Check out some bold predictions from EuroLeague.net staff members for Round 27 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
Bold predictions for Round 27
![Bold predictions for Round 27](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/c0914442-1c2d-4e69-a2af-d800b303d514.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A251%3A69)
Codi continues where he left off
by Igor Petrinovic
The last time he took the EuroLeague floor, Codi Miller-McIntyre made history, dishing a record 20 assists and becoming the third man in competition history to record a triple-double as he collected 11 points and 11 rebounds as well. In his last three games, Miller-McIntyre has averaged 13.7 points, 14.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and had two games with a PIR of at least 39. Baskonia won two of those games and lost the third in overtime. During the EuroLeague break, playing for the Bulgarian national team, Miller-McInyre led the team in a shocking win over reigning World Cup champion Germany with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. I think Miller-McIntyre will continue shining his week when Baskonia travels to Istanbul to face its direct playoff rival Fenerbahce. Miller-McIntyre will have another double-digit assists game with all-time assists leader Nick Calathes on the opposite side.
Mike James will come up just short of making history
by Geoff Gillingham
Basketball fans from all over the world will be tuning in to see what unfolds at Palau Blaugrana on Friday night, as AS Monaco’s Mike James looks to become the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer. James needs 29 points to surpass Vassilis Spanoulis in first spot, but he has not scored 29 all season long. He has, however, had 28 points on two occasions, which would be enough to see him tie the Greek legend’s career total of 4,455. As much as I would love to see Mike get the job done, scoring 29 in a EuroLeague is tough – and even more so against a Barca team that now has Ricky Rubio among its ranks. The spotlight is likely to be split between James and Rubio, who could make his second Barca debut, and that battle between the two guards will be fascinating to watch. I hate to spoil the fun, but I think we’ll see James make history six days after the Barca game by chasing a single-digit figure when Monaco hosts Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 28.
Trinchieri keeps it perfect at home
by Frankie Sachs
Andrea Trinchieri took over as Zalgiris Kaunas’s head of bench at the midway point of the regular season and the Lithuanian champs have not lost at Zalgirio Arena since. That is a run of four straight home wins, including over top-tier teams Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Olympiacos Piraeus, which enters Round 27 tied with Fener in the standings at 15-11, will be the next team to go down in Kaunas.
Olympiacos has won its last five meetings with Zalgiris, but the teams had a bit of a rivalry before that, highlighted by Zalgiris knocking the Reds out in the 2018 playoffs. Olympiacos arrives with three former Zalgiris players on the roster – Thomas Walkup, Ignas Brazdeikis and Naz Mitrou-Long. But none of that matters. The key is that Zalgiris (11-15) now believes it can make up ground and fight its way into the Play-In Showdown and for that to happen, it needs to continue taking care of business at home. I am confident that it will do so again this week.
Valencia will beat Virtus in Bologna
by Javier Gancedo
It is do-or-time for Valencia Basket in its race to reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Valencia comes off a disappointing loss in Copa del Rey action against Real Madrid in which it was down by 25 points at the end of the third quarter. It is a good time to bounce back against a team that rarely loses at home. Star forward Semi Ojeleye returns to Bologna for the first time since leaving the club and should be ready for a monster performance. Brandon Davies is back, so Valencia has the physicality it needs at center to go against Ante Zizic and Bryant Dunston. Valencia lost the 2022 EuroCup Semifinals against Virtus and that may be in the back of their minds, too. It is a pivotal game for Coach Alex Mumbru's team and his players will fight until the end for an important, prestigious win.