Euroleague Tips with Previews – Round 4 – Friday

itoudis-cska

Euroleague Basketball Tips

Euro League basketball predictions appear under each mini game preview.

Get up to £100 in Bet Credits!*
* New Customers only. Up to £100* in Bet Credits. Sign up, deposit £5* or more to your account and bet365 will match your qualifying deposit in Bet Credits when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.

CSKA Moscow – ALBA Berlin

CSKA will try to keep its early-season momentum going when it welcomes winless ALBA Berlin to the Russian capital. CSKA bounced back from a season-opening loss with back-to-back victories, including an overtime thriller at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Wednesday night. ALBA has had a slow start, with three losses and a league-worst -47 point difference going into Round 4.

CSKA has been depleted to start the season but led by Will Clyburn (17.7 ppg.), Mike James (17.3 ppg., 4.3 apg.) and Tornike Shengelia (10.3 ppg., 8.3 rpg.) has found ways to succeed. Still, it would be important for their teammates to get involved in the offense sooner rather than later. The rest of the team has averaged just 28.0 points per game so far, and finding more balance on offense would go long way toward victory in this game that CSKA is playing on short rest.

Semen Antonov, Nikola Milutinov and Janis Strelnieks tested positive for COVID-19 and missed CSKA’s Round 2 and Round 3 games. Andrei Lopatin also tested positive ahead of the Round 3 game.

ALBA has still to rediscover the offense that has been its trademark since Aito Garcia Reneses took over as head coach. ALBA has not scored more than 73 points in any of its first three games after averaging 84.5 last season. The teams needs to get better control of the boards, especially on the defensive end, which would give it more opportunities to run in transition and get some easy baskets.

basketball prediction Tip: Over 162.5 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 16/10/2020, 08:30 CET, subject to change)

Fenerbahce – Bayern

Fenerbahce and Bayern are coming into their Round 4 clash from opposite directions. Fenerbahce lost a overtime thriller at home against CSKA Moscow, while Bayern is coming off a dramatic road win at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. With both sides holding 2-1 records, it is an early-season clash where the winner’s prize could end up being a share of the EuroLeague standings lead.

To bounce back from its first defeat under Kokoskov, Fenerbahce will need to take better care of the ball and get more efficient inside the three-point arc. Fenerbahce is averaging 16.3 turnovers, second-most in the league, and shoots the ball with the third-lowest two-point accuracy, 46.0%. Improving in those areas will be very important against a defensively aggressive Bayern team.

Bayern has started this season playing with focus, poise and discipline, especially on the defensive end. Bayern leads the league with 9.7 steals per game, and needs to keep that effort in this game, too. It will be important for Bayern to try to keep up in the battle on the glass, too, as Fenerbahce is one of the best rebounding teams in the league through three games.

basketball prediction Tip: 2 (+7.5) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 16/10/2020, 08:30 CET, subject to change)

Olympiacos – Maccabi

Maccabi (1-2) comes off its second loss of the season, as FC Bayern Munich stood on its way at Menora Mivtachim Arena, 82-85, despite 27 points from Scottie Wilbekin and 19 from Ante Zizic. Olympiacos (2-1) registered its second consecutive win, downing AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan 86-75 behind 17 points and 11 assists from Kostas Sloukas. Georgios Printezis and Aaron Harrison each added 16 points for the Reds. Expect nothing but a great showdown between old sports rivals at Peace and Friendship Stadium as visiting coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos returns again to face the team he led to the 2017 championship game.

Olympiacos shot the ball really well against Milan, hitting 61.8% two-point shots and 40% of its attempts from beyond the arc. It finished the game with 20 assists and held Milan to just 12. That focus on defense and ball circulation on offense will be critical against a high-scoring team like Maccabi. Olympiacos has a more experienced backcourt, led by Sloukas, Vassilis Spanoulis and Charles Jenkins, and must be read to make the most of that advantage. Stopping Ante Zizic and Othello Hunter down low should be critical, too, for the hosts.

Despite this week’s loss, Maccabi outrebounded Bayern by 40-29, showing a great team effort, with as many as seven players pulling down at least 4 boards. Maccabi has a size advantage in the paint with Zizic, Hunter and Dragan Bender, so connecting with its big men will be important. The Israeli powerhouse relies on Elijah Bryant and Chris Jones to put defensive pressure on Sloukas and prevent him from organizing Olympiacos’s offense. Maccabi needs to cut down turnovers, as it had 18 against Bayern after averaging 12.5 in the first two rounds.

basketball prediction Tip: 2 at 2.30 with bet365
(Price correct at 16/10/2020, 08:30 CET, subject to change)

Milano – Real Madrid

Real (1-2) registered its first win this week, downing Khimki Moscow Region 94-85 behind 21 points from Sergio Llull and 19 off the bench from Nico Laprovittola. Milan (2-1) took an 86-75 road loss against Olympiacos Piraeus despite 18 points from Sergio Rodriguez. It will be a special game for Rodriguez, who played for Real for six seasons, earning EuroLeague MVP honors in 2015, reaching three consecutive continental championship games and lifting the trophy in 2015. Expect a fun-to-watch but intense game at WiZink Center.

As always for Real, it all starts with hard defense and pulling down defensive rebounds. If able to do both, Real can run the floor and find space for its many shooters. Los Blancos downed 17 three-point shots against Khimki, one shy of tying its all-time record. Edy Tavares and Usman Garuba must play physical and aggressive inside against Kyle Hines and Kaleb Tarczewski. Real has to find a way to prevent Rodriguez and Malcolm Delaney from dominating the game tempo, as Milan will have better chances in a five-on-five offense game.

Kevin Punter has been sidelined for the start of the season with a hip flexor. Vladimir Micov has missed the team’s first three games of the season.

Milan only grabbed 6 offensive rebounds in its loss against Olympiacos and averages just 8.7 until now. Milan should try to crash the offensive boards better, which would help to stop Real’s transition game. Milan is without Vladimir Micov and Kevin Punter, so players like Gigi Datome, Delaney and Michael Roll will be ready to outscore high-quality offensive players such as Llull, Facu Campazzo and Jaycee Carroll. Hines will want to use his experience against Tavares and take him out of the paint, generating space for drives to the basket.

Felipe Reyes has missed Real’s first three games of the season. Anthony Randolph missed Round 3.

basketball prediction Tip: 1 at 1.86 with bet365
(Price correct at 16/10/2020, 08:30 CET, subject to change)

Baskonia – Khimki

It’s going to be two teams coming from different places when TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (1-1) welcomes a winless Khimki Moscow Region (0-3) on Friday night. The hosts did not play their Round 2 game against Zenit St Petersburg and will probably be fresh in their first game this week. On the other hand, Khimki lost its third in a row at Real Madrid, and this will be its third game in seven days with a lineup that has been limited by virus cases.

Baskonia did not play earlier this week, so that fact and home-court advantage give the hosts an edge going into the game. Khimki tops the league in assists per game, so Baskonia will have to pay attention to the passing lanes on defense to try to get steals and run the break. Also, Khimki big men like Devin Booker and Jonas Jerebko are ever-present weapons for the guests for now, so Baskonia’s bigs will have extra work on Friday in order for their team to have good options for a win.

Baskonia has a fresh roster because its Round 3 game was not played.

Still without super scorer Alexey Shved on board, among several other players, Khimki is struggling with three losses in three games. A fourth one is a luxury that few teams could afford, so the guests will have to do everything in their hands to get the win. Khimki’s 4.3 steals per game is the second-worst in the league, so the Russian team will have to increase the effort in defense in order to get more open options on the offensive end. The COVID-19 situation is also affecting Khimki big-time, so coach Rimas Kurtinaitis will have to get the best of the men he’s got available in Vitoria.

Khimki’s Jordan Mickey, Janis Timma, Evgeny Voronov Greg Monroe and Maxim Barashkov have all tested positive for COVID-19 last week and have been isolated and are under medical supervision. Alexey Shved, Stefan Jovic and Errick McCollum all missed the first three games of the season.

basketball prediction Tip: 2 (+15.5) at 2.00 with bet365
(Price correct at 16/10/2020, 08:30 CET, subject to change)

Get up to £100 in Bet Credits!*
* New Customers only. Up to £100* in Bet Credits. Sign up, deposit £5* or more to your account and bet365 will match your qualifying deposit in Bet Credits when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.

News Source: Euroleague.net
Basketball tips: Livetipster


Euroleague Standings

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

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