By Lefteris Moutis / moutis@eurohoops.net
The participation – or the absence – of Chris Singleton in the game of Panathinaikos against Barcelona will determine many bets. Eurohoops analyze all the matches of the day.
Unics Kazan-Fenerbahce
Unics Kazan will have the Quino Colom again in its roster and they hope for a return to the momentum they had before his injury. Ekpe Udoh will be missing for one more game, however he was missing also during the win against Panathinaikos. The Turkish team definitely needs a win in order to be able to stay on course for the home court advantage in the playoffs and certainly they remember the home defeat by Unics in the first round. The handicap of 4.5 points makes a home win attractive as a bet, but we prefer the under 157.5 points (@Sportingbet 1,73). Rarely both teams drive their games to a higher total score with Fenerbahce, in particular, having higher total points away only against CSKA, Maccabi and Galatasaray.
Galatasaray has one win in his last six games and Maccabi a victory in the last nine games … Both are disappointing and Israelis are trying to keep their last qualifying hopes in the playoffs alive . The Turks have many defensive issues and it’s much safer to bet on the over than to any result in a game between two of the most unpredictable teams in EuroLeague. The limit of 161.5 points (@ Bet365 1,76) is quite modest for the second (Galatasaray let opponents score 85.7 points on average) and the fourth worst defense (Maccabi’s numver is 83.5 points per game) of the league.
Zalgiris has nothing to lose in this game and on the other hand Milos Teodosic is absent again. Still CSKA Moscow has proven that he can get the job done even without him. However with a 8,5 points handicap its better once again to bet on the under, because of the Russian defense. The limit of 79.5 Zalgiris points is very high and that’s where you should place your money on the under (@Stoiximan 1,75). In the last eight games only Real Madrid and Fenerbahce managed to score 80 or more points against CSKA.
Panathinaikos-Barcelona
Panathinaikos has registered only one victory in the last four games and a positive result against Barcelona means not only the obvious, but also that Barca will be kept at distance and out of the playoffs, at least for the moment. The guests will have Stratos Perperoglou back, however they lost Brad Oleson. In any case the key of the game seems to be the game time decision of Panathinaikos about Chris Singleton. Without him, the “risk” of betting on a road win of Barcelona with a 5.5 handicap for the Greens is tempting (@Stoiximan 1,73). With Singleton on the court, better try to be in any other game.
Baskonia lost the momentum they have build at the start of the season. The most worrying fact, however, is that they have lost Tornike Shengelia due to injury and the return of Andrea Barniani can’t fill his void in defense. Crvena Zvezda on the other hand is the hottest team of the EuroLeague with five consecutive wins, but they play without Nemanja Dangubic. So it all boils down to the simple question, can Baskonia win with a point difference of more than 6.5 points (@OPAP 1,75)? We think that the answer is yes.
The picks
Unics Kazan-Fenerbahce – Under 157.5 points
Galatasaray-Maccabi Tel Aviv – Over 161.5 points
Zalgiris-CSKA Moscow Zalgiris – Under 79.5 points
Panathinaikos-Barcelona (+5.5) – 2
Baskonia-Crvena Zvezda (+6.5) – 1