{"id":27651,"date":"2019-12-12T10:52:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T15:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=27651"},"modified":"2019-12-12T10:52:54","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T15:52:54","slug":"shane-larkin-is-the-most-dangerous-player-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/12\/12\/shane-larkin-is-the-most-dangerous-player-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Shane Larkin is the Most Dangerous Player in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anadolu Efes is on top of the standings in <\/span>EuroLeague<\/span> after Round 12, having won 10 games. Last year\u2019s runner-up <\/span>has <\/span>one of the best offenses in the competition and the most dangerous player in Europe in Shane Larkin<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Most Dangerous Player in Europe is Shane Larkin<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Rise of Anadolu Efes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A person who just started to watch <\/span>EuroLeague<\/span> would never believe this: Anadolu <\/span>Efes<\/span> finished the 2017-18 <\/span>EuroLeague<\/span> season in the last place. That\u2019s only two seasons ago. It took less than two years for current coach <\/span>Ergin<\/span> Ataman to erase years of misfortune and mismanagement. When Ataman took charge in December 2017, <\/span>Efes<\/span> was 3-9 in <\/span>EuroLeague<\/span>, taking up the next to the last place. That season ended with seven wins for Turkish outfit. Another disastrous year was behind them and the future, just like the past didn\u2019t seem bright. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, the next season was so good that it went down in history. They notched their first Final Four appearance since 2001 after five unsuccessful playoffs series, followed by their first-ever championship game. The season left <\/span>Efes<\/span> fans and <\/span>EuroLeague<\/span> enthusiasts with buoyancy. While Ataman was at the helm, the main man making all these happen on the court was <\/span>Shane Larkin. <\/span><\/p>\n

Coming back from the NBA after <\/span>the <\/span>2017-18 campaign with the <\/span>Boston Celtics<\/span><\/a>, he found himself back in the EuroLeague in February. He averaged 19.6 points per game on 3.6 made threes in <\/span>all five games of <\/span>the playoffs<\/span> against Barcelona.<\/span> In<\/span> the Final Four, he scored 59 points in two games, including an excellent showing against Fenerbahce <\/span>in the semifinals game<\/span><\/a>. And this season, he is on fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shane Larkin is Above the Competition<\/strong><\/h3>\n

He leads the <\/span>EuroLeague<\/span> in points (22.2) and Player Index Rating (25.2) per game. He shoots 53.5 percent from beyond the three-point line, the highest percentage among the players who have shot at least four threes per game. Per EuroLeague official statistics, only <\/span>Nando De Colo<\/a><\/span><\/b> (61.2 percent) has a better true shooting percentage among guards. And Larkin (59.7 percent) has played in three more games and shot 141 more shots. <\/span><\/p>\n

With 5.1 fouls drawn per game, he is one of the three most fouled players in the entire competition per contest. He produces 1.36 points per shot, according to <\/span>Basketguru<\/span><\/a>, and this number is higher than what all eight other players with 15 or higher points per game have produced. The list includes high-profile names like De Colo (1.33), <\/span>Nikola Mirotic<\/a><\/span><\/b> (1.13), <\/span>Tornike Shengelia<\/a><\/span><\/b> (1.22)<\/span>, Sergio Rodriguez<\/a><\/span><\/b> (1.07), <\/span>Alexey Shved<\/a><\/span><\/b> (0.87). His heat map, also by <\/span>Basketguru<\/span>, tells the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shane Larkin's heat map so far this season. (via @b_ballguru<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/lzSLSEMlYy<\/a><\/p>\n

— Kemal Rutkay Ozcan (@krutkayozcan) December 11, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n