Euroleague Tips with Previews – Round 13 – Friday

The Leningradka Derby finds the two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams from the Russian capital trending in opposite directions. Khimki (2-10) has dropped its last four games and fallen to last place in the standings, while CSKA (9-3) currently shares first place thanks to a seven-game win streak. Their records belie a narrower distance in performance numbers as as CSKA ranks seventh in team PIR (88.5 per game) and Khimki 12th (82.8), but defense is the big difference, as Khimki gives up 9.3 more points per game this season.

Khimki has given up 100 points or more in three of its four consecutive defeats and lost those games by an average of 19 points. It’ll come down to defense for the hosts, especially on the perimeter, where opponents are making a league-high 10.9 triples per game at a rate of 40.5%, which is the second-worst any EuroLeague team allows. CSKA’s defense allows few easy shots, so Khimki needs to mind its rising rate of turnovers, too, while steering the ball to its best-positioned shooters.

Panathinaikos (4-7) comes off a big road win against AX Armani Exchange Milan and wants to keep that momentum going. Nemanja Nedovic (14.1 ppg.) is its top scorer, followed by Ioannis Papapetrou (12.1 ppg.) and Shelvin Mack (9.6 ppg.). Zalgiris (5-7) is on a six-game losing streak and plays on the road before hosting the next three showdowns. Marius Grigonis (14.4 ppg.). Joffrey Lauvergne (10.3 ppg., 4.8 rpg.) and Lukas Lekavicius (8.5 ppg.) are leading the team so far this season.

Panathinaikos ranks fourth in offensive rebounds (11.6 orpg.) and needs big men Georgios Papagiannis, Dinos Mitoglou and Zach Auguste to keep generating second-chance opportunities, while also denying Zalgiris the chance to play in transition. Howard Sant-Roos is a nightmare matchup due to his versatility and one-on-one skills, so Panathinaikos must keep running its offense through him, Nedovic and Papapetrou, who has a size advantage at small forward.

Zalgiris is allowing opponents to make 57.2% of their two-point shots, so finding a new way to protect its paint is mandatory for the visitors. Zalgiris is doing a great job of locking down the defensive boards, however, allowing just 8.8 offensive rebounds. Zalgiris has great three-point shooters in Grigonis, Lekavicius and Arturas Milaknis, so it needs good ball circulation, led by Thomas Walkup and Rokas Jokubaitis, to find the marksmen open looks from beyond the arc.

Zalgiris swingman Patricio Garino remains out of action after a knee operation. Steve Vasturia injured his knee in a Lithuanian League game over the weekend and is out for at least two months.