By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
The Greens will host an old acquaintance, Sarunas Jasikevicius, while the Reds will play in a rather friendly towards them atmosphere in Belgrade. Malaga have an advantage over Baskonia, while Milan has the upper hand against Maccabi.
The easy way or the hard way, Unicaja find the way to win at home. They are in good form and if they want to get even closer to Maccabi, who are in 8th place with two wins more, then in the second phase they will have to protect their home court in as many games as they can. The game is pretty important for both teams, who are tied in 9th place in the standings. Baskonia is coming off consecutive defeats, most of which went down to the last shot. The home court comes first in this clash and, despite the particularities that every “civil war” has, we’ll bet on the home win (1,52).
Panathinaikos – Zalgiris Kaunas
Sarunas Jasikevicius is the third consecutive coach who was a former Green that is going up against Panathinaikos, after Zeljko Obradovic and Dimitris Itoudis. The clash is very important for the Greek champions in their battle for the best possible placement in the standings. Zalgiris is a fighting team, they are playing well and they have the way to win games regardless of whether they’re playing at home or away. An away win with a handicap (+6,5 at 1,75) can get us paid.
From the player bets and the H2H between Rivers and White, we choose Panathinaikos’s American, who has been getting a lot of playing time and shots. Besides, Xavi Pascual still has confidence in him despite the fact that he’s been out of form lately. On the other hand, it will be difficult for White to keep his performance levels high offensively against Panathinaikos in Kaunas. Furthermore, Zalgiris’s forward will come up against good defenders, as the Greek team has one of the best defenses and home courts in the competition and this can also affect our bet.
In games against Olympiacos, Crvena Zvezda’s home is not as hostile as it is with other teams. Quite the opposite, in fact, thanks to the good relations between the two teams. And this plays a part in the clashes between them, as the Reds often feel like they’re playing in front of their own fans. Olympiacos are burning for the win so that they can get back to positive results and mitigate the bad impressions of recent games. The Greek team has the quality to get the away win and the 1,38 can be included in one of our bets with the corresponding payoff.
From the player bets, Bjelica’s Under 9,5 (1,80) is worth it, since the Serbs were reinforced with Omic in the paint. The Slovenian center is entitled to play in the game against Olympiacos and he will probably get some minutes.
Armani Milan – Maccabi Tel Aviv
Armani has improved after the arrival of Kuzminskas, while Bertans and Theodore who were out injured have also returned. They are coming off two consecutive wins against tough opponents, in fact, and this gives them confidence. Against Maccabi in Italy, they can continue their winning streak and so we’ll put the 1,52 in one of our bets.
Valencia – Khimki
From this clash, we’ll hold on to Erick Green’s Over 15,5 (1,75), since he looks like he has left bad performances behind in the last two games in the EuroLeague and the domestic league. 15,5 is a low line for a good Green, especially when we’re talking about a home game.
The picks
Crvena Zvezda – Olympiacos 2 / @1,38
Panathinaikos – Zalgiris (+6,5) 2 / @1,75
Milko Bjelica Under 9,5 / @1,80
Erick Green Over 15,5 / @1,75
H2H Rivers – White (+0,5) 1 / @1,75
Armani Milan – Maccabi Tel Aviv 1 / @1,52
Unicaja Malaga – Baskonia 1 / @1,52