The race for the playoffs intensifies as Round 21 delivers a series of unmissable match-ups. It includes a repeat of last season’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague Championship Game (Fener – CSKA), an all-Spanish shoot-out (Baskonia – Real) and a red-hot challenger aiming for its eighth straight win (Crvena Zvezda – Efes).
Thursday’s matches
In the first tip-off, Unics Kazan (7-13) will look to revive its playoff ambitions by snapping a three-game losing streak against visiting Olympiacos Piraeus (14-6). It’s a battle between the league’s third-lowest scoring offense (Unics averages 76.7 points per game) and the third-best defense (Olympiacos allows an average of 74.4 points), and presents the host with a tough challenge in establish itself under the boards against the competition’s top rebounding team – Olympiacos averages 37.8 rebounds per game, compared to Unics’s 33.5. Olympiacos is against key players Spanoulis and Lojeski, while Young has also stayed in Greece. This balances the match in Russia and our pick is Under 150.5 points at 1.90 with bet365.
A mouth-watering rematch of last season’s final will also be highly significant in the race for the playoffs as fourth-placed Fenerbahce Istanbul (13-7) welcomes second-placed CSKA Moscow (15-5). Fenerbahce is building up a head of steam after securing three straight wins, averaging 85 points in the process, while CSKA has lost its last three road outings. The Russian team remains the league’s best at scoring, with 87.6 points per game, while Fenerbahce boasts the competition’s best three-point conversion rate, 41.5%, marginally ahead of CSKA’s 41.4%. It is time for CSKA to show how is the team to reach the top. There is also a difference to back our choice of an away win with 3.0 points handicap at 1.90 with bet365.
Another tie in the standings will be broken in Germany, where Brose Bamberg (7-13) will attempt to complete a season sweep over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv (7-13). An outstanding December gave way to a miserable January for Bamberg, which followed three consecutive victories with four straight defeats, although three of those came against the top three teams in the standings. Maccabi managed to break a three-game losing streak last week and will lean upon a strong rebounding game, averaging 25.8 defensive boards per game, third-best in the league. The problem occurred with Weems leaves Maccabi short handed. With a bit of a risk Bamberg can win this by 7.0 or more at 1.90 with bet365.
Almost No Bets
Two teams on the fringes of the playoff positions meet in Lithuania with Zalgiris Kaunas (8-12) hosting FC Barcelona Lassa (8-12). Zalgiris is gunning to win three consecutive games for the first time this season and can be guaranteed to play hard, having committed more fouls than any other team (24.1 per game). Barcelona, in contrast, is the “cleanest” team in the competition, averaging just 17.9 fouls, and will be looking to shed its status as the league’s lowest-scoring team (72.4 points per game) as it pursues a first road win in three months. This will be as tough as the odds suggest (1.90 – 1.90).
Finally on Thursday, rapidly improving EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (6-14) welcomes a Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul team (10-10) that comes off two straight losses. Milan has averaged a highly impressive 93.3 points per game in its last three outings, two of which resulted in home wins, while Darussafaka – which has made the league’s second-highest number of three-pointers (9.4 per game) – has struggled on the road in recent weeks, winning only one of its last seven away games. Good luck on that one. We do fancy Milan’s come back but those two teams have the most unexpected results so far.
Friday’s matches
Friday gets underway with Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul (6-14) aiming to climb off the foot of the standings against Panathinaikos Athens Istanbul (11-9), which has seen its playoff place jeopardized with a run of four losses in six games. Those defeats all came on the road and saw the Greens average just 69.8 points per game. Galatasaray, in contrast, has won its last two home games on the back of a firing offense, scoring 87 and then a club-record 102 points. Panathinaikos can win this by +3.0 or more at 1.90 with bet365
A rematch of one of the season’s most exciting games comes from Spain, where Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (12-8) will attempt to make it two wins out of two against visiting Real Madrid (15-5). But the teams have been heading in different directions in recent weeks, with Baskonia losing three of its last four and seeing an eight-game home winning streak come to an end, while Madrid has won six consecutive games to surge to the top of the standings. Expect a shoot-out between the fifth and second-highest scoring teams in the league: Baskonia averages 81 points per game compared to Madrid’s 86.9. Madrid is going top with a win and they need to prove they can handle the maximum heights. An away win is interesting at the price of 2.00 from bet365.
Last but not least, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (12-8) will attempt to maintain its spectacular form with a visit from playoff-chasing Anadolu Efes Istanbul (9-11). The Serbian team has won a club record seven straight games, during which it has allowed an average of just 67.2 points and never more than 73. Efes needs to reverse a three-game losing slide on the road, but has a better chance than most of breaching Zvezda’s formidable defense after averaging 82.3 points per game – third-highest in the league. Efes also leads the league in offensive rebounding, claiming 13.5 per game. The hosts are in form but the visitors are an interesting team with a fighting spirit and can at least hold the handicap of +4.5 points to their favor.
Source: euroleague.net
Basketball Tips: livetipster.com
Daily Basketball Picks
| Date | League | Event | Pick | Odds | Bet | +/- | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19/09/2023 | WNBA | DAL Wings - ATL Dream | Under 170.5 | 1.90 | 900 | -900 | Pre |
| 18/09/2023 | FRA - Cup | Pont de Cheruy - Antibes | 2 (-11.5) | 1.90 | 300 | -300 | Pre |
| 17/09/2023 | WNBA | LV Aces - CHI Sky | Over 170.5 | 1.90 | 200 | -200 | Pre |
| 13/09/2023 | WNBA | LV Aces - CHI Sky | Over 170.5 | 1.90 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 10/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Germany - Serbia | Over 42.5 Total Fouls | 1.85 | 200 | +170 | Pre |
| 09/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Latvia - Lithuania | Over 173.5 | 1.95 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 08/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Serbia - Canada | 1 (+4.5) | 1.90 | 400 | +360 | Pre |
| 07/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Italy - Latvia | 1 | 1.90 | 150 | -150 | Pre |
| 06/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Canada - Slovenia | Under 176.5 | 1.95 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 05/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Italy - USA | Under 178.5 | 1.95 | 100 | +95 | Pre |
| 03/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Spain - Canada | Over 168.5 | 1.90 | 100 | +90 | Pre |
| 02/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Jordan - Mexico | 2 (-5.5) | 2.00 | 100 | +100 | Pre |
| 01/09/2023 | WC 2023 | Lithuania - Greece | 1 (-7.5) | 1.90 | 100 | +90 | Pre |
| 31/08/2023 | WC 2023 | Egypt - Jordan | 1 | 1.95 | 400 | +380 | Pre |
| 30/08/2023 | WC 2023 | USA - Jordan | Over 185.5 | 1.90 | 200 | -200 | Pre |
| 29/08/2023 | WC 2023 | Montenegro - Lithuania | 1 (+5.5) | 1.90 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 28/08/2023 | WC 2023 | Brazil - Spain | Over 162.5 | 1.90 | 100 | +90 | Pre |
| 27/08/2023 | WC 2023 | Italy - Dominican Rep. | 2 (+5.5) | 1.90 | 100 | +90 | Pre |
| 26/08/2023 | WC 2023 | USA - New Zealand | 2 (+36.5) | 1.90 | 1000 | +900 | Pre |
| 25/08/2023 | WC 2023 | Canada - France | Over 167.5 | 1.95 | 400 | -400 | Pre |
| 20/08/2023 | OG - Q | Turkey - Croatia | Over 167.5 | 1.90 | 200 | -200 | Pre |
| 18/08/2023 | OG - Q | Croatia - Ukraine | Over 159.5 | 1.90 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 17/08/2023 | OG - Q | Chile - Colombia | Under 148.5 | 1.90 | 400 | +360 | Pre |
| 16/08/2023 | OG - Q | Portugal - Poland | Over 152.5 | 1.90 | 200 | -200 | Pre |
| 15/08/2023 | OG - Q | Bulgaria - Iceland | 1 (+4.5) | 1.95 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 14/08/2023 | OG - Q | Sweden - Croatia | Over 155.5 | 1.90 | 100 | +90 | Pre |
| 13/08/2023 | WNBA | WAS Mystics - CHI Sky | Under 159.5 | 1.95 | 200 | +190 | Pre |
| 08/08/2023 | WNBA | CHI Sky - MIN Lynx | 1 (-3.5) | 1.95 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 04/08/2023 | WNBA | IND Fever - CON Sun | 2 (-7.5) | 1.90 | 200 | +180 | Pre |
| 02/08/2023 | WNBA | SEA Storm - DAL Wings | Over 168.5 | 1.90 | 100 | -100 | Pre |
| 01/08/2023 | WNBA | IND Fever - PHX Mercury | Under 160.5 | 1.90 | 100 | +90 | Pre |
