At a sold-out Peace and Friendship Stadium, Olympiacos welcomes Monaco for Game 5 of their playoff series (currently tied at 2-2). The winner will advance to the Final Four in Belgrade (19-21 May).
In Game 4 last Friday, it was Kostas Sloukas (19 points) that missed the game-winning shot for the “Reds” (78-77).
Olympiacos’ head coach Georgios Bartzokas told reporters that “it’s a very difficult game, but we are playing at home, we have potential and we believe that if we play well, we are going to win.” They have lost only two games at home throughout the season (14-2).
For their part, Sasa Obradovic’s guys are seeking their second victory in Piraeus, in a very heated atmosphere by Olympiacos’ fans.
Key players like Mike James (averaging 16 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the series) and Dwayne Bacon (averaging 15.8 points) need to maintain their offensive performances up.
Should Monaco defeat Olympiacos tonight, they will qualify for the Final Four in their first ever Euroleague appearance.
This Game 5 is pretty tough to pick a winner. Therefore, my betting prediction is that both teams will make more than 27 free throws in total (odds at 1.87). I consider this a safe bet, given the fact that this game will be decided in crunch time.
Second pick will be Mike James scoring more than 17 points (odds at 1.87). Furthermore, I predict that Euroleague MVP candidate Sasha Vezenkov will score more than 13 points (odds at 1.75).
Combining the last two bets, many betting companies offer this pick at the odd of 4.65, which will be my fun bet for Game 5.
Safe bet: Over 27.5 free throws made in total (1.87)
Mike James over 17.5 points (1.87)
Sasha Vezenkov over 13.5 points (1.75)
Fun bet: Mike James over 17.5 points + Sasha Vezenkov over 13.5 points (4.65)
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