By Lefteris Moutis/ info@eurohoops.net
In the opening games of the week in the EuroLeague, Olympiacos look like they have an advantage over Maccabi Tel Aviv, while Fenerbahce too look like they can win in Milan.
The betting companies once again underestimate Crvena Zvezda’s potential and overestimate Efes. The Turkish team only has three wins in spite of the high quality material they have, while the Serbs have reached four wins after two wins in a row. The 7,5-point handicap (@Stoiximan 1,75) in Zvezda’s favor, then, is rather big. Efes have only defeated Panathinaikos in overtime by a wider margin, while the visitors were defeated by a wider margin only by the greens. So, we are going to bet on the visitors, who can slow down the tempo and throw Perasovic’s players out of their rhythm.
Olympiacos are elevated after the two wins over Barcelona and Panathinaikos, while Maccabi are in a similar condition after the two wins over Fenerbahce and Unics Kazan. The red-and-whites are very strong at home and can impose themselves on the Israelis, who look better but who definitely lack cohesion and chemistry. The 6,5-point handicap (@Stoiximan 1,80) is rather big, but Olympiacos can win by a wider margin.
Zalgiris Kaunas – Brose Bamberg
Zalgiris have perhaps the smallest budget in the competition, but they are a team with very good chemistry and roles, and who are competitive in most games. Besides, they’ve succumbed easily only to Fenerbahce and Maccabi. In contrast, Bamberg are the unluckiest team in this year’s EuroLeague, losing in total six games by an overall margin of 16 points! The game is expected to be close and any prediction is risky, but a small bet on a win for any team by a margin of up to 6 points (@bet365 2,70) has value based on the payoff.
Olimia Milano – Fenerbahce
Milano have had several ups and downs in their performance, but with 4-4 record they are within their goals. Fenerbahce, on the other side, had three defeats in a row and are hoping that the win over Efes will be followed up. The Italians take their games to a high tempo and if the Turks get dragged into it, they might have trouble. However, Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to return, to improve his team’s function along the perimeter, and control the game through the defense. Zeljko Obradovic’s players can win the game, even by a small margin (1,5 @OPAP 1,75).
Real Madrid – Unics Kazan
Real Madrid are coming off a highly successful week with the win over Panathinaikos and the triumph against Barcelona. Unics Kazan have pulled off two wins over Fenerbahce and Crvena Zvezda, showing that they can make the surprise. The 12,5-point handicap is rather big and it’s better to go with the Over in the home team’s points. The Madrilenos have the second best offense in the EuroLeague with 91,1 points per game, and Unics have the second worst defense per possession. This means that if Real impose their favorite fast tempo on the game they will easily go over the threshold of 91,5 points (@Sportingbet 1,85).
The choices:
Anadolu Efes – Crvena Zvezda: (+7,5) 2
Olympiacos – Maccabi Tel Aviv: (+6,5) 1
Zalgiris Kaunas – Bamberg: Win for any team 1-5
Olimpia Milano (+1,5) – Fenerbahce: 2
Real Madrid – Unics Kazan: Real Madrid over 91,5