In Milano, at Mediolanum Forum, Armani Milano seeks to tie the series after a devastating loss to Anadolu Efes two days ago (48-64).
Ettore Messina’s guys performed really bad and they were outnumbered in every statistic category by their opponents.
Nicolo Melli can be considered the only survivor from Game 1 (10 points, 6 rebounds, 15 PIR). However, he will miss the rest of the series due to a leg injury.
For its part, the Turkish side “broke” the home-court advantage with key players Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic combining for 32 points.
The reigning champions made the first step towards the Final Four.
I think that Game 2 will be different. It is nearly impossible for Armani Milano to put up such a disappointing offensive performance. Should they lose tonight, they will have a mountain to climb in order to show up in Belgrade in May. Therefore, my first pick is that both teams will score over 150.5 points in total (odds at 1.90). My fun bet for this game is Sergio Rodriguez to make more than 5 assists tonight (odds at 3.35). He did not make a single one in the first game, which is odd comparing to him averaging 4.5 in the regular season.
Safe Bet: Over 150.5 points (1.90)
Fun Bet: Sergio Rodriguez over 5.5 assists (3.35)
At Palau Blaugrana, Barcelona and Bayern Munich face off for the second time in this playoff series. Two days ago, the Catalans came out victorious (77-67) with a great performance by Brandon Davies (19 points, 24 PIR).
Bayern Munich’s head coach Andrea Trinchieri told reporters after Game 1 that “Barca was totally ready and they showed up their huge quality.”
The German side has to avoid turnovers, as they committed 16 on Tuesday.
For Game 2, I think we will witness the same story. Barcelona did get the job done in Game 1 and will do so tonight. I predict that they will even cover the handicap -8.5 (odds at 1.65).
Safe Bet: Barcelona win -8.5 (1.65)
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