Euroleague Basketball Predictions, News & Injury list

Euroleague Basketball Predictions

Euro League basketball tips appear under each mini game preview.

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Zenit – CSKA Moscow

A Russian derby with plenty of significance for the playoffs race tips off Round 32 on Tuesday as Zenit St Petersburg (17-13, eighth place) welcomes CSKA Moscow (20-10, second place). CSKA can secure a post-season berth with a victory, or even with a defeat depending on several other results. But more significant for Dimitris Itoudis’s team is the need to stay in the top four. Zenit knows that it could well drop out of the playoffs places with a defeat, so this is a vitally important game for both teams.

Throughout the season Zenit has relied on its stellar defense, with all 17 victories for Xavi Pascual’s men coming by restricting its opponents to 78 points or fewer. The simple fact that Zenit has always lost whenever its opponents scores higher than 80 points makes it clear that getting James out of his scoring rhythm will be the primary task for Zenit, which could struggle for confidence on its home floor after losing three of its last four games in St Petersburg. The home team must also overcome the psychological barrier of knowing that it has never beaten CSKA on the continental stage.

CSKA appears to have overcome the mid-season slump which saw the current champs lose 7 out of 11 games between Round 18 and 29. Wins over Real Madrid and Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade have restored the feelgood factor, and the return to fitness and top form of Toko Shengelia and Will Clyburn – respectively averaging 16.7 and 15.7 points over the last three games – have made a huge difference. If Zenit’s excellence defense focuses firmly on stopping James, those two may be needed to step up with big performances again.

Nikola Milutinov could miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Tip: 1 at 2.00 with bet365
(Price correct at 30/03/2021, 10:00 CET, subject to change)

Crvena Zvezda – AX Milano

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (9-22) will look to underline its recent improvement by winning its second successive home game with the visit of playoffs-chasing AX Armani Exchange Milan (19-12). Zvezda has the incentive of trying to climb higher than next-to-bottom in the standings, while Milan could qualify for the playoffs with a victory and other results falling the right way. More importantly, victory would allow Ettore Messina’s team to ensure it stays in the top four heading into the final two games of the regular season.

Zvezda has a well-balanced roster and is finding its feet under mid-season coaching appointment Dejan Radonjic. But without doubt the key performer is Jordan Loyd, who scored 22 and 27 points in back-to-back wins over Khimki Moscow Region and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, but was then held to just 9 points in last week’s defeat against CSKA. Without a big contribution from Loyd, Zvezda’s chances of victory take a massive hit, so using the size of players like Davidovac, Marko Jadogic-Kuridza and Ognjen Kuzmic to create space for Loyd to do his thing will be vital.

Quino Colom has missed the last eight games.

Milan’s season is threatening to unravel following back-to-back defeats against FC Barcelona and TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, which saw Etorre Messina’s men desperately struggle for offensive production with just 56 and 69 points scored in those losses. Milan should still make the playoffs but needs to dispel the suggestion that a veteran roster is starting to run out of gas, and that all starts with backcourt leader Sergio Rodriguez, who has an average PIR of just 3.75 over the last four games. Milan needs him back to his best, quickly.

Malcolm Delaney has missed the last five games and is set to be sidelined for at least four weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic cleaning of his left knee.

Tip: Winning Margin 3-way: Any other result at 3.00 with bet365
(Price correct at 30/03/2021, 10:00 CET, subject to change)

Real Madrid – Efes

A huge showdown in the Spanish capital sees Real Madrid (18-13, seventh place) take on Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20-11, third place). Even though just two wins separate them, the teams have slightly different goals: Real is intent on ensuring it maintains an advantage over the chasing pack, while Efes has its sights set firmly on a top four finish. The Turkish team would mathematically qualify for the playoffs with a victory, so securing that post-season ticket as soon as possible will be a big motivation for the visitors.

With its offense struggling for fluidity more often than not, Real will look to repeat the defense-first formula that earned success when the teams met three months ago. Pablo Laso’s men will look to slow the tempo, prevent Efes from running free on fastbreaks and force the action inside, where Tavares, Thompkins, Gabriel Deck and rapidly emerging youngster Usman Garuba can help Real keep control of the contest. Keeping energy levels high to close out the perimeter and deny Larkin, Micic and Rodrigue Beaubois good looks from long-range will also be vital.

Anthony Randolph is out with a ruptured left Achilles tendon.
Rudy Fernandez has not played in the last seven rounds due to back issues.
Sergio Llull is sidelined after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

It’s no secret that Efes possesses the most dynamic backcourt duo in Europe with Larkin and Micic often proving unstoppable, and a high-scoring, fast-paced shoot-out would very much favour the Turkish team. Micic continued his brilliant season with 21 points and 7 assists against Panathinaikos to take last week’s MVP award, and on Tuesday night he and Larkin will be keen to prove a point after struggling in their last meeting with Real. The size of Pleiss – one of few players capable of matching Tavares in height – could also be important.

Tip: Under 159.5 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 30/03/2021, 10:00 CET, subject to change)

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Zalgiris – ALBA Berlin

Zalgiris Kaunas (15-16) is heading into Tuesday’s home meeting with ALBA Berlin (11-20) facing a very simple equation: win, or suffer elimination. In fact, Zalgiris could be excluded from the playoffs even with a victory, so all that Martin Schiller’s men can do is fulfil their part of the bargain and then keep hoping. ALBA has nothing to play for but still showed in last week’s battling performance at Barcelona that it is ready to keep fighting until the end.

This has been a tough few weeks for Zalgiris, which must bounce back mentally from losing four consecutive games to see its playoffs ambitions nearly die. Defense must be the focus for Martin Schiller’s team, which has allowed an average of 87 points in the last three games, and knows that ALBA’s high-speed approach is more than capable of exploiting any ongoing defensive frailties. Controlling rebounds and the tempo of the game through Joffrey Lauvergne and Augustine Rubit will be important.

Arturas Milaknis has missed the last six games.
Marius Grigonis and Thomas Walkup have started every game for Zalgiris this season.

This is the final road game of the season for ALBA, which can play with the freedom of having nothing to lose. Point guards Peyton Siva and Jayson Granger will be important in allowing ALBA to play at a high tempo, which should work in the German team’s favor. But Zalgiris can also circulate the ball well, averaging 18 assists per game, and ALBA will need to be active on defense to prevent the host from setting up clean looks for its excellent three-point shooters.

Tip: 1 (-4.5) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 30/03/2021, 10:00 CET, subject to change)

Panathinaikos – Baskonia

TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (17-14) has everything to play for as it travels to face Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (10-19) in Greece. The Spanish team is currently one win short of the playoffs places, and is one of the hottest teams in the competition with eight wins from its last nine games. Panathinaikos, on the other hand, has only pride to play for after dropping out of playoffs contention with a run of five losses in six games.

In addition to limiting Henry’s ability to control the tempo of the game, Panathinaikos will look to dominate the rebounding battle through big men Dinos Mitoglou and Georgios Papagiannis. The Greens are the worst long-range shooting team in the competition, making only 34.6% of three-point shots this season, and has a much better chance of success if it can dominate inside – where key player Ioannis Papapetrou can also do serious damage.

Nemanja Nedovic has missed the last seven games.

Baskonia has shown great balance during its recent successful run, offering solid defense and a potent offense in all departments. There’s no need to change that winning formula, which has seen Achille Polonara step forward as one of the competition’s elite performers with a PIR in double figures for the last eight consecutive games. With Polonara going up against the Greens’ big men, Baskonia can attempt to profit from long-distance through consistent scorers Peters and Rokas Giedraitis, who has hit multiple triples in seven of the last eight games.

Tip: 1 (+5.5) at 1.95 with bet365
(Price correct at 30/03/2021, 10:00 CET, subject to change)

Maccabi – Barcelona

After the disappointment of seeing its playoffs challenge mathematically come to an end, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (12-17) will attempt to restore some positive feelings with the visit of standings leader FC Barcelona (23-8). The visitors have the prize of securing a first-place finish after winning five games in a row, so Sarunas Jasikevicius will definitely not allow his players to take it easy as he returns to face his former playing club.

Maccabi will attempt to complete a season-sweep over Barcelona by gaining a similar kind of victory to the triumph at the Palau Blaugrana in November: a hard-fought, low-tempo, defensively minded struggle. Putting points on the board against the Blaugrana is far from easy, but Maccabi will try to make sure that 70 points is enough for victory by slowing down Calathes, ensuring Nikola Mirotic isn’t given easy scoring opportunities and controlling the boards to minimise Barca’s scoring opportunities.

Othello Hunter did not play in the last two games.

Barca set a new season high for offensive rebounds with 19 in last week’s win over ALBA Berlin, with 5 of them coming from in-form Pierre Oriola. Similar success off the glass to create second scoring chances would be very helpful in tiring out Maccabi’s defense, and the attempts of Oriola, Mirotic, Brandon Davies and increasingly impressive youngster Sergi Martinez to impose their physicality will be fundamental for the Catalan team. If Barca can dominate inside, that will also open up space on the perimeter for the league’s most accurate three-point shooter, Kyle Kuric.

Tip: 1 at 3.55 with bet365
(Price correct at 30/03/2021, 10:00 CET, subject to change)

Bayern – Fenerbahce

A huge battle in the race for homecourt advantage in the playoffs will be staged in southern Germany as FC Bayern Munich hosts Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Both teams have identical 19-12 records and are in a three-way tie for fourth place with AX Armani Exchange Milan, so this will clearly be a pivotal encounter. In addition to the win, head to head advantage is also up for grabs after Bayern triumphed in their first meeting by 4 points.

The reliably brilliant connection between De Colo and Jan Vesely is a clear area for Bayern’s defensive focus. Bayern ranks second in the league in steals with 8.1 per game, and Fenerbahce is occasionally prone to committing many turnovers, so knocking De Colo out of rhythm through energetic defense will be a target. At the other end, Bayern will look to create chances for Vladimir Lucic to maintain his excellent form after five consecutive games of double-digits scoring from the Serbian forward.

James Gist did not play in Round 31.
Nihad Dedovic has missed the team’s last seven games.
Robin Amaize has missed the last 14 games.

The Round 4 meeting taught Fenerbahce one very valuable lesson which has also been learned by many other teams this season: against Bayern, no lead is big enough to feel comfortable. The Turkish team must be prepared to play with patience for the full 40 minutes against the competition’s comeback kings, and find an alternative scoring route to De Colo and Vesely. Ever-presents Dyshawn Pierre and Lorenzo Brown – the only Fener players to appear in every game this season – can be important in lessening the load on the two superstars.