with Kandemir at Besiktas last year.

- It's an important game, but not the crucial one. If Galatasaray win, they're in, but if we win and then lost to Valencia next week, we're in trouble. We  know their players score easily, even when you defend them. They have not lost a single game home.

Navarro drew a comparison between Arroyo and Spanoulis. The Greek scored 27 in their h2h game last week, but they destroyed the Greeks in what might as well been their top performance this season.

- There are differences between Arroy and Spanoulis. The defense style you have to use against them is not the same either.

Except for defending Arroyo, standing up against Erceg will be another important thing. Position 4 is probably Kutxa's greatest problem, with Sengeli and Tilllie not seeming too convincing at that position. Sengelia had 3-for-8 from the floor in the first head-to-head game, while Tillie and him scored three times less than Erceg combined (8-24).

Galatasaray are undefeated home this season, while Caja don't have a single win away. Every streak must come to its end and I think the time is right for it. Galatasaray are constantly struggling with unpaid salaries, the players are constantly threatening to leave and Aldemir finally did. It may seem his absence will make no difference, but he did prove to be a very important player in the first head to head game, finishing with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Without him, front court lost power and might struggle in rebounding as they face Begic and Iverson. Kutxa are getting better as time goes by, as was expected given all the talent on the team. After a few tight losses, they destroyed Olympiacos to prove they deserve my trust. The away games were a struggle for them so far, but I believe they have the game and the players that can give Galatasaray a hard time and I even believe they can record their first away win this season.