By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
After last week’s successful betting spree with 4 out of 5 points, Eurohoops provides you with tips for the games of the 10th week of the Top 16.
Olympiacos are facing another qualification “final” in the playoffs of the Euroleague and after the win over Laboral they have to make another two wins against Bamberg and Zalgiris in order to maintain their hopes of qualifying. The red-and-whites seem like they’re bouncing back and they definitely have an advantage on Bamberg’s home court since the latter have lost any real hopes of qualifying due to their defeat in Kaunas last week.
The game that is going to decide a lot regarding the home court advantage will take place in Belgrade, with Crvena Zvezda hosting Panathinaikos. The greens have been in impressive form lately and have produced a streak of five consecutive wins. They’ve improved their defense considerably, conceding just 69,2 points on average, but Crvena Zvezda have been scoring more than 80 points (an average of 83 per game) in all of their home games, with the single exception being the two games against Fenerbahce. The limit of 73,5 points, then, looks small and we are going to bet on the Over.
Malaga and Cedevita have abandoned the effort to qualify in the Top 16 and are now playing solely for their reputation in the Euroleague. The Spanish team is beset with the goal of qualifying in the top eight of the Spanish championship and Cedevita are thinking about the playoffs of the Adriatic league where they are going to face Crvena Zvezda. There have been several rearrangements in Malaga’s roster, the conversations about their transfer moves (that only remove and don’t add material to their roster) are disorienting and the Croats definitely seem like they can win the game.
In the derby for the top spot of Group E, Kuban are hosting Fenerbahce and they need the win and the +6 in order to surpass them in the standings. However, we are going to focus on the points, since Lokomotiv have the best defense in the Euroleague (69,1) and Fenerbahce the third best (72,2). So, the Russian team concedes just 64 points at home, scores 76 on average and that’s what we’re going to bet on. The overall limit of 151,5 points is rather high, since Fenerbahce just barely exceed that in their away games (they score 79 and concede 75). So we are going to bet on the Under.
In the big battle in Barcelona, CSKA are going to try to get the win that will provide them with a huge advantage for the home court advantage against the Catalans, who have been having several ups and downs. The limit for the Muscovites is set at 84 points and throughout the season they’ve scored less only in two away games, having an average of 90 points. Dimitrios Itoudis’s players can exceed the limit in a game that’s expected to have a high tempo.
Eurohoops’ betting tips
Lokomotiv Kuban – Fenerbahce Under 151,5 points
@William Hill 1,91
Cedevita (+2) – Malaga 1
@ Sportingbet 1,92
Bamberg (+3,5) – Olympiacos 2
@Coral 1,87
Crvena Zvezda – Panathinaikos Crvena Zvezda Over 73,5 points
@Stoiximan 1,83
Barcelona – CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow Over 84,5 points
@Stoiximan 1,83