By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
No more lies! There is no time-frame for any mistake and the truth will come out on court. We reached the 12th Round of the Euroleague Top 16 and things are starting to get clear. Of course in the… “Devil’s Group”, it is quite possible to see three or four teams fighting for the qualification until the very last second of the final round!
The derby between Olympiacos and Real Madrid in Piraeus rules the stage this week. Both teams are in a difficult position, especially the hosts who, in case of defeat, will most likely be out of the playoffs for the first time since 2005! Of course, if the “Whites” are beaten, then they will be the ones that will be in an extremely tight spot, with the possibility of elimination looking and feeling quite real!
When it comes to the other Group, the game between Lokomotiv Kuban and Crvena Zvezda is one serious battle. In Vitoria, Laboral Kutxa faces Barcelona in an equally important match. Truth be told… every single game is crucial as we take the last turns before the playoffs.
Through the Game Center of Eurohoops, you can find all data about the games, the teams, the players and, of course, the time when the matches begin. Also you can stay informed about the games’ development Live and through Play by Play information.
Game of the Week: Olympiacos – Real Madrid (25th of March, 20:45)
The 2015 and 2013 Euroleague champions are not exactly feeling safe in their Group and their upcoming match is one of the most important, so far, in the competition in general. The hosts (5-6) wants only the victory in order to stay alive in the playoff race. A positive result will mean a lot, even if the 12-point difference from the game in Madrid is not covered, as long as the Reds continue winning in the Top 16. Meanwhile, after the defeat in the “El Clasico”, the “Whites” (6-5) know that a new defeat will put them in trouble. This is a match with some specific characteristics.
Pablo Laso’s team scores 9 points more in comparison with the offensive average of Olympiacos and dishes 4 assists plus per game. So what Real Madrid wants is to maintain these numbers on offense by playing an up tempo game. On the other hand, the Greek team will pursue a rather controlled rhythm that will allow it to reduce the averages of their opponents and overpower them through tough, half-court offenses. Matt Lojeski is major absence for Olympiacos, while Real Madrid now have Rudy Fernandez with them. The fans do not play basketball, yet the atmosphere in “Peace and Friendship” arena is always a factor in favor of the hosts. The sold out has been announced since Monday.
Honorary mention: Lokomotiv Kuban – Crvena Zvezda (24th of March 18:00)
A historic match for both teams for one simple reason: Lokomotiv and Red Star have the same record (7-4) and whoever wins will automatically advance in the best 8 teams in Europe for the first time in the history of the club! The two opponents’ numbers in team evaluation are quite close, even though their basketball style is different. In Belgrade, Crvena Zvezda used its home court power to win with 14 points, but now Giorgos Bartzokas’ team needs only a simple victory to advance. Something that may happen easily if the key players (Malcolm Delaney, Anthony Randolph, Victor Claver) of Lokomotiv are in a good day and they shoot well from the perimeter.
The program:
Laboral Kutxa – Barcelona (March 23, 20:30)
Darussafaka Dogus – Panthinaikos (March 24, 19:30)
Brose Baskets – CSKA Moscow (March 24, 20:45)
Zalgiris Kaunas – Khimki Moscow (March 25, 18:45)
Cedevita Zagreb – Fenerbahce (March 25, 19:00)
Anadolu Efes – Unicaja Malaga (March 25, 20:45)
All hours are CET
You want to know that…
- Olympiacos needs only one block to reach the thousand-mark in Euroleague. If that happens against Real Madrid, the Reds will be the fourth team in the competition with a four digit number in blocks, after Barcelona, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- Vassilis Spanoulis needs six free throws to become the first player in the history of Euroleague with 800. Juan Carlos Navarro has… only one less (795) now!
- Felipe Reyes needs to gather 22 points in the evaluation system to become the fourth player in Euroleague with three thousand.
- Dimitris Diamantidis will most likely surpass Nikola Vujcic in the list of the top All-time top scorers. The Greek guard enters the game against Darussafaka Dogus with 2.442 points and needs only 2 in order to climb on the sixth position in the related list. Then he is going to pursue his former teamate, Mike Batiste who finished his career with 2.496.
- Brose Baskets has an amazing home record of 8-1 in this season’s Euroleague but its upcoming opponent, CSKA Moscow, has all games against the German team. Eleven out of eleven, to be specific.
- With four downtown baskets, Milos Teodosic will tie CSKA legend J.R. Holden in the fourth list of the players with the most three-pointers made. The Serbian guard has made 373 three-point shots so far in his career.