Euroleague Basketball Predictions
The Euroleague regular season continues with a “double” week for the first time this season. After some exciting games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the action does not stop. So, let’s dive straight into our Euroleague picks for today’s games:
Our EuroLeague basketball tips appear under each mini game preview.
Anadolu Efes – Alba Berlin
In the opening match of Friday’s double-round week, defending champion Anadolu Efes (1-2) will take on ALBA Berlin (3-0), which is in scorching form. ALBA will try to replicate its club-record streak with a fourth straight victory, while Efes will try to recover from a stunning home setback on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Sikma, the MVP of the Round, led ALBA to a 94-65 victory over Panathinaikos with a performance that included 16 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, and 6 steals. Blatt contributed 15 additional points and 7 of ALBA’s 25 assists. A league-high 25.7 points are scored per game by ALBA.
In order to stop ALBA’s well-oiled offence, Efes must become more tenacious on defence. However, ALBA has excelled in its work with glass. With about 11 more rebounds per game on average than Efes, ALBA leads all teams in rebounding so far this season (43.1 rpg) (32.3 rpg.). To control the paint, Efes will need to employ its strength and bulk, which it possesses in abundance. Efes has been more effective than any other club at getting to the basket and making two-pointers (56.9%), but it will also need to dominate the paint defensively.
Tip: 2 (+11.5) at 1.90
Panathinaikos – Monaco
On Friday, Panathinaikos (1-2) will host Monaco in Athens as two teams attempt to move past losses they sustained earlier this week (2-1). Panathinaikos just suffered a 29-point defeat at the hands of ALBA in Berlin, while Monaco lost to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv by a score of 78-70 after blowing a 19-point lead.
There is a lot of familiarity between the two teams despite the fact that Panathinaikos and Monaco had never faced off before last season, when Monaco swept their two regular-season games. Dejan Radonjic is the head coach of the Greens, and Sasa Obradovic is in charge of Monaco. Both are former colleagues from their playing days.
In order for the Greens to focus on their mission of coming back, Panathinaikos head coach will need to first prepare his players mentally. The Greens will need to find a method to swiftly forget Wednesday’s 94-65 setback to ALBA Berlin. Panathinaikos must ensure that it takes good care of the basketball because Monaco excels at forcing turnovers. The Greens must also figure out how to improve their efficiency inside, where their shooters have made just 39.3% of their attempts at two-pointers through three games.
Tip: Over 157.5 at 1.90
Baskonia – Olympiacos
Baskonia (3-0) and Olympiacos (3-0), two of the four teams still unbeaten this season, will try to maintain their perfect records when they square off on Friday night in Spain. Since 2000, these two teams have faced off 44 times in the EuroLeague, with the Reds holding an 18-26 series advantage because to victories in the most recent two meetings.
With three victories in three games, including the final one at home against Zvezda by a score of 92-75 to begin the double-round week, Baskonia got off to the best possible start to the season. In that contest, Markus Howard led the winning effort with 30 points, including 7 threes of his own, as Baskonia shattered a club record by making 19 three-pointers. Unsurprisingly, Baskonia has the highest percentage of three-pointers made in the league (44.9%) and will attempt to maintain its flawless record after hosting Olympiacos in Round 4.
For Baskonia, Thompson has started all three games thus far. In more than 31 minutes on the court each game, he averages 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and a league-best 2.3 steals. He has had the finest possible start to his EuroLeague debut season. The team’s engine, Thompson has contributed to setting up opportunities for Howard, Giedraitis, and Kotsar to make Baskonia’s offence the best in the league (92.0 ppg.).
Tip: 1 (+3.5) at 1.90
Real Madrid – Crvena Zvezda
When Real Madrid (1-2) faces winless Crvena Zvezda (0-3) on Friday, they will be looking for their first home victory of the year. Less than 48 hours will pass before Real can move past its 87-89 home defeat to Olympiacos. This was Real’s second straight two-point loss after narrowly losing to FC Barcelona in Round 2. Each of Real’s three games this season have been decided by three points or fewer, and all three of those games have been played.
In contrast to last week’s El Clásico, where Real came back from a significant deficit, Real let a late lead slip away against Olympiacos before Sloukas converted the game-winning basket with three seconds left. In the contest, Musa led Los Blancos with 17 points, followed by 14 points apiece from Walter Tavares and Sergio Llull.
Yabusele just played for Real and scored his first game with two or more goals. He scored 13 points on Wednesday against Olympiacos, shooting 3 of 4 two-pointers and 2 of 2 three-pointers, and he’ll want to improve on that performance against Zvezda. Yabusele, a starter in all three games, logs 26 minutes per game on average, third-most on the team, and contributes 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. Real will need his stature and scoring prowess to get past the tenacious Zvezda defence.
Tip: Over 153.5 at 1.90
(All prices correct at 21/10/2022, 00:00 CET, subject to change)
News Source: Euroleague.net
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