Real Madrid is second into the EuroLeague playoffs

Real Madrid has become the second team to reach the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Real (20-9) qualified on Tuesday without playing, when Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul lost its Round 24 postponed game against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Now, no matter how many teams match its 20 victories, Real would finish in eighth place or higher due to tiebreakers. As such, Real is already qualified for the playoffs.

Real currently sits alone in second place, just one victory behind first-place Oympiacos Piraeus (21-8), the only other playoffs qualifier to date. After booking its place in the postseason, Real will now have its sights set on gaining home-court advantage. Last season, Los Blancos finished fourth in the regular season standings and swept Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 3-0 in the playoffs.

Under new head coach Chus Mateo, Real recovered from a 2-3 start, which included losses to FC Barcelona, Olympiacos Piraeus and Virtus Segafredo Bologna by a total of eight points, to blast off for six consecutive victories. That streak opened with a 94-85 triumph over the team it lost to in the 2022 championship game, Anadolu Efes Istanbul, and included the team’s sole 100-point game this season, a 105-97 victory over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. An overtime home loss to AS Monaco started a 2-3 stretch after which Los Blancos put together a dominant 8-1 run to anchor themselves near the top of the standing.

In that span, Los Blancos responded to a Round 26 loss at Olympiacos by defeating archrival Barca 91-86 one round later, a win that helped secure the tiebreaker between them after Real had lost their earlier encounter by 75-73. In keeping with the theme of paybacks, the most recent fixture that brought joy to Real’s supporters was a 91-95 win at Monaco in Round 23 in a playoff-esque environment. That triumph also saw Real secure the tiebreaker over Monaco. Real won two of its last four contests entering Round 30 to reach 20 wins and set itself up for another trip to the playoffs.

With seven nine consecutive playoffs appearances with some of the same players, there is plenty of experience on Real’s roster. The likes of Sergio Rodriguez, Fabien Causeur, Rudy Fernandez and Walter Tavares have all become EuroLeague champions with Real, while Sergio Llull – a two-time champ – is expected to be back in time for the playoffs. A couple of newer members of Real, such as Gabriel Deck and Guerschon Yabusele, already played in last year’s Final Four, but roster newcomers Dzanan Musa, Mario Hezonja and Petr Cornelie will have to quickly adjust to the playoff pressure.

In the 2021-22 season, Real lost 57-58 to Efes in the championship game, having beaten Barca 83-86 in the semifinal of the Final Four. The team reached that stage after winning all three of its games against Maccabi in the playoffs with relative ease: 84-74 and 95-66 in Madrid, then 76-87 in Tel Aviv.

As a whole, Real has won eight playoff series and lost six, with its first playoff appearance this century taking place in the 2000-01 season. Its playoff record stands at 20-6 in Madrid and 9-15 on its travels. Los Blancos have made it to seven Final Fours and have become EuroLeague champion on two occasions since 2000: in 2015 and 2018.