Euroleague Basketball Predictions
Following the NBA, Euroleague has introduced the play-in round, to keep more teams interested to the end of the regular season. One winning team will advance to the playoffs and one losing team will be ousted in the EuroLeague Play-In Showdown, which makes its debut on Tuesday. This is how it will all work out. Let’s dive straight into our Euroleague picks for today’s games.
Yes, these are the best Euroleague basketball tips you can possibly find and appear under each mini game preview.
Maccabi – Baskonia
The winner of Maccabi vs. Baskonia in Belgrade advances straight to a playoff series against Panathinaikos. Both clubs had successful regular season finales. Maccabi’s blazing offence, which averaged 92 points per game during that stretch, helped them win seven of their final eight games. Baskonia is returning after impressive road victories against Virtus Bologna and Real Madrid, which were also won by the team’s excellent offence, which scored 95 points in each contest.
A shootout between the players who finished first and third in the regular season scoring rankings will take place in the backcourt, pitting Wade Baldwin (17.7 ppg) against Markus Howard (19.4 points per game) of Baskonia. In addition, the Spanish squad has Codi Miller-McIntyre, who led the regular season in assists (7.2 per game). Against third-ranked distributor Lorenzo Brown (6.2 apg), Miller-McIntyre will try to dictate the pace of play.
The competition in the paint will be equally intense because Josh Nebo of Maccabi is the best rebounder in the league with 7.3 boards per game. The Baskonia team of Tadas Sedekerskis and Chima Moneke, who finished third and fifth in rebounding, respectively, with 6.8 and 6.7 per game, will be a formidable opponent for him.
The host side prevailed in both of their regular-season encounters, with Maccabi defeating the visiting squad 89-81 in Belgrade in December behind 17 points and 11 rebounds from Nebo. However, that won’t matter much on Tuesday in what looks to be an action-packed, thrilling thriller.
Winning Margin 3-way 1-5 points at 2.70
Efes – Virtus Bologna
Efes takes on Virtus, both teams aware that a loss means the end of the season; the victor advances to a championship match against the loser of Tuesday’s other play-in game. Efes had a remarkable regular season finale, winning five straight games and showing off its strength with a decisive 100-55 thrashing of Crvena Zvezda in the last game. The situation is completely different for Virtus, who lost to Baskona at home in Round 34 to cap off a terrible run of results that included seven straight losses.
Shane Larkin, the star player for the Efes, leads the league in PIR (20.1 per game). Elijah Bryant, who scored 26 points against Zvezda, will provide him with plenty of assistance, and Rodrigue Beaubois, who averages 10.3 points per game, is still a threat. Veteran backcourt organiser Daniel Hackett will try to set the pace for Virtus, while Marco Belinelli, who has just as much experience, will always be a threat to shoot three points.
Though Will Clyburn, another Efes star, has been playing at his best lately, Virtus can rely on the expertise of three players who have shown themselves under the basket: Bryant Dunston, Jordan Mickey, and Toko Shengelia.
Darius Thompson scored a season-high 26 points to lead Efes to a 99-75 victory in Round 21 when the clubs played in Istanbul. Recent performance indicates to a similar result on Tuesday, but Virtus will play its heart out to save its season.
Over 169.5 at 1.95
(All prices correct at 16/04/2024, 11:00 CET, subject to change)
News Source: Euroleague.net
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