FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich square off in the EuroLeague playoffs, with Game 1 taking place on Tuesday, April 19.
Hedgeout.net Team previews the series and picks the winner, with the “Blaugrana” entering the series as the favorite.
Yiannis Bouranis
FC Barcelona was impressive in the regular season. Playing consistent basketball all season long, the “Blaugrana” finished on top (21-7) and remain the grand favorite for the EuroLeague title.
To reach the Final Four, they have to eliminate Bayern Munich in a best-of-five series that tips off Tuesday at Palau Blaugrana.
The Catalans swept the season series (2-0) and outperform the Bavarians in almost every statistical category.
However, Bayern have showed they have the talent and ability to defeat top-tier opponents, especially at home.
The Bavarians have returned to form after a tough period of injuries and Covid-19 cases and want to play at high standards in the postseason. Yet, Barcelona is the better team in the series and I expect a 3-1 win.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Alexandros Tsakos
FC Barcelona will meet FC Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals series of the 2021-22 EuroLeague season.
The Catalans had a nearly perfect campaign (21-7) and will have the upper hand in the best-of-5 series.
Bayern had to go through a tough stretch of injuries and COVID-related issues through the whole season, but they were able to get in the postseason for the second time in a row. They finished the year as the no. 8 seed with a 14-14 record.
Barcelona has more depth as a team and more talent going into the series. At the top of that, they will have the home advantage in the series.
Bayern only won five of the 17 games away from Audi Dome this season in the EuroLeague.
Nikola Mirotic, who is among the favorites to win the RS MVP, will be the head spear of the third-best offense (82.9 PPG) in the league.
Shooting will also be an important factor for the series. Both teams are top-5 in three-point shooting this season.
I expect Bayern to put up a fight, but FC Barcelona will likely do the same thing he did in the regular season sweeping the series (3-0).
Filippos Kassotis
Barcelona is the undisputed favourite to secure the ticket to the Final Four. The “Blaugrana” were the best team of the regular season (21-7), won the season series (2-0) and edge over Bayer in almost every statistic category apart from turnovers (10.9-13.9) and steals where they are even.
Apart from that, Barcelona has the most creative player in Nick Calathes with an average 6,1 assists per game and the scorer of 16,2 points per game Nikola Mirotic, second only to Anadolu Efes’ Vasilije Misic.
Barca clearly has the upper hand, along with the home-court advantage, and will seek to secure their spot in the Final Four as soon as possible. A sweep (3-0) is the most logical outcome of these series.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Dimitris Georgiopoulos
Barcelona finished first in the regular season for a good reason. They were clearly the best team, having lost only seven games (21-7).
Furthermore, at Palau Blaugrana, they were only beaten twice this year (80-104 to Maccabi and 73-75 to Armani Milano).
Sarunas Jasikevicius and his players aim only at the trophy, having lost the Championship Game last year (81-86 to Anadolu Efes).
On the other hand, Bayern Munich (14-14) reaching the postseason can be considered a great achievement by itself.
Their highlight performance took place in Spain with a tremendous fourth quarter against Real Madrid (13-38), boosting the Germans’ confidence.
Bayern’s lack of playoff experience (second time ever) could be crucial factor for this match-up. In addition, Blaugrana have won both games in the regular season (71-66 and 72-80).
Therefore, my prediction is that Barcelona can easily sweep this playoff series and head to the Final Four in Belgrade (3-0).
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Aggelos Nikolopoulos
It’s clear that this series has a grand favorite and this is Barcelona. The Catalans, probably the most consistent team of the regular season, want to finish the job and participate to another F4.
This scenario seems most likely to happen. I think it’s really difficult for the Bavarians to win Barcelona three times.
It’s not that Bayern is a bad team. Instead, they have much talent and they have proved they can oppose everyone and win everywhere. A few days ago they won in Madrid.
However, I still believe that Barcelona is a far better team than the Germans and they won’t face significant problems, in their effort to go to Belgrade.
The season series ended with two W for the Spanish side which, to be honest, did not come easily. Traditionally, Bayern causes problems to Barcelona.
That’s the only reason that i believe we won’t have a sweep here. Bayern may take a home – court win but that’s it. They can be happy for the fact that they compete in the playoffs, after a weird year for them.
But, it’s a team that rises more and more every season, so I believe that next year, if they support their project and do the necessary, they will have a great come – back, in order to claim the F4.
My prediction is Barcelona with a 3-1 series win.
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