Euroleague Tips with Previews – Round 9 – Wednesday

In a showdown between Round 8 winners looking to climb the table, Real Madrid hosts Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Wednesday in the Spanish capital. Real has actually won its last three games. Maccabi looked to put its early-season struggles behind it last week with an emphatic 85-57 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas.

Despite the length on its frontline, Real has been outrebounded this season by an average of 2.1 rebounds per game, but it has controlled the glass in each of its last two games. Against a Maccabi team that is second in the league in rebounds (36.6 rpg.), locking down the boards through Tavares, Trey Thompkins and Usman Garuba is critical.

Fabien Causeur tested positive for COVID-19 and has not played since Round 2.

Maccabi is shooting 41.0% from downtown in the games it has won this season and 34.1% in the games it’s lost. Maccabi at times features five players on the floor who can make threes and if those shots are falling, the offense becomes tough to stop. If Scottie Wilbekin, Tyler Dorsey and Elijah Bryant heat up, it could make the difference in Madrid.

ALBA Berlin looks for its first EuroLeague win in a month when it hosts LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Wednesday. Simone Fontecchio (12.3 ppg.) has been its top scorer until now, followed by Marcus Eriksson (11.7 ppg.) and Niels Giffey (8.7 ppg.). ASVEL comes off a home loss against Zenit St Petersburg and wants to bounce back right away. Moustapha Fall (11.2 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 1.2 bpg.), Charles Kahudi (10.5 ppg.) and David Lighty (8.3 ppg.) have been ASVEL’s pillars so far this season.

Playing dynamic, run-and-gun basketball is important for ALBA and in order to do that, it must lock down its defensive boards. ALBA, however, ranks last in defensive rebounding (17.2 rpg.), so everyone must be ready to contribute to improve that number. Without injured playmaker Peyton Siva, point guard duties will be shared by Jayson Granger, Jonas Mattisseck and Maodo Lo, and Sikma will help with his passing skills and high basketball IQ. Stopping Fall down low is also a priority for Coach Aito Garcia Reneses’s team.

ASVEL scored 88 points in its Round 6 win against TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, but was limited to just 53 against Zenit St. Petersburg last week. ASVEL needs to improve its ball circulation and decision-making process and can rely on Antoine Diot and a healthy Norris Cole to do so. Fall has been unstoppable and getting him involved on offense is a priority. Running its offense through Lighty and Kahudi, who were ASVEL’s best players against Zenit, is also important for the visitors.