By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
A little before the Greek (Panathinaikos–Olympiacos) and the Spanish clasico (Barcelona-Real Madrid), the Greekspanish battles sitinguish in the Euroleague games. Olympiacos seems to have an advantage to win Barcelona, while Panathinaikos can fight against Real Madrid.
Darussafaka – CSKA Moscow
Darussafaka is a young team with ambitions and they’ve managed to start pretty well with a 4-2 record. However, their schedule was ideal as they didn’t face any powerful teams, any teams that have played in at least one Final Four in the last 15 years. CSKA are undefeated, very powerful, but their performance hasn’t been scary good. The handicap is relatively small (+4,5 @Bet365) and the European champions can go over it thanks to their quality and depth on the bench.
Olympiacos – Barcelona
Olympiacos have gone down to 3-3 after the defeat by Galatasaray and the week that’s started is quite critical and tough. Barcelona, on the other hand, have managed to produce a run of three wins and with a 4-2 record to camouflage their absences due to injuries. Navarro, Doellman, Claver, Ribas, and Lawal are not going to be at the Peace & Friendship Stadium, but the ‘blaugrana’ have learnt to play without them. Barcelona have the second best defense in the EuroLeague, conceding an average of 73,5 points, but this is mostly due to the slow rhythm that they set in their games. Olympiacos are expected to take the game to a fast tempo and the limit of 152,5 points will probably be exceeded. The ‘red-and-whites’ have a small advantage for the win (+4,5 @Bet365 1,76) and it looks like nice also the Over (@OPAP 1,75)
The only teams with just one win so far are going head to head. Zalgiris have appeared quite impressive in the games against Barcelona, Darussafaka, and Panathinaikos, while they’ve lost relatively easily only to Fenerbahce. On the contrary, Galatasaray have been defeated by bigger margins in most games but they’re coming from their win over Olympiacos. The game is expected to be close and so it’s better to turn to the point limit, which is set at 163,5. All the Turks’ games have a much higher total sum of points. On the contrary, only Zalgiris’s last game had such a high sum. In whose favor are the scales going to tip? Galatasaray are probably going to impose a faster tempo and so we are going to trust the Over (@Sportingbet 1,75).
Real Madrid – Panathinaikos
Real and Panathinaikos have the same record (4-2 wins) and the Spanish champions seem to have an advantage for the win. However, the 10,5-point handicap is rather big for a game like this. The home team has only defeated Milan and Olympiacos by a double-digit margin, while Panathinaikos didn’t go down easily in Moscow against CSKA. In fact, since Real are going to be facing Barcelona 48 hours later, it makes sense for them not to try to drive the difference too high. So, we’re betting on the away win (@Stoiximan 1,75).
The tips
Darussafaka (+4,5)-CSKA Moscow 2
Olympiacos-Barcelona (+4,5) 1
Olympiacos-Barcelona Over 152,5 points
Zalgiris-Galatasaray Over 163,5 points
Real Madrid-Panathinaikos (+10) 2