A Man of His Word

With 40 seconds left on the clock in Belgrade Arena, and Partizan leading 82-79, the ball was in Carlik Jones's hands.

Cody Miller-McIntyre clung to him like a limpet, playing defense on the verge of a foul, pushing him almost to mid-court. Several times it looked like Carlik would travel or lose the ball, but Partizan's point guard somehow stayed on his feet, drove right, and, squeezing between his defender and Ebuka Izundu who was under the basket, spun the ball high off the backboard just as he was falling. The ball then danced on the rim and, after a brief hesitation, dropped through. And he drew the foul.

With that acrobatic play (and the subsequent free throw), Carlik Jones delivered what proved to be the decisive blow to Crvena Zvezda in the eighth EuroLeague Eternal Derby. Zvezda attempted a blitzkrieg comeback, but Đoan Penjaroja's men remained composed, sinking four free throws to secure a victory that, in terms of standings, meant absolutely nothing to them (89-82). However, it was a win that could, on the other hand, derail their fiercest rival's entire season.

If there were a record of how many times – since Carlik Jones returned from injury in late February – journalists (including this writer) have penned some variation of the sentence, "Partizan is a completely different team with Carlik; it's a shame the team leader got injured at the start of the season," it would surely be a Guinness World Record.

They've bored themselves and others with this endless rehashing, but it's simply an undeniable fact that becomes more evident with each game. Carlik Jones scored 14 of his 26 points in the final quarter against Crvena Zvezda last night, proving for the millionth time that he is the undisputed leader of this team, a player who will take responsibility in the most delicate moments of a game and decide it in his team's favor.

Furthermore, Carlik proved to be a man of his word, and that his fiery pre-derby statements weren't just empty rhetoric. Jones declared before the clash with their eternal rival that he and his teammates wanted to spoil Crvena Zvezda's season and knock them out of the EuroLeague playoff race, and it could very well turn out that this victory has pushed them precisely towards that outcome.

Crvena Zvezda currently holds a 19-16 record, placing them ninth in the standings, while Maccabi and Dubai, the first two teams below the play-in line, are at 18-16 and 18-17 respectively. This means that after this game against Partizan – in which, to put things in context, they were favorites due to home-court advantage and their league position – Crvena Zvezda has little room for error. They still face Paris at Belgrade Arena, followed by away games against Asvel and Real.

When viewed this way, it seems Carlik's words could come true; if Crvena Zvezda loses two of their last three games, and Monaco and Maccabi, who have a game in hand, perform better, Saša Obradović's team could easily slip and end up empty-handed.

Despite having Carlik Jones, who is, without exaggeration, one of the best and most dominant point guards in the EuroLeague right now, Đoan Penjaroja kept Nick Calathes on the court alongside the South Sudanese international for most of the second half.

Although he only hit one crucial three-pointer, extending Partizan's lead to 15, and missed a few free throws, Calathes' vast experience brought much-needed composure to the team in the closing moments and significantly contributed to the triumph. Despite a few turnovers and mistakes, Calathes dished out eight assists and occasionally relieved Carlik of ball-handling duties. Moreover, even when off-ball, Calathes acted like a coach on the court, creating spacing, showing teammates how to position themselves, identifying mismatches to exploit, and pinpointing Zvezda's weaknesses.

At the end of the game, Penjaroja emphasized that Nick Calathes is a very important cog in his team and that he would definitely like to have him next season.

Calathes himself recently stated that he would like to stay at Partizan. Despite turning 37, it's evident that the EuroLeague's all-time assists leader still has at least fifteen to twenty minutes per game left in him. In tandem with Carlik Jones, whose contract extension is currently Partizan's primary task, he could continue to help the black-and-whites next season.

His feel for assists, passing, and exploiting mismatches hasn't deserted him; he's in excellent physical shape, plays solid defense, and most importantly, he seems to have fully embraced Partizan and the unique basketball atmosphere surrounding the club.

VIDEO Partizan players celebrated their victory with their fans, then sportingly greeted Zvezda's players