By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos – Fenerbahce 1 / @1.70
Olympiacos need to win more than Fenerbahce and, as the home team, there is a greater urgency for them to do so. The return of Janis Strelnieks as well as the fact that Jan Vesely will travel to Greece on the day of the game (his wife gave birth) might play a role in the details of their confrontation at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. David Blatt’s team is coming off two consecutive away losses, while they’ve already lost one game at home this season. On the contrary, Fenerbahce have gotten great away wins so far, the easy way or the hard way. With regard to the two teams’ playing style and the way they are structured, Fenerbahce are a good match for Olympiacos, but whether the Greek team will manage to exploit this and use it to their advantage will be demonstrated on the court. A home win at 1.70 is marginally acceptable.
Anadolu Efes – Panathinaikos 2 (+4.5) / @1.70
With Ergin Ataman on the bench Anadolu Efes look quite improved and their game is more balanced. The most important thing is that, for now, they are building the character of a great team, they are turning games around, scoring crucial shots and getting wins that they might have lost in the details in previous seasons. Despite this, they are still inconsistent within the 40 minutes of the game, which makes sense, since they are a young team with several new faces in key positions. This is what Panathinaikos wants to take advantage of, though they have their own issues to take care of. If there is something that Xavi Pascual’s team is not missing that’s the character of a great team, while following their win in the big game against Olympiacos, their mentality is good too. The two teams are more or less at the same level in terms of quality and the game will most likely be decided in the details. The 1.70 on Panathinaikos’s +4.5 handicap will be included in our choices.
Zalgiris – Barcelona 1 / @1.77
Sarunas Jasikevicius’s team is performing better now than they were at the beginning of the season as the new faces are slowly adapting to his philosophy. The same goes for Barcelona, who are visibly improved and have started gathering wins and points both at home and away. Not counting the loss to Gran Canaria, Svetislav Pesic’s team hasn’t had any other unexpected mishaps that can cost them in the end. Both teams have a good momentum but Zalgiris are one step ahead in terms of chemistry and rhythm, while they also have an edge thanks to the home court factor too. At 1.77, we can only just about bet on a home win for Zalgiris, so we’re making it part of our choices.
Gran Canaria – Maccabi Tel Aviv 2 / @1.66
Both teams are in bad shape and are coming off defeats in the EuroLeague. Grave doubts are cast on both coaches, while, with regard to the home team, the question of whether replacing the coach would be good is now officially being discussed. For now, both Salva Maldonado as well as Neven Spahija are backed by their teams’ managements. Gran Canaria brought Nikola Radicevic back from Trento, while it seems that Tarik Black will be ready to help Maccabi Tel Aviv get back to winning. The latter is the main reason that this column decided to side with the Israeli team once again. Both Tarik Black as well as Scottie Wilbekin, who showed that he’s back at 100% in a domestic league game last weekend, are key players and, with them ready, we’re expecting to see a better Maccabi team than what they presented against Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The choices:
1. Olympiacos – Fenerbahce 1 / @1.70
2. Anadolu Efes – Panathinaikos 2 (+4.5) / @1.70
3. Zalgiris – Barcelona 1 / @1.77
4. Gran Canaria – Maccabi Tel Aviv 2 / @1.66