Euroleague Basketball Predictions, News & Injury list

Euroleague Basketball Tips

Euro League basketball predictions appear under each mini game preview.

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Zenit – Barcelona

A pair of Round 1 winners look to keep the momentum going when Zenit St Petersburg hosts FC Barcelona. Zenit comes off a road win at Anadolu Efes Istanbul in which Kevin Pangos shined with 23 points and 7 assists. Barcelona opened its season with a victory over CSKA Moscow with the frontline of Brandon Davies and Nikola Mirotic combining for 35 points. Barcelona will be without head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius and his assistant Darius Maskoliunas, who both tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.

Zenit showed plenty of character in its come-from-behind win and some of that can be credited to the fact that Coach Pascual’s squad is an experienced group. The test against Barcelona will be even tougher and to win it will need more inside scoring and a stronger offensive rebounding presence from Alex Poythress, Arturas Gudaitis and Will Thomas.

Barcelona used its depth to better CSKA with three players notching performance index ratings in the 20s (Alex Abrines, Mirotic and Davies). Cory Higgins and Nick Calathes can also be difference makers in St Petersburg. Its biggest issue in the win was the 19 turnovers Barcelona committed, which it cannot repeat on the road if it expects to win.

Head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius and assistant Darius Maskoliunas have tested positive for COVID-19, the club announced Saturday.

Tip: Under 154.0 at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 09/10/2020, 10:15 CET, subject to change)

Khimki – Zalgiris

Khimki started the 2020-21 EuroLeague season with a 76-78 loss at Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. Devin Booker led the way for Khimki, which was without key players Alexey Shved, Stefan Jovic and Greg Monroe. Khimki may be even further shorthanded this week after three of its players tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. Zalgiris edged Olympiacos Piraeus 67-68 in Round 1 in Greece. Rokas Jokubaitis had 12 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining. Marius Grigonis led the winners with 15 points.

Khimki allowed Panathinaikos to pull down 19 offensive boards in Round 1. Rebounding is a team effort and it requires everyone to box out, especially since the team’s big man – Jonas Jerebko, Jordan Mickey and Booker – combined for 21 boards in that game. Khimki hit only 5-of-23 three-pointers, so better numbers are expected from sharpshooters like Sergey Karasev and Dairis Bertans. If Khimki protects its defensive glass and can run the floor as always, it will have a better chance to win.

Khimki announced on Sunday that Jordan Mickey, Janis Timma and Evgeny Voronov have conditionally tested positive for COVID-19. All three players have been isolated and are under medical supervision. Alexey Shved, Greg Monroe, Egor Vialtsev, Stefan Jovic and Errick McCollum all missed Round 1.

Zalgiris protected its rim pretty well in Round 1, forcing Olympiacos to shoot with low percentages (48.6% 2FG, 33.3% 3FG). The Lithuanian champs also pulled down 11 offensive rebounds. Zalgiris gets its best results in half-court offense due to its ball circulation and overall patience. Thomas Walkup and Jokubaitis must make sure that the team’s many shooters – Grigonis, Arturas Milaknis, Lukas Lekavicius, Steve Vasturia – find open looks. Joffrey Lauvergne plays against his former team and must play strong in the paint.

Tip: 2 (-2.5) at 1.90 with bet365
(Price correct at 09/10/2020, 10:15 CET, subject to change)

Crvena Zvezda – Baskonia

Zvezda opened its EuroLeague season with a 77-63 loss at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Jordan Loyd was its best scorer with 15 points. Baskonia had a strong start to the campaign by downing Real Madrid 76-63 at home. Pierria Henry led the way with 23 points and 6 assists to earn Round 1 MVP honors with a PIR of 32. Two former star players turned into successful coaches, Dusko Ivanovic of Baskonia and Sasa Obradovic of Zvezda, face each other in what promises to be a great tactical battle.

Zvezda must improve its shooting to be more competitive than in Round 1. Zvezda hit just 48.4% of its two-point shots and 31.0% from downtown, while committing 18 turnovers. Hall and Corey Walden should be ready for a physical battle against Henry and Luca Vildoza. Zvezda must look for advantages in the perimeters with versatile one-on-one players such as Loyd and Dejan Davidovac as well as looking for Ognjen Dobric down low. Defense and a better ball circulation should make Zvezda better right away.

Baskonia limited Real to just 7 assists in Round 1, Los Blancos’ worst mark in the EuroLeague since 2013. It also forced Real to shoot with low percentages (48.3% 2FG, 32.1% 3FG). Keeping that energy and intensity on defense in all games is mandatory for Baskonia. Its players were all over the passing lanes and collected 8 steals. On offense, Baskonia must get its best shooters involved – Rokas Giedraitis and Alec Peters – and also must rely on Ilimane Diop and Youssoupha Fall to stop Ognjen Kuzmic and Duop Reath down low.

Zoran Dragic did not play in Round 1.

Tip: 2 at 1.83 with bet365

(Price correct at 09/10/2020, 10:15 CET, subject to change)

ALBA Berlin – Bayern Munich

In the season’s first all-German showdown in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, either ALBA or Bayern will get join the win column after dropping their season openers. ALBA opened with an 80-73 road loss against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Marcus Eriksson led ALBA with 18 points while Simone Fontecchio had 16 off the bench for Coach Aito Garcia Reneses’s team. Bayern suffered a heartbreaking, 79-81 overtime home loss against AX Armani Exchange Milan despite 18 points from Wade Baldwin. Both teams know everything about each other, so expect a very intense game that will come down to very small details.

ALBA relies on fluid movement of the basketball to make the difference by getting sharpshooter Eriksson, Fontecchio and Niels Giffey involved, while at the same time running its offense through team leaders Peyton Siva and Luke Sikma. ALBA picked up 14 turnovers last week, but above all shot the ball poorly inside the arc, making just 45.5% of its two-point tries. It is important for ALBA to get Johannes Thiemann and Ben Lammers involved on offense, as both are great finishers, effective and fearless. As always, it all starts for ALBA with strong defense and energy all over the floor.

Bayern pulled down 14 offensive rebounds and collected 9 steals in Round 1, a great sign which shows that the team came out with the right energy to start the season. It also forced Milan into 18 turnovers. Bayern, however, suffered from low shooting percentages (44.7% 2FG, 31.8% 3FG), which was a problem. Jalen Reynolds, JaJuan Johnson and if available, Malcolm Thomas, must keep powering the boards, looking for easier second-chance baskets. Bayern will also expect its most experienced players, Lucic, Dedovic and Paul Zipser, to make the difference at both wings.

Tip: Over 158.5 at 1.95 with bet365
(Price correct at 09/10/2020, 10:15 CET, subject to change)

Panathinaikos – Olympiacos

Panathinaikos Olympiakos live streaming

These world-renowned winners of nine EuroLeague titles in the last 24 years take each other’s measure once again in the mother of all archrivalries. A rebuilt Panathinaikos won by 2 points on the road in Round 1 with Ioannis Papapetrou, one of just five returnees, leading the way. Olympiacos had the opposite fortune, falling by 1 at home with but a single player, EuroLeague rookie Hassan Martin, scoring in double figures. As such, the Greens will be extra-confident while the Reds will be even more hyped than usual to get the best of their hosts.

Olympiacos would like some confidence in its offense after a 67-68 home loss to Zalgiris Kaunas, who won by holding the Reds to just 9 fourth-quarter points. Getting to the foul line would help. The Reds attempted just 8 free throws in Round 1, the team’s third-lowest total in 241 home games this century. Another option is finding Martin more, since he made all 6 of his shot attempts in his EuroLeague debut. Spanoulis and Kostas Sloukas will know how to do that after having combined on 12 assists. The quartet of Kostas Papanikolaou, Printezis, Sloukas and Spanoulis understand this derby better than anyone, so their ability to lead their teammates will say a lot about the Reds’ chances.

Pierre Jackson, Howard Sant-Roos and Aaron White missed the team’s Round 1 game. The later two have possibilities to return tonight.

Panathinaikos did a masterful job on the boards last week, leading all EuroLeague teams with 42 rebounds in Week 1, and doing so on the road. Five players had at least 4 rebounds, with newcomer Leonidas Kaselakis pulling 6 in 9 minutes. That kind of hustle is how the Greens beat Khimki Moscow Region in Russia despite lower shooting percentages, lower PIR, fewer free throw attempts and more turnovers. Rebounding is one recipe for victory here, and another is using the speed of Nemanja Nedovic, Marcus Foster and new signing Keifer Sykes against an Olympiacos team that prefers to slow things down and play half-court situations on both ends of the court. Rebounding and speed lead to easy baskets that are worth their weight in gold in a derby.

Livio Jean-Charles is out.

Tip: Under 152.5 at 1.86 with bet365
(Price correct at 09/10/2020, 10:15 CET, subject to change)

Milano – Villeurbanne

Milan started the new EuroLeague season with a slim but valuable 79-81 road win at FC Bayern Munich. Malcolm Delaney and Kyle Hines were the engines behind Milan’s win. ASVEL also had a close game at Valencia Basket, but came out on the losing end, 65-63, despite big efforts from Moustapha Fall and Norris Cole. Both teams went into the season with different mindsets, but after such close results in the opening round, expect them to fight for a positive result.

Milan shot 10 of 23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc last week, but the team was not up to par in steals and turnovers and that almost cost them the game. Now playing at home, Milan will have to regroup and pay more attention to those details, especially the turnovers (18 in Round 1). Also, the impressive roster put together in Milan already saw Delaney and Hines step up and take control, but others will have to follow to make this team a true title contender.

Kevin Punter will miss the start of the season with a hip flexor. Vladimir Micov missed the team’s Round 1 game.

ASVEL comes off a heartbreaking loss in Valencia, but the team showed spirit and had a late shot to win the game. That is the attitude that will win the team games this season, so it will have to show it again when visiting Italy this week. Fall and Cole already stepped up in the opening game, but players like David Lighty, Antoine Diot and Ismael Bako were below their level from last season. As soon as ASVEL manages to get everyone together pushing in the same direction, it could be the surprise team of the league… again.

Tip: 1 (-10.5) at 1.90 with bet365

(Price correct at 09/10/2020, 10:15 CET, subject to change)

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News Source: Euroleague.net
Basketball tips: Livetipster