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Sachetti: We're not rookies anymore

Dačka and Sassari played on Sardinia at the beginning of the preseason, and the Turkish team were without Slaughter, Markoišvili, Erden and Savaš then, and lost by four in a very evened out match

This was Darussafaka's dream when the big project was started, ever since the Dogus group started giving them money. Only two seasons ago, they were playing the second league, and now they're at the highest level of the European club competition. Of course, the great Turkish lobby played a great role because Darussafaka got to the Euroleague only thanks to the invite. It's not for nothing that the competition is named Turkish Airlines Euroleague...

To stop them from being the cannon fodder for the big fish, Dogus Group used their money this summer and revitalized the team. Wonders can't be expected from this team, like them getting to the Final Four, but they definitely have a chance for Top 16.

- We're aware of the responsibility this first match of the Euroleague carries. We won't to be a regular member, but we're aware that's not easy. What we want to achieve is everyone's respect. We're deeply convinced we can do that - the coach Oktay Mahmuti said. He joined the team last season when Darussafaka got to the first league.

- Sassari are the Italian champion and they've been rising lately. They've got great players who have experience playing the Euroleague. But we know how well prepared we are, and we're ready to invest everything to win this - Mahmuti pointed out.

Their general practice was done right. Darussafaka played away against Gaziantep and got points from a tough match. They only scored 59, but their defense did the job, allowing the opponents to score only 53. They're going to rely on the defense, both in Euroleague and the national championship. They'll definitely need it today.

- We played Sassari in the preseason and we know how dangerous they can be. But, we want to leave our mar in our first Euroleague season. That's why we plan to start with a win - the point guard Arslan says.

Since he mentioned that preseason duel, let's just say that was the third friendly match Darussafaka played this summer. They lost 66-77, and had the most problems with Logan (17p), Eyenga (17) and Haynes (14), while Harangody was the best in their team, with 16 points. But, their lineup was weakened then, without Markoišvili, Slaughter, Savaš and Erden. 

Sassari's form is slowly rising. They started their season by losing to Reggio Emilia and that was seen as a blunder at the time, but when you see how dominating Reggio Emilia have been this season, it's not that big of a loss. Sassari started the championship with two wins, not easy wins, mind you, but they got the points. The ones from the away match against Cantu are especially important because Sassari never really did well there.

They didn't do well in the Euroleague last season, either, but Saccheti is convinced this season will be better.

- We saw for ourselves how tough and good Euroleague is. We struggled because of all the trips and the opponents' quality. We're no beginners anymore, we did intensive practice to be ready, and we can't wait for it to begin.

No doubt Sassari will be much more competitive this season, and there's almost no team in Europe they can't beat on their good day. This match will be especially interesting because it'll be a kind of a clash of styles. Darussafaka have huge centers and play slow basketball, and the fast guests have no players over 100kg heavy.

- We played each other in the preseason and we know they're strong, they have big players in the paint. They're playing differently than the Italian teams, so we'll have to adapt - Saccheti said. 

His team's chance is in speeding up the rhythm. Darussafaka's centers are slow when coming back to their half of the court, so Logan and Haynes should use that with their counter-attacks, especially when Petway and Alexander are on the court. Their back shots could also be a problem for the Turks who are tall, but heavy, and will hardly go out to the seven meter line.

Sassari's problem could be rebounds, they couldn't control them so far, which isn't much of a surprise considering the team's composition. Erden, Savaš, Slaughter and the rest of the team could give them a really hard time there, so it'll be interesting to watch whose game style will dominate tonight.

Emir Preldzic is famous for his versatility. He played at Fenerbahce since season 2007/2008 where he recorded from 4 to 8 points on average in those 8 seasons. He had an average of 6,3 points per game in Turkey and 5,8 points per game in Euroleague, which means he would have gone over this margin in 10 out of 63 games. He signed for Darussafaka this season and will face Sassari today with his new team. Preldzic finished the first game in Turkey with 11 points, but he hit 2 three points, which is not to be expected at each game. I like this bet because quite a lot of good shooters play at Darussafaka year (many of them take more shots than Emir). I personally this that Prledzic will not average 11 or more points in Euroleague this season. Assisting is his main task, while at the same time, he does not have a shooting consistency that would expect us to see more than 10 points per game from him. My margin would be 7,5 or 8,5 max. I expect between 6 and 9 points from him. Unless he had an above average shooting or an above average number of free throws, he will not go over this margin.