Only two Euroleague games will take place tonight, following the league’s decision to suspend the Russian teams’ matches.
In Athens, Panathinaikos will face Armani Milano. This is a must-win game for the Italians, who are fighting for the home-court advantage in the playoffs. Armani Milano came up short in their visit to Greece last week, as they lost to Olympiacos 67-58.
Their offense was pretty bad, as they made only three threes in 19 attempts. The Greek side, on the other hand, suffered a heavy home loss to Zalgiris Kaunas at OAKA on Tuesday (83-96).
Panathinaikos continue their poor performances this year, having won only 6 games in total. Ioannis Papapetrou (averaging 10.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists) and Stefan Jovic will miss tonight’s game.
On an interesting note, this game will mark the return of Konstantinos Mitoglou (averaging 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds this year) at OAKA for the first time as an opponent.
My opinion is that Armani Milano will come out strong from this match. They have to win ito keep the third place in the standings.
To do so, they need to improve their shooting percentage from beyond the arc. As we said, they shot at just 15.8% last week.
Therefore, I predict Armani Milano to win with a 3+ points difference (odds around 1.50) and that they will score 10+ threes (odds around 1.85).
February’s MVP Sasha Vezenkov needs to strike again
At Audi Dome, Bayern Munich and Olympiacos face off in a crucial game for the playoff qualification. The Germans currently stand in the sixth place and seek only victory tonight.
Their last Euroleague game took place a month ago (a 70-52 home win against Maccabi on February 3).
Andrea Trinchieri told reporters that his team “somehow has to find the physical and mental energy for an extremely difficult game”, after a domestic win over Hamburg on Wednesday (86-75).
For their part, the “Reds” look better than ever this time of the season, both physically and mentally. February has been a great month for the Greeks, as they lost only one game to Real Madrid (February 2).
Sasha Vezenkov (averaging 12.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 16.8 PIR this year) was named MVP of Euroleague for February.
The whole squad has to maintain their performance level up to boost their chances for the home-court advantage in the potseason.
However, I’m guessing this game will be tight and hard to pick a winner. I’m predicting that Sasha Vezenkov will score more than 14 points tonight (odds around 1.80), given that he has done so in Olympiacos’ last five Euroleague games.
Second pick will be Vladimir Lucic (averaging 0.8 steals per game this year) to record at least one steal (odds around 1.60), especially if he’s guarding the likes of Kostas Sloukas (averaging 1,8 turnovers this year).
So…
Panathinaikos – Armani Milano: Milano to win -2.5 (1.50)
Milano to score over 9.5 threes (1.85)
Bayern – Olympiakos: Sasha Vezenkov to score over 13.5 points (1.80)
Vladimir Lucic to have 1+ steal (1.60)
Photo: Dimitris Georgiopoulos/Hedge Out
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