By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
The beginning of the betting season was very so far successful, with four for five predictions about the Euroleague and three for five ones about the national championships being right, respectively, and Eurohoops continues, betting on each team’s habits.
In the beginning of the season, it’s difficult for the teams to be in a good form. However, every club has its own unique philosophy and dynamics. Lokomotiv Kuban has made a good start to the season and based on its roster, which is of high quality, can beat Zalgiris Kaunas. The Lithuanians will fight to win the game at home, but the Russians have a slight advantage.
CSKA Moscow goes to Sardinia to play against Sassari, which is a team that has the worst defence of the group and plays up-tempo basketball. The Moscovites have scored 100 points against Khimki and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, 93 against Vita and 85 in the easy victory over Krasni Octyabr, so the 87,5-point limit seems attainable for Dimitris Itoudis’ players.
Bamberg is the team with the least number of possessions in Euroleague’s opening week, due to their low-tempo playing style. The same goes for Darussafaka as well, which has a similar philosophy in all their matches. The 143,5-point is low, but, logically, both teams will not score more points.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv has started the season facing many problems and with a lot of criticism. In the past two weeks, they acquired two new players to strengthen their front-line. Malaga will come to Tel-Aviv to fight for the win, so the five-point handicap is more than secure for us.
Olympiacos pays great attention to its strong defence and in each of its games so far the overall points are very low. The 152,5-point limit against Laboral Kutxa is very high, as the Reds are expected to control the tempo of the game.
Eurohoops’ betting predictions:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Malaga (+5) 2
@Sbobet 1,88
Zalgiris Kaunas vs Lokomotiv Kuban (+1,5) 2
@Sportingbet 1,93
Bamberg vs Darussafaka Under 143,5 points
@Bet365 1,90
Laboral Kutxa vs Olympiacos Under 152,5 points
@Ladbrokes 1,85
Sassari vs CSKA Moscow Over 87,5 points
@ Stoiximan 1,90