By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
We have five games remaining in the EuroLeague regular season and the battle of the playoffs is seriously heating up in possibly one of the most competitive years ever in the championship’s annals.
Think about it: Only one team (Barcelona) has mathematically secured a spot in the playoffs.
Anadolu Efes, Olimpia Milano and CSKA Moscow are expected to follow Barcelona in the postseason while seven other teams that are currently ranked from spots 5 to 11 will put up a major fight for the remaining four playoffs tickets: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce Beko, Zenit St. Petersburg, Baskonia, Valencia and Zalgiris Kaunas.
| Standings | WINS | LOSSES |
| 1. Barcelona (qualified) | 21 | 8 |
| 2. Anadolu Efes | 19 | 10 |
| 3. Olimpia Milano | 19 | 10 |
| 4. CSKA Moscow | 18 | 10 |
| 5. Bayern Munich | 18 | 11 |
| 6. Real Madrid | 17 | 12 |
| 7. Fenerbahce Beko | 17 | 12 |
| 8. Zenit St. Petersburg | 16 | 12 |
| 9. Baskonia | 15 | 14 |
| 10. Valencia | 15 | 14 |
| 11. Zalgiris Kaunas | 15 | 14 |
| 12. Olympiacos Piraeus | 13 | 16 |
| 13. ASVEL Villeurbanne | 12 | 17 |
| 14. Maccabi Tel Aviv | 11 | 16 |
| 15. Alba Berlin | 11 | 18 |
| 16. Panathinaikos Athens | 10 | 17 |
| 17. Crvena Zvezda | 8 | 21 |
| 18. Khimki Moscow | 3 | 25 |
These seven teams have from 11 to 14 losses so expect a big-time thrilling finale in the last five rounds of the regular season.
Bayern Munich
The Bavarian team is one of the biggest surprises in the 2020-21 EuroLeague thanks to the work that is being done by Andrea Trinchieri and the performances of such players as Wade Baldwin, Vladimir Lucic and Jalen Reynolds.
Bayern has a 18 – 11 record and it will be extremely unlikely for them to not advance to the playoffs for the first time in the history of the club, despite a difficult schedule.
Next five games:
Efes* 19/3
Valencia 25/3
Fenerbahce* 30/3
Zalgiris* 1/4
Barcelona 9/4
*at home
Real MADRID
Real Madrid has been plagued by injuries, was hurt with Facu Campazzo’s departure for the Denver Nuggets and some of the veteran players are getting older. Still, the team has experience, Pablo Laso knows the way to victories and Edy Tavares is doing some tremendous stuff on both ends of the floor to secure that the team is in the playoffs game despite numerous problems.
Their schedule is tricky but the Blancos can avoid any traps.
Next five games:
CSKA Moscow* 18/3
ASVEL Villeurbanne 25/3
Efes* 30/3
Olympiacos* 2/4
Fenerbahce 9/4
*at home
Fenerbahce
Back in December, the 7th spot looked more like a fantasy for Fenerbahce that was heavily struggling and facing one defeat after the other. Since that blowout loss to Zalgiris Kaunas, the Turkish powerhouse has registered 12 wins in 14 games, turning everything upside down.
Marko Guduric‘s arrival has helped Fener immensely and Nando De Colo with Jan Vesely have built quite the chemistry for Igor Kokoskov’s team. Their squad still needs to capture some victories to mathematically secure a playoffs spot. One positive thing for Fener is that they have the tiebreaking advantage vs. Baskonia while, on the other hand, they have some tough battles to give.
Next five games:
Zalgiris* 18/3
Olympiacos 25/3
Bayern 30/3
Barcelona* 2/4
Real* 8/4
*at home