Euroleague Tips with Previews – Round 20 – Friday

Euroleague Predictions today

Euroleague Basketball Predictions

Euroleague basketball predictions Euro League basketball tips appear under each mini game preview.

Open an account with bet365 today (T&Cs apply)

CSKA Moscow – Barcelona

It is a big battle atop the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings. CSKA Moscow (15-4) is on a six-game home-court winning streak, led by Mike James (20.6 ppg., 6.0 apg.), Nikola Milutinov (9.0 ppg., 8.8 rpg.) and Darrun Hilliard (11.1 ppg.). FC Barcelona (13-6), still without Brandon Davies, Victor Claver and Nikola Mirotic, has won its last two games and looks for its second win in Russia this week. Cory Higgins (11.8 ppg.), Nick Calathes (7.9 ppg., 7.6 apg.) and Kyle Kuric (9.0 ppg., 61.4% 3FG) are leading the team right now.

CSKA had an overwhelming rebounding advantage in its last two wins – 33-60 against AX Armani Exchange Milan and 44-26 against Zalgiris. All CSKA players should keep powering the boards, especially its best rebounders – Milutinov, Johannes Voigtmann and Joel Bolomboy. Stopping former CSKA star Higgins should be one of the keys, and the Russian powerhouse relies on Nikita Kurbanov to do so. CSKA should push the game tempo, as players like James, Hilliard and Shengelia bring out their best in transition.

Will Clyburn is out with an ankle injury. Daniel Hackett has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

Stopping Milutinov down low should be a priority; he has recorded six double-doubles in the last seven games. With Davies sidelined, Barcelona relies on Artem Pustovyi, Pierre Oriola and Rolands Smits to play strong under the rims. Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius has several options to guard James, but Calathes and Adam Hanga should be the most reliable ones. On offense, Calathes must get his team’s best shooters involved, Alex Abrines and Kyle Kuric, as they would open the floor for everyone else with their shots from downtown.

Brandon Davies has missed Barcelona’s last five games. Nikola Mirotic has missed Barcelona’s last three games.

basketball prediction Tip: 2 (+4.5) at 1.86 with bet365
(Price correct at 15/01/2010, 09:15 CET, subject to change)

Fenerbahce – Panathinaikos

A Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (9-10) team on the rise will welcome Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (6-12) on Friday for Round 20 in their second game this week. The hosts are currently on a four-game winning streak, including a commanding victory on Wednesday against TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, 96-76. On the other side, the Greens, who have just appointed Oded Kattash as new head coach, also got back on the winning track after three straight losses by triumphing over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at home, 88-71.

Fenerbahce is still the worst offensive team in the league at 74.6 ppg. but the injection of morale that the flurry of wins has given the team makes them a fearful foe. Coach Kokoskov seems to have found the formula and the hosts are going strong for a playoffs spot. However, Panathinaikos has better numbers almost on all fronts and it’s also a team looking to find its identity, as the Kattash signing shows, so expect a hard-fought battle.

Ali Muhammed has missed Fenerbahce’s last four games.

The Greens arrive in Istanbul with a new coach and having lost three of their last four games. However, the last one was a success and the team is still the fifth-best in the league under the boards, so that should be a weapon to help launch fast transitions. On defense, the Greens will have to watch out for Fenerbahce snipers (37.9% from the arc), but most of all, be ready to match the intensity and confidence that Fener will show after so many consecutive wins.

Ioannis Papapetrou did not play in Round 19.

basketball prediction Tip: 1 (-8.0) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 15/01/2010, 09:15 CET, subject to change)

Zenit – Zelgiris

Zenit St Petersburg (11-6) looks to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this season when it hosts Zalgiris Kaunas. Kevin Pangos (11.9 ppg., 6.4 apg.), Arturas Gudaitis (10.3 ppg.) and Will Thomas (8.5 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) lead Coach Xavi Pascual’s team. Zalgiris Kaunas (11-8) comes off a road loss in Moscow that snapped a six-game winning streak. Marius Grigonis (15.2 ppg.), Joffrey Lauvergne (11.0 ppg.) and Nigel Hayes (9.7 ppg.) have been its top scorers so far this season.

Zenit has some of the best defensive numbers in the competition, allowing a league-low 73.4 points and allowing opponents to make just 52.7% of its two-point shots and 35.8% from downtown. Contesting deep shots should be important against Zalgiris, the best three-point shooting team in the EuroLeague (43.0%). On offense, Zenit should make the most of Gudaitis’s greta form, running his offense through him and Pangos.

Alex Poythress has been unavailable for Zenit’s last two games.

Stopping Pangos is a priority for anyone playing against Zenit as its other pure point guard, Dmitriy Khvostov, is sidelined. Zalgiris relies on Thomas Walkup to play intense on-the-ball defense against him. The Lithuanian champs have enough shooters – Grigonis, Hayes, Arturas Milaknis, Lukas Lekavicius – to dynamite any game from beyond the three-point time. Martinas Geben and Lauvergne should be ready to stop Gudaitis around the basket. Controlling the defensive boards should be important to get easy points in transition.

Zalgiris swingman Patricio Garino remains out of action after a knee operation. Steve Vasturia will be sidelined at least until mid-February with a knee injury.

basketball prediction Tip: Zalgiris Over 74.5 at 1.83 with bet365
(Price correct at 15/01/2010, 09:15 CET, subject to change)

Open an account with bet365 today (T&Cs apply)

Bayern – Real Madrid

A virtual tie for third place in the standings will be broken on Friday in Round 21, when FC Bayern Munich (12-7) hosts Real Madrid (12-6). Bayern has won two of its last three games, including an 82-80 decision at home against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday. Real saw a blizzard postpone its own game that night game against Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, so its most recent result was a home loss to AX Armani Exchange Milan, 76-80, in Round 18.

Bayern faces the third-best offense in the league, although Real will be missing Sergio Llull aside from Randolph. It can be a great opportunity for the hosts to return the favor from Round 6. However, Los Blancos still lead the league in average PIR and they will be a bit more rested having skipped Wednesday’s game. If Lucic can keep the pace he set against Zenit, his added dimension will be needed to put the breaks on a Real team that won six in a row before last week.

Robin Amaize, Nihad Dedovic and Zan Mark Sisko have missed the last two games.

Real has better numbers in general than Bayern, and after not playing earlier this week, should be a bit more rested. However, Bayern has not let much rattle it so far this season. Real will have to watch for the aggressive defense of the hosts, who are second in the league in steals (7.9 spg.). Pay attention also to the battle in the paint by two of the hottest centers in the competition, Jalen Reynolds of Bayern and Walter Tavares of Real. This rematch with a step in the standings at stake will be quite a battle as teams start battling tooth and nail for playoffs position.

Anthony Randolph is out with a ruptured left Achilles tendon. Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez were both sidelined in Round 18.

basketball prediction Tip: Over 156.5 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 15/01/2010, 09:15 CET, subject to change)

Olympiacos – Villeurbanne

Olympiacos will look to extend its three-game winning streak when it welcomes ASVEL to Peace and Friendship Stadium for the first of two games in five days between these teams. ASVEL, which will try to end its four-game losing streak, is set to host their rescheduled Round 10 game on Tuesday. ASVEL is on a three-day trip to Greece where it suffered an 88-71 loss against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens on Wednesday night, and now takes on a confident Olympiacos side coming off a dramatic 87-89 road win at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

Olympiacos has found its offensive click. No team is scoring more points over the last three games than Olympiacos with 92.7 per game, however, Coach Georgios Bartzokas’s team certainly has room for improvement. The Reds would certainly like to move the ball a little better, averaging just 17.0 assists during that same stretch, which is in the bottom half in the league. If Olympiacos improves its ball movement, it will be hard to stop.

Kostas Papanikolaou has missed Olympiacos’s last three games.

ASVEL has been outrebounded by an average margin of 7.3 rebounds over the last three games. And while it suggests the team has been struggling to control the boards, the rebounding deficit has also been a product of the team making just 45.6% of its two-point shots over that span. It will be important for ASVEL to establish an inside game to have a better shot at an upset in Piraeus.

basketball prediction Tip: 2 (+8.5) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 15/01/2010, 09:15 CET, subject to change)

Valencia – Crvena Zvezda

The final game of Round 20 will see Valencia Basket host Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade. Valencia (10-8) is on a three-game losing streak for the first time this season and hopes to bounce back at La Fonteta. Klemen Prepelic (11.2 ppg.), Nikola Kalinic (9.7 ppg.) and Louis Labeyrie (8.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) are leading the team right now with Bojan Dubljevic sidelined. Zvezda (6-12) looks for its first road win since mid-November. Corey Walden (11.1 ppg.), Johnny O’Bryant (12.1 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) and Quino Colom (9.3 ppg.) lead the attack with Jordan Loyd out.

Valencia has been outrebounded in each of its last three games, so being more aggressive under the rims should be one of the aspects to focus on. Without Dubljevic, everyone must help on the boards, but especially Tobey, Labeyrie and Derrick Williams. Preventing Colom from generating good options off pick-and-roll situations is also important for Valencia, as well as speeding up the game tempo and getting its best shooters involved. If Van Rossom, Fernando San Emeterio and especially Prepelic find good shots, it should be easier for the hosts.

Bojan Dubljevic has missed Valencia’s last two games. Vanja Marinkovic has missed Valencia’s last 14 games due to a shoulder injury.

Zvezda is allowing 78.0 points on average per game, but that number went down to 72.0 in the last two games. Defense and concentration come first for Coach Dejan Radonjic and his team has been more disciplined lately, using non-shooting balls to avoid easy points. Zvezda needs to improve its shooting percentages (49.1% 2FG, 36.5% 3FG) and has talented scorers such as O’Bryant, Corey Walden and Dejan Davidovac. The additions of experienced players like Colom and Landry Nnoko only help Zvezda raise those numbers.

Langston Hall and Marko Simonovic have missed the last two games with an injury. Jordan Loyd has missed Zvezda’s last three games with an illness.

basketball prediction Tip: Under 157.5 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 15/01/2010, 09:15 CET, subject to change)

Open an account with bet365 today (T&Cs apply)

News Source: Euroleague.net

Basketball tips today (Other than Euroleague)


Euroleague Standings

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Disclaimer: This is not investment or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.