Euroleague is ready to resume. Coaches and players had almost one month to set tone for the upcoming Top 16 phase, where there are no easy games or weak teams. All clubs were divided into four groups and only the two teams with the best records in each group will advance.

RealGM presents the key elements of the Top 16 stage, our predictions and names of players you should keep an eye on.

Group E

Despite endless problems with injuries, Panathinaikos Athens, probably the most successful team of the past decade, is the main favorite to win group E. The Greens won seven games in the regular season and was extremely competitive when they did lose. In those three losses, the average differential was only two points.

Panathinaikos, same as Caja Laboral, is among the best offensive teams in the league, therefore the fight between the Greece and Spain champions could become a scoring race. However, Panathinaikos has some serious problems before the start of Top 16 as two members of their starting five, Stratos Perperoglou and Romain Sato, couldn’t practice with the team because of health issues and their leader, MVP candidate Dimitris Diamantidis didn’t feel good during the past days either.

Unicaja has a reputation as an unpredictable team, where a lot depends on Joel Freeland, the other MVP candidate.  The Spanish club has won all four games as Freeland finished each with at least 18 ranking points. According to the media of Spain, Unicaja was trying to improve their roster, but they didn’t reach an agreement with any new players. They also parted ways with head coach Aito Garcia Reneses just two days before the beginning of Top 16.

Lithuanian champions Lietuvos Rytas won their last three games, including a match against Euroleague champs Regal Barcelona in regular season and caught the last ticket to the Top 16. However, Lietuvos Rytas is the real underdog of group E and the departure of Sarunas Jasikevicius made their situation even worse. Lietuvos Rytas lost last two games in VTB and Lithuanian championship but they already proved in regular season that they can compete at the highest level no matter how bad the situation is and that makes group E even more interesting.

Projected standings:

1. Panathinaikos

2. Caja Laboral

3. Unicaja

4. Lietuvos Rytas

Players to watch:

Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos) – MVP candidate

Drew Nicholas (Panahtinaiks) – former Maryland star, NCAA champion

Dejan Musli (Caja Laboral) – projected second-round pick, 2012 NBA Draft

Nemanja Bjelica (Caja Laboral) – 35th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft

Fernando San Emeterio (Caja Laboral) – MVP candidate

Joel Freeland (Unicaja) – MVP candidate

Jonas Valanciunas (Lietuvos Rytas) – projected top-5 pick, 2011 NBA Draft

Group F

Last season, there wasn’t a more powerful and dominating team than Regal Barcelona. However, Regal Barcelona, the only undefeated club in the Euroleague 09-10 regular season, lost three games this year and enters to the Top 16 only as a third group C team. Despite ups and downs in regular season, the Spaniards, who are still fighting with the injury bug, won their last two matches against Montepaschi Siena and Fenerbahce Ulker in Euroleague, also destroyed Real Madrid in Spain championship, and proved themselves as the main candidates to win group F.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s winning streak (nine and counting) was one of the most impressive things in the whole Euroleague regular season. Maccabi knows how to play the ends of the games, has MVP candidate Chuck Eidson and one of the most improved players, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, and that should be enough to make it to at least playoffs or maybe even Final Four.

Euroleague sensation Union Olimpija has already became the biggest nightmare of any European powerhouse. The Slovenians defeated all of their opponents at least once in regular season, therefore the same thing could happen in Top 16, especially on their home court. Nevertheless, Union Olimpija, differently from Maccabi and Regal Barcelona, didn’t strengthen their roster and didn’t sign new players. Ljubljana team also lost last game against the only winless Euroleague club, Cibona Zagreb.

If we look to the performance in regular season, Lottomatica looks like the true outsider of group F. Rome won all games against Brose Baskets and Spirou Basket, teams that didn’t qualify for the Top 16, one against Unicaja and that was enough to get the ticket to the next Euroleague stage. Lottomatica has struggled and been unable to find their game in Italian league also, where they have lost their last two matches. New coach Saso Filipovski, leader Darius Washington and a thought that all group teams start fresh could help this team create a miracle, but don’t be surprised if Lottomatica ends the Top 16 phase as the only winless group F team.

Projected standings:

1. Regal Barcelona

2. Maccabi

3. Union Olimpija

4. Lottomatica Roma

Players to watch:

Ricky Rubio (Regal Barcelona) – 5th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft

Kosta Perovic (Regal Barcelona) – 38th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft

Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Maccabi) – 34th overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft

Chuck Eidson (Maccabi) – MVP candidate

Darius Washington (Lottomatica) – former member of San Antonio Spurs, MVP candidate

Nihad Djedovic (Lottomatica) - projected second-round pick, 2012 NBA Draft

Group G

Undoubtedly, group G has the most balance in the Top 16; it therefore might be the strongest group as well. All four teams have a chance to make the playoffs and you can be sure that all matches will be like a dogfight. Despite the injury of team leader Bo McCalebb, Montepaschi Siena should be named as a favorite to win group G. Montepaschi made a quick and logical move to sign another guard, former NBA player Marko Jaric, who will improve great Siena’s club roster even further.

Real, Efes Pilsen and Partizan are unpredictable teams with different strengths and they will likely be fighting for the second place. Real, the best rebounding team in the league, humiliated Spirou Basket in the last regular season game by winning 94-45 and is doing well in Spain championship. However, Efes Pilsen brought a serious power from the States and reached an agreement with Flip Murray, who could change things dramatically. Efes Pilsen is already the best 3-point and free throw shooting team, therefore with Murray on their roster, the Istanbul club could become a candidate to make the Final Four.

It was expected that Partizan would have an extremely difficult season. Without Dusko Vujosevic, Bo McCalebb and Aleks Maric, Partizan was buried alive. However, Partizan, who went to the Final Four last season, managed to grab five victories and qualify for the Top 16. Moreover, with MVP candidate James Gist, NBA prospect Jan Vesely, and their incredibly passionate fans, the Serbian club could make another playoffs appeareance.

Projected standings:

1. Montepaschi Siena

2. Real Madrid

3. Efes Pilsen

4. Partizan

Players to watch:

Bo McCalebb (Montepaschi) – MVP candidate, former New Orleans University star

Malik Hairston (Montepaschi) – former member of San Antonio Spurs, former Oregon star

Ante Tomic (Real Madrid) – 44th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft

Sergio Rodriguez (Real Madrid) – former member of Blazers, Kings and Knicks, 27th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft.

Nikola Mirotic (Real Madrid) – projected second-round pick, 2011 NBA Draft

Flip Murray (Efes Pilsen) – former NBA player, averaged 9.9 points in NBA career

James Gist (Partizan) – former Maryland University star, MVP candidate

Jan Vesely (Partizan) - projected Top-10 pick, 2011 NBA Draft

Group H

A well-balanced offence (1st in league in points and assists per game) makes Olympiacos Piraeus the most dangerous team in group H. The Reds also set the tone as they defeated their biggest rival, Panathinaikos Athens, in a Greece championship game and it looks that everything but Final Four would be a failure for Olympiacos.

Fenerbahce Ulker and Power Electronics Valencia looks even and different at the same time. After an incredible season start, Fenerbahce Ulker appeared like the new title contenders, but then they lost both matches to Regal Barcelona and Montepaschi and now there’s a question if they can make it past Top 16. Of course, with a healthy Roko Ukic and coach Neven Spahija, Fenerbahce Ulker is able to compete for the two tickets to the playoffs. Different from the Turkish club, Power Electronics had a slow start but finished the regular season strong with four wins out of five under the new head coach Svetislav Pesic. Valencia also improved their roster by signing J.R.Giddens, former leader of Asseco Prokom, who will bring more scoring punch to Power Electronics offence.

Zalgiris Kaunas is a team in the most difficult situation of all group H clubs. The last few weeks were very difficult for Zalgiris as they changed their head coach for the second time this season and also lost two role players, Mirza Begic and Dainius Salenga. Knowing that Zalgiris lost four of their last five games in the Euroleague and they are historically accustomed to finishing the Top 16 stage in fourth place (in all three Top 16 appearances since 05-06), the Top 16 could be not so sweet for Zalgiris. Nevertheless, Kaunas has been known as a home team for years, therefore their home court, fans and well-balanced roster could help them to shake things up in group H.

Projected standings:

1. Olympiacos

2. Fenerbahce Ulker

3. Power Electronics Valencia

4. Zalgiris

Players to watch:

Vassilis Spanoulis (Olympiacos) – MVP candidate

Milos Teodosic (Olympiacos) – Euroleague MVP of 09-10

Roko Ukic (Fenerbahce Ulker) – MVP candidate

Sean May (Fenerbahce Ulker) – lottery pick in 2005 by Charlotte, NCAA champion with North Carolina

Victor Claver (Power Electronics) – 22nd overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft

Nando de Colo (Power Electronics) – 53rd overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft

Martynas Pocius (Zalgiris) – former Duke University player