Euroleague Tips with Previews – Round 21 – Thursday

Zenit (12-6) is on a three-game home winning streak, in which it has consolidated some of the many road victories it earned earlier this season. Kevin Pangos (11.6 ppg., 6.4 apg.), Arturas Gudaitis (10.6 ppg.) and Will Thomas (8.1 ppg., 5.4 rpg.) have been leading the team. Efes (11-9) is on a three-game winning streak. Vasilije Micic (14.6 ppg., 5.2 apg.), Shane Larkin (13.5 ppg., 4.6 apg.) and Bryant Dunston (10.3 ppg., 4.2 rpg.) are its main pillars.

Zenit has the best defensive numbers in the competition, allowing just 72.9 points per night without forcing a lot of turnovers (11.9 per game). That means there are a lot of contested shots, which is important against a team with great shooters like Micic, Simon, Larkin and Rodrigue Beaubois. On offense, Pangos and Mauteusz Ponitka should find a balance to get sharpshooters Billy Baron and Austin Hollins involved without forgetting that Gudaitis and Thomas are in great shape and ready to contribute in the low post.

Alex Poythress has been unavailable for Zenit’s last three games.

Efes has averaged 95.0 in its current streak, so speeding the game tempo against a team that feels more comfortable in half-court situations is almost mandatory for the Turkish powerhouse. Efes has outrebounded its opponents in all of its last three wins and that is where it is all starts in Coach Ergin Ataman’s philosophy – locking down the defensive boards to quickly find Micic or Larkin and play in transition. If Dunston stops Gudaitis down low, Efes should have a better chance of winning at Sibur Arena.

New signing Dzanan Musa is set to make his Efes debut.

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (6-13) comes off a 26-point road loss and hopes to bounce back right away in the Greek capital. Nemanja Nedovic (16.4 ppg.), Ioannis Papapetrou (13.1 ppg., 4.5 rpg.) and Georgios Papagiannis (9.7 ppg., 6.2 rpg.) have been its main players. Khimki Moscow Region (2-18) is on a 12-game losing streak and has a new interim coach in Andrey Maltsev. Alexey Shved (18.1 ppg., 7.8 apg.), Devin Booker (13.1 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) and Jordan Mickey (11.4 ppg., 4.9 rpg.) are the team’s pillars.

Panathinaikos has strong assists numbers, 18.1 per game, despite not shooting the ball well until now. Indeed, Panathinaikos ranks 11th in two-point shooting percentage (53.0%), and 17th from downtown (35.2%) and from the free-throw line (74.4%). Running its offense through its most effective players, mainly Nedovic, Papapetrou and Papagiannis should improve those numbers (the latter two are sidelined), as well as using Aaron White to stretch the floor at the ‘4’ position, where he can generate more space for everyone else.

Ioannis Papapetrou and Giorgos Papagiannis are out.

With a new coach, some things should change in Khimki, but as in the last few years, the Russian powerhouse is expected to keep running its offense through Shved, a great one-on-one player who has optimized his passing skills in recent years. Khimki is allowing 90.3 points per game this season and opponents shoot at very good percentages (55.3% 2FG, 42.8% 3FG). Khimki must make a collective effort to improve its defense. The offense has never been an issue, with so many good scorers on the team.

Janis Timma and Jonas Jerebko have missed the last four games. Greg Monroe has not played since Round 13.

Two of the strongest teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season meet again. AX Armani Exchange Milan (12-7) is on a three-game winning streak, led by Kevin Punter (14.2 ppg.), Sergio Rodriguez (10.0 ppg., 4.7 apg.) and Zach LeDay (10.6 ppg., 4.5 rpg.). Behind Milanese coach Andrea Trinchieri, FC Bayern Munich (12-8) hopes to snap its current four-game road losing streak. Wade Baldwin IV (14.2 ppg., 4.0 apg.), Vladimir Lucic (14.1 ppg., 4.9 rpg.) and Jalen Reynolds (14.0 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) have been its main pillars.

Rebounding has been the answer to Milan’s problems. After being heavily outrebounded by CSKA 33-60 in an overtime home loss, Milan dramatically improved those numbers. It outrebounded its next three opponents – Real Madrid, Valencia Basket, ALBA Berlin, getting 31.7 rebounds on average while allowing 26.7. Milan has found different go-to guys in those wins, which is great news for Coach Ettore Messina’s team. An unpredictable offense should make the team stronger in the long run.

Vladimir Micov has missed the team’s last five games. Shavon Shields has not played the last three games due to a thigh injury.

Bayern has lost its last four road games by 5 points or fewer, but just got Lucic back, which gives the German powerhouse a regular go-to guy in end-of-game situations. D.J. Seeley has been effective (53.8% 3FG, 92.3% FT) since he joined the team and given Bayern extra scoring punch. Seeley, Zan Sisko and Baldwin should control the game tempo and make sure Rodriguez and Delaney do not circulate the ball well on offense.

Robin Amaize, Nihad Dedovic and Zan Mark Sisko have missed the last three games.