Euroleague.net's team of experts have each made one bold prediction ahead of Round 8 of the 2024-25 season
Bold predictions, Round 8: OT drama, an MVP performance and more
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The 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is flying by – we are entering Round 8 already! All eyes are on Greece for the derby, but there are several other intriguing games that will be worth watching across Thursday and Friday.
In the lead-up to Round 8, the Euroleague.net experts have each come up with one bold prediction that they believe will happen.
Real Madrid finally wins on the road
by Javier Gancedo
It has been a rough start to the season for Real Madrid, losing all four of its road games so far. Its last road loss was an extremely bitter pill to swallow as it had a six-point lead over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the penultimate minute and ended up losing at the buzzer to a game-winning shot by Saben Lee. All those road struggles should end for Real this week in what will be a special game to celebrate Sergio Rodriguez, a legend of both clubs. Facu Campazzo is primed to make the difference at point guard and even though Milan has some people who worked for Los Blancos in Fabien Causeur, Nikola Mirotic and Ettore Messina, Real is set to take advantage of Josh Nebo's absence and look for Walter Tavares down low. It looks like a good matchup for Real, despite playing a good team on a very difficult court. My take is that Campazzo will achieve MVP of the Round honors and Real gets the win at Unipol Forum.
Bayern to keep on rolling at SAP Garden
by Geoff Gillingham
FC Bayern Munich couldn't have imagined a better start to life at SAP Garden. Gordie Herbert's men are 3-0 so far at its brand-new arena, with Real Madrid, Paris Basketball and Olympiacos Piraeus all having been defeated, and now league-leading Zalgiris Kaunas is coming to town. On Thursday night, I think Bayern will notch its fifth straight victory, having followed up successive triumphs over Paris and Olympiacos by winning back-to-back road games last week. Carsen Edwards and Shabazz Napier have proven themselves to be one of the best backcourts in the EuroLeague, and big men Devin Booker and Johannes Voigtmann are making their presence felt on a night in, night out basis. I also think Nick Weiler-Babb will have another good game and shut down Zalgiris's threats, spoiling the return of Sylvain Francisco and coach Andrea Trinchieri to Munich. My prediction: Bayern's three-point shooting will see it win by double digits.
The Reds will celebrate in a tight Greek derby
by Igor Petrinovic
The Greek derby is upon us, and it could hardly come at a better moment. Reigning champ Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens comes into this clash on a four-game winning streak, while Olympiacos Piraeus downed Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in a matter of 48 hours last week, both by a double-digit margin. The two Greek giants have played twice domestically this season and split victories. In the last one, Panathinaikos won in Piraeus a fortnight ago. Believing this will be an emotional and a tight contest would not be too bold, but I say that the Greek derby will be so tight that it will be decided by 3 points or fewer – and might even go to overtime. I believe Olympiacos will pull out a statement win at OAKA.
Maccabi makes it two in a row
by Frankie Sachs
Winless to date on the road, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will finally taste victory this week in Bologna. The Israeli champs are slowly regaining some depth. After Rokas Jokubaitis returned to action last week and had his best game yet with the club with 17 points and 7 assists against Real Madrid on Thursday, big man Wenyen Gabriel played his first game of the season in the Israeli League on Sunday. Add to them guard David DeJulius, who on Monday signed for Maccabi from BKT EuroCup side Aris Midea Thessaloniki, and you have the team's deepest rotation yet this season. Meanwhile Virtus, which is 0-3 at home, has problems of its own in the backcourt with both Alessandro Pajola and Daniel Hackett missing recent games to injury. The timing is right for Maccabi and wrong for Virtus.