Gran Canaria are average Spanish team that is currently on 9th place in ACB and in fight for play off spot. In Eurocup they are on 2nd place in their group behind Budivelnik but they have this game with Buducnost Podgorica in hand and with a win will go on top because they won Budivelnik with 6 points advantage away, while lost with 4 points at home.If they are first in next stage will be in group with Unics Kazan, Hemofarm and Cedevita, while if they ended on second place will be in group with Goettingen, Aris and Le Mans. I think they will wan’t to be first since will have in their group two teams from ex-Yugoslavia and they already had success with such teams beating Zagreb 96:60 at home and Buducnost 90:66 away this year.
Only theoretical chanses to advance
Buducnost has only teoretical chanse to advance from this group since they are on 3rd place and need win today against team that already beat them with 24 points difference in Podgorica. To be even worst they don’t need any kind of win but win with over 20 points difference which is according to me and you all will agree out of their reach.That’s why I think beside their good form of 6 consecutive wins in Adriatic league and Eurocup they will came here to finnish their job in Eurocup for this year.They will try their best to make good impression especially after huge home loss from Gran Canaria but I think as time will pass and especially if they get behind, which is very probable, they will quit and this game will look more like friendly game.
Total points line is not big and over is best option
This game was postponed before couple of weeks because of bad weather and guests were not able to reach Canarian Island. In this group nothing is decide yet but only in theory that I already described Buducnost can advance further. They are in good form but it would be tough to achieve even win on this visit not to mention 20 point win.Gran Canaria is comig from very strong basketball league and despite their 9th place they are much better team then visitors.They won Real Madrid at home this year with 12 points difference and Zagreb which is coming from same Adriatic League like Buducnost was destroyed with 36 points difference.According to all this it looks that handicap on Gran Canaria is good bet and I agree, but they need only win to be first and they can underestimate guests.Also they can choose in which group they wan’t to be in next stage and I would not risk on that. I expect open game from both teams and they played all overs in their group if we exclude games with very defensive Budivelnik.Total is not big and they went over in first game. I don’t see reason why they don’t achieve it again.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 147
Odd: 1.94
Bookie: Pinnacle
One of best Turkish teams but recently lost their form
Fenerbahce Ulker is one of the best Turkish teams and this season they had very good start. They were playing very good both in Turkey and in Euroleague.In Turkish championship they had 9 consecutive wins, while in Euroleague they were also unbeaten for couple of rounds winning Barcelona away and Montepaschi Siena at home in that streak.After their good run they somehow lost their form in recent matches and they lost 2 from last 3 games in Turkey and also they lost couple of games in Euroleague.Today they will wan’t to get to winning track against their big rival Efes Pilsen since they are coming from lost in last round from Galatasaray in away match.
One of best Turkish teams in very good form
Efes Pilsen is also one of the best Turkish teams and also participant in Euroleague where they same like Fenerbahce achieved qualification to next round. They are recently in very good form beating teams with huge difference and scoring lot of ponts. In last 3 games they won Aliaga 107:67, Bornova 95:64 and Oyak 101:54.This are impressive results even opponents were not that good.They are coming to this game with big moral and will wan’t to continue their winning streak.
Biggest derby in Turkey
This is biggest derby game in Turkey and this teams played lot of games in the past. Last two years they met also in play offs where Efes was more successful in 2009 while Fenerbahce last year.They are both from Istanbul and I can say there is no big home advantage for any of them. Fenerbahce is set as favorite today but form is in favore of Efes.I think they are very equal and also their tradition show the same, with 8 wins for each in last 16 games.I would not choose side today but will try with points since both teams have great scorers in their squads and everybody will be very motivated.Also I expect this game to be close till the end with possible free throw finnsh and why not some overtime.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 148,5
Odd: 1.85
Bookie: Unibet
Indiana Pacers is a team with a lot of improvement this year and a really big surprize team. They got a medium ability roster without any really franchise player and with a lot of motivation they still keep themselves close to the flames. The Pacers are 13-15 Overall and 8-7 at home, and thats way too much for the expektation th fans and the critics had before the season. They had a really tough period, they faced strong teams recently,such as the Bulls, the Lakers, the Atlanta and the Celtics (all lost) and their struggle against big teams won`t end today in my honest opinion
For the ring with half team..
The Celtics are exactly going for the championship ring without some of their key players. At one moment they had Rajon Rondo out, Jermain O`neal out, Kendrick Perkins out.. those players would have place in any of the title contenders`s first team, AND the Boston still manage to win. They have the best roster in the league, and one of the best coaches. If they would like to win against any mid team, they will.
Greens all the way!
The Celtics are much more e stabile than last year. They look like as a winner. The only threat is Nate Robinson`s struggle again, but Indiana is not like Orlando, they can`t take advantage of some situations. Boston Celtics with an average will to win and a medium day, are better by 6-8 points than Indiana. Bet on that!
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Prediction:
Tip: Boston -4
Odd: 1.57
Bookie: Bet365
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the worst team in NBA at the moment. They are 1-14 from their last 15, and that is a horrible stats indeed. After LeBron James left the club, there wasn`t any improvement, no NEW players, no great tactical change, no nothing. The team`s owner made big speeches on television, but those were speaches only. nowadays the Cavs have 5-9 at home, and they recently lost at ome against one of the league-worst, Minnesota Timberwolves. I really think, there can not be worst.
Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic has Harry Potter in the roster. At least technically speaking, I`m right. They struggled a few matches but after that they changed the half of the team (word-by-word) ant they won their last three. First they broke the San Antonio Spurs`s over ten match winning streak (that was a hard one, orlando won by 22) afther that they killed Celtics`s over ten match winning streak, outscoring them in the fourth quarter s (which means a LOT).
Orlando Magic
I think this is not really a question. Cavaliers`s roster are bad, Orland`s roster is great, their bench is a lot more deeper, having the new guys in the team, Jason Richardson is accommodating well, Gilbert Arenas seems to get back his motivation and strength, and Hedo Turkoglu is playing like in his top days.
Feel free to bet on the away side with -5 Asian Handicap, and enjoy the game.
Showtime,
Dorian
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Prediction:
Tip: Orlando -5
Odd: 1.61
Bookie: Bet365
Montepaschi is best Italian team and are going according to plan both in Italy and Europe. They play very good basketball and after slow start in Italy they are now destroying their opponents with big difference. They have only 1 defeat in Italy in away game and also 1 in Euroleague again in away game and it was from their todays opponent .They will want to pay back to Turkish team for big defeat in Istanbul and continue their unbeaten run.
Best Turkish team
Fenerbahce are also going according to plan and are top team in Turkey without loss and are already qualified for second faze in Euroleague. They had very good team that was able to win Barcelona in away game and also Montepaschi at home, but after that success they somehow pull off the pedal and registered two defeats in last 3 rounds.Today will have tough job to stay unbeaten against motivated hosts, but they will fight and can stay close in the game.
Exciting and high scoring game
Montepaschi is favorite in this game but Turks play much better this year then previous when were regularly beaten by the Italians no matter they play in Siena or Istanbul.This year they finally beat them and that win was impressive. Even more impressive was 8 point win in Barcelona and they show that are dangerous team. Even I think this will be win for Siena odds are very small and I don’t like handicap on them.I will choose over in this game since both have good shooters and both secured place in next rounds. Pressure won’t be that big on them and they will try to show who is better in exciting game. Most of their games went over this line and I think today that trend will continue. High stakes on this one.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 148.5
Odd: 1.80
Bookie: Bet365
Although Brose Baskets are a dominant side in the German Bundesliga with all 13 wins from the first 13 matches, they are suffering hard in Euroleague, where they only have 2 wins and 6 losses but that is nothing unusual for them as they`re used to being in the rock bottom of the elite European competition since the quality gap between the level Euroleague and German basketball is just huge. Out of those 2 wins, one was a huge upset as they managed to beat Olympiacos at home by double digits but that win isn`t much of a surprise for me as Olympiacos is being really toothless on the road this year, but Brose Baskets is definitely playing great at home, fighting till the end and it could be said they were extremely unlucky in the match against Lottomatica when they conceded a triple in the last second of the game to lose it by 1. They will certainly play their usual up-tempo game here as well and attempt to say goodbye from EL in front of their fans in a honorable manner.
They want the first spot
Real Madrid is playing decent this season but I am getting an impression they are not playing up to their potential, even though they`re sitting at the top of the ACB table with an impressive 9-2 record, while they also have a chance to take the first place in the EL group before the top 16 phase. They played quite well in their last EL match crushing Roma by 22 points at home, while their solid defense doesn`t always work too well on the road. Messina has got plenty of great players at his disposition such are Reyes, Garbajosa, Velickovic, Prigioni, Tomic, Fischer, Llull… and I am quite positive they are one of the main F4 contenders this season in EL.
Way too low of a total
The first clash between these two sides played in Madrid ended with a narrow win for Real and a total of 164 points scored. There was an overtime, but even if we`d exclude the points scored in OT they still scored more points than the total set for today. The thing is, Brose Baskets plays quite fast-paced basketball at home and since both teams don`t have any major motives, I`d rather expect to see one easy-going game that will be nice to watch instead of some slow and crappy struggle on the floor. Real indeed needs to win in order to keep their chances for the first place but I don`t think they will play too slow since their opponent will be inferior at all positions and will attempt to rely on a good atmosphere created by the home fans and their fighting spirit, so an intense and a high-scoring match could be on the cards. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 143
Odd: 1.96
Bookie: Pinnacle
Hemofarm was in a great situation 3 rounds ago when they were leading the group with 2 wins and no losses but a horrible streak of 2 losses against Gottingen and 3 losses in the local NLB league have ruined all the previous efforts done by this very talented squad. Obviously, they`re in a bad form but that is really in a large part due to the injuries they`ve suffered as they were without one of their key players Krstovic for the most part, as well as without Abdul-Hamid, Bozovic or Maras. Now, Krstovic, Bozovic and Abdul-Hamid could come back (the last one already did against Igokea in the regional league) so I think they will be able to put up a better performance. They`ve been relying on Macvan a lot so far, but he slowly started backing down as a huge burden has been on his back lately due to many absences but I believe they are capable of getting back to the old form and securing the next phase of Eurocup today. They missed 11 out of 31 free throws and shot quite bad for 3 in their last game against Igokea, and those stats are gonna improve today for sure as this team possesses a lot of quality and I still see them as one of the main candidates for the Eurocup final 4.
No Iverson
Besiktas is doing okay both in Eurocup and the local Turkish championship as they might have a chance to replay the match they lost to Gottingen in Germany and improve their current record (1-2) plus they`ve got a better mutual score than Asvel in case of a tie breaker, while they`ve got 6 wins and 3 losses so far there, winning the last match at home against Antalya by 21 points. They`re very motivated before this clash but will be very weakened as they will have to play without Allen Iverson, who is injured and also missed the last game against Antalya. They`ve got some solid post players such are Ozer and Likholitov, while their key shooters are Chatman and Cetin, while Ignerski can be dangerous from the outside as well, which makes them quite dangerous. Their characteristic is the lack of defense and a good free-scoring offense, but when they are losing big, they usually fall apart easily.
The hosts need to wake up
This is the key game for Hemofarm. It is true their home crowd pretty-much doesn`t exist so does their team spirit, but they`re a lot more quality side than Besiktas realistically speaking. They`ve got more educated players, and are overall stronger at all positions with more experience in Europe, and I just can`t see them losing for the 6th time in a row. They beat Besiktas in Turkey after a great turnaround but if it wasn`t for their lack of focus, they wouldn`t even have to rally back and chase a large deficit. I expect Hemofarm to play a smart game and keep increasing the point difference from the beginning and eventually win by double digits. The bookies are expecting a tough match but I`m keep to believe that bad Hemofarm`s streak will end here, and thus I see the spread being too small and worth some higher stakes. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: Hemofarm -2.5
Odd: 1.93
Bookie: Pinnacle
pirou Charleroi are currently on 5th place in theire group with slim chances to advance further beside theire win in last round against Bamberg 75:61.That is not disaster for them since they were outsiders together with Germans and for them great success is that they qualify for Euroleague group stages and to play with very good teams like Olympiacos, Real Madrid and Unicaha. They show good performance especially in home games where they were able to beat very good Unicaja 79:74 but also to destroy giants Real Madrid with 67:49.
In fight for 1st place in group
Olympiacos beside theire loss from Unicaja in last round are still leaders on the table with same points as Real Madrid and Unicaja.In a fight for 1st place in the group they need to bounce back today against weaker opponent but very good in home games.They already beat them at home but not that convinsing 86:78 when were set as 18 points favorites.Today handicap is much lower but home court is proven as big advantage for Belgians and I don’t expect easy game for guests.They are unpredictable team that can win against best and loose against worst teams like Bamberg.They are also weaker in away games.
Total points are set little low for this game
Olympiacos should win this game but I don’t like odds on them and also handicap is not that low for away game.Charleroi already made positive while Olympiacos negative surprises and both teams will be motivated to win for different reasons.Olympiacos is fighting for 1st place and to bounce back from last round defeat from Unicaja, while Charleroi will try to beat another giant in last game in front of theire fans and will fight for 4th place until they have smallest chance. In such game I will take over mostly because Olympiacos is offensive team and often goes over 150 in theire games while Charelroi mostly adapt to the opponents and play high scoring games with offensive teams and low scoring games with defensive teams.This line is little lower then what other bookmakers offer and I will try to benefeat from that.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 150.5
Odd: 1.88
Bookie: Betway
Unicaja Malaga is a pretty mediocre side, both for the Spanish and the EL standards. They’ve got a good home court, and that’s where they record the most of their wins and this season they only beat Brose Baskets on the road. Last week, they’ve been losing to Real Madrid for the most of the match just to defeat them in the end thanks to some terrific 3-point shooting, primarily by Uros Tripkovic, and some quality performances by their centers Archibald and Freeland, and guard Blakney, who was rated as the biggest threat by Oly’s coach Ivkovic. However, they met Real again last weekend in the ACB and got blown out on the road by 16 points. Most likely they’ll again be without Printezis, and I believe they don’t have enough quality to match a side like Olympiacos.
They want to go through
According to the opinion of many experts, Olympiacos is one of the main EL title candidates this season and with 3 rounds to go in the regular season, they only need 1 more win in order to secure top 16. Coach Ivkovic has arrived to Piraeus with huge ambitions and the team’s progress in their play compared to the previous season is obvious, they’re playing quality ball in the offense but also dedicate a lot more of their attention to the defense having some really disciplined players on their roster, and Teodosic stuck out as one of their true team leaders. It can be said they’re a mix of youth and experience as they’ve got a few really terrific veterans such are Papaloukas, Nesterovic and Nielsen, while the younger generation is led primarily by Keselj and Teodosic. There are also some excellent players out there such are Spanoulis, Halperin and Bourousis, so there’s no dilemma they’ve got some deep coverage at all positions.
Away win
The odds are almost even here, which is out of mind in my opinion. As you probably remember, the Greek side demolished Unicaja by 27 in Piraeus and even though the home court means a lot to the Malaga fellows, they’re simply a limited squad that will hardly manage to keep it up against the super-quality Oly’s players, who will not only have an advantage on the floor, but also on the bench, which is deeper and their coach has got a lot more quality and knowledge. I think the Greek red-whites will be trying to establish control, and Ivkovic will know how to stop some quick Unicaja’s play and their key players, so I believe this will be quite an easy match for the visitors, who will be very motivated and will want to ensure top 16 already today, which is a goal I think they will accomplish. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: Olympiacos -1
Odd: 1.90
Bookie: Bet365
Prokom is somehow still in the race for a top 16 stop in one quite equal group where only Maccabi has so far stuck out as the main contender for the first spot. Prokom has invested a lot into their squad but it wasn`t paying off at the start of the season as they were winless after the first 5 EL rounds, and some things had to be changed urgently if they wanted to justify the A license they received from the EL board. They sacked Bobby Brown and the level of their play became much higher suddenly. After a sluggish game against Khimki at home, they managed to sneak the win even though their play was far from being impressive, so after Brown had left, they faced Caja Laboral on the road and were total underdogs in that clash. But, they played really mature and disciplined throughout the entire game, and eventually recorded a nice win, so finally things began to look better for them and I believe I`ve seen a bit more room for the improvement around this team.
Failed to play their game
Zalgiris disappointed their fans last week when they managed to lose an already won game, as they had Maccabi in their hands being up by 8 mid-way throughout the 4th quarter but eventually started making some really silly turnovers that allowed the visitors to win. However, they played yet another really solid game and are in total contention for a top 16 spot, but in order to get very near qualifying, they`re gonna have to for the win in this game. Their characteristic shooting pretty-much didn`t exist against Maccabi (who is playing some really tough defense) last week but I think they`re very soon gonna get back to that and shoot from all angles in Poland today.
A huge battle
This is a must-win game for Prokom and due to that fact, the hosts will be trying to play a really focused game with as few mistakes as they can possibly make. But, they are not that good of a squad and I am quite sure they will not be able to play concentrated on both ends of the floor throughout the entire game and even though their original plan will be to stop Zalgiris with a solid defense, I`m quite positive this one will turn into a run and gun game, and Zalgiris will be trying to rely on their terrific outside shooting and look for the players that are hot that night, while Prokom will be under bigger pressure and that is the only reason I can`t take the hosts here, even though I believe they`re closer to the win. I will rather try with the over, and such a low total is set only due to the fact they had quite a low-scoring affair the first time they met but this time around I expect a much bigger battle, close game till the end and overall an open and faster game with both teams scoring at least 70-75 points each. Good luck.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 145.5
Odd: 1.88
Bookie: Expekt
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