Euroleague Basketball Tips
Euro League basketball predictions appear under each mini game preview.
Zenit – Khimki
It’s an all-Russian affair in Round 7 when EuroLeague debutante Zenit St Petersburg (2-4) welcomes Khimki Moscow Region (4-2) on Thursday. Zenit comes fresh off another Russian deby against defending champ CSKA Moscow, who prevented the newcomers to get their first winning streak. After two straight wins, Khimki also fell in the last game against Crvena Zvezda, so one of the two teams will be back on the winning track after this game.
It could look like a daunting task for Zenit when it faces the second best offense in the league (87.0 ppg.) right after having faced the top one. However, Zenit is in a tie for second place with the best numbers in steals of the league. The guests were having a placid run that came to a halt last week, so they will probably want to get back on track in St. Petersburg. Coach Joan Plaza and his players will have to step up on defense to stop Khimki from playing the style of game it likes this season.
Khimki saw its winning streak snapped in Round 6 and wants to get back to the fine pace it showed before that. Alexey Shved (21.2 ppg.) and Janis Timma (14.0 ppg.) are the main pillars in offense for the guests, boosting them to the second best offense in the league. Khimki is the team with the highest PIR average in the league (97.7), which goes a long distance in telling that the team does many things, and that it does them well. If the guests manage to move the ball the way they like, and they manage to find their usual production in offense, they will be on their way to a new win.
Egor Vialtsev and Timofey Mozgov are still out with injury. Stefan Jovic and Chris Kramer are expected to play against Zenit.
Tip: 1 (+5.5) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 07/11/2019, 10:10 CET, could have changed)
Crvena Zvezda – Real Madrid
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade will look to keep its momentum going at home when it hosts Real Madrid on Thursday. The Serbian champs come off an impressive victory over Khimki Moscow Region. Real, which routed ALBA Berlin in Round 6, is seeking its first road win of the season. In each of the previous three seasons in which these teams met, they split their regular-season contests.
The Round 6 victory over Khimki marked the first time since Round 1 that Zvezda had scored more than 70 points. Its outbreak came in part thanks to the excellent shooting of Billy Baron, Stratos Perperoglou and Borisa Simanic, who made 10 three-pointers between them. Another strong shooting night and controlling the glass would certainly help Zvezda in its big to take another scalp at home.
Derick Brown is out, Nemanja Nenadic, and Dejan Davidovac are doubtful (back problems).
Long considered to be one of the top offensive teams in the EuroLeague, Real has averaged just 73.0 points in road games this season. Part of the problem has been its 14.0 turnovers in those games. Cutting down on turnovers will be of major importance this week where the Belgrade crowd will be fired up by every Real error.
Tip: 2 (-5.0) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 07/11/2019, 10:10 CET, could have changed)
Olympiacos – Anadolu Efes
Two classic EuroLeague powerhouses go against each other one more time. Efes comes off a road loss that put an end to a four-game winning streak. Olympiacos has already lost twice at home this season and cannot afford any more mistakes in front of its fans. Georgios Printezis (11.7 ppg.) has been Olympiacos’s top scorer until now, followed by Kevin Punter (10.0 ppg.) and Vassilis Spanoulis (9.8 ppg.). Shane Larkin (17.6 ppg.), Vasilije Micic (16.0 ppg., 7.0 apg.) and Bryant Dunston (11.7 ppg., 6.3 rpg.) have been Efes’s leaders so far.
Olympiacos has to improve its offense, as it is averaging just 47.9% inside the arc and just 30.2% from downtown (17th overall). A better ball circulation is required, as Olympiacos ranks last in assists (12.7 apg.). Of course, it needs to play physical against Larkin and Micic, as Efes runs its offense through its stellar point guard duo. Will Cherry, Taylor Rochestie and Spanoulis have to dominate the game tempo, and Olympiacos has to get Milutinov and Printezis down low to increase its chances to win the game.
Efes hit just 6-of-30 three-point shots (20.0%) in its last EuroLeague game, way below its previous numbers (48-of-142, 33.8%), which were not partcularily high for a team in which everyone but Dunston usually pulls the trigger from downtown. Efes relies on Dunston, Tibor Pleiss and Alec Peters to stop Printezis and Milutinov down low. Locking the defensive glass to get going in transition and as always, getting Micic and Larkin involved, will give Efes more chances to win the game.
Tip: Under 159.5 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 07/11/2019, 10:10 CET, could have changed)
Maccabi – ALBA Berlin
Two teams in completely opposite trends square off in Round 7 when Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv (4-2) welcomes ALBA Berlin (1-5). After starting the season with two losses, Maccabi managed to build a four-game winning streak, the last two being against powerhouses such as Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. On the other side, ALBA won the opening game but it’s been all losses since then, and will look to get back to life in Tel Aviv.
Maccabi is probably one of the three or four hottest teams in the league right now. The hosts boast the second best defense in the league (71.2 ppg. allowed) and have the sixth best offense, just about one point shy of ALBA’s numbers. Maccabi will try to capitalize on that and the fact that ALBA is swimming against the current at this point. The main key for the hosts will be to stop the fluid offense of the guests, who rank first overall in assists per game (20.2).
It’s starting to become a matter of heart to ALBA. The German squad needs a win badly if it wants to stay in the mix and, most of all, if it wants to recover self-confidence. The guests could try to force Maccabi shoot from beyond the arc, an area where ALBA clearly dominates the hosts. Stopping names like Omri Casspi, Nate Wolters or Wilbekin will be a top priority for coach Aito Garcia Reneses and his men if they want to escape Tel Aviv with a win.
Tip: 2 (+9.5) at 1.95 with bet365
(Price correct at 07/11/2019, 10:10 CET, could have changed)
Milano – Baskonia
AX Armani Exchange Milan (5-1), the hottest team in the EuroLeague, puts its spotless home record on the line against the KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (3.3), owners of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s best defense, allowing just 69.3 points per game. They are 8-8 against each other this century, so the winner will break that tie
The hosts are enjoying their best EuroLeague start this century while ranking highly in a few categories. Chief among them are three-point accuracy (44.2%), in which Milan ranks first, and defensive rebounds (26.5) in which it ranks third. Both of those will be necessary to extend the Baskonia defense and to negate Baskonia’s number 1 ranking in offensive boards (12.8). The pace of the game will be key for Milan because Baskonia likes to apply pressure and race up and down the floor. Point guards Sergio Rodriguez – the just-named October MVP – as well as Andrea Cinciarini and Nemanja Nedovic will be conscious of not rushing and making their passes count so that Baskonia does not get to enjoy the transition game it likes so much.
The visitors put their considerable talent and ambition together completely in a blowout 93-60 home win in Round 6 against FC Bayern Munich, the only team to have beaten Milan yet. Baskonia will be coming in on a high behind the force of Shengelia and the game-changing presence of 2.21-meter shot-blocker Youssoupha Fall. Pierria Henry and Luca Vildoza will have the job of slowing down Rodriguez, but all of Baskonia’s perimeter defenders must help frustrate Milan’s high-percentage shooters. And inside, the visitors will want to neutralize Milan’s tag-team centers, Arturas Gudaitis and Kaleb Tarczewski. Baskonia has owned the middle to date as the EuroLeague’s top rebounding and shot-blocking team. On the road against a first-place team, those elements will be even more important to maintain.
Tip: Over 154.5 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 07/11/2019, 10:10 CET, could have changed)
News Source: Euroleague.net
Basketball tips: Livetipster
