Postseason possibilities: Real aims again at first playoff spot

With the regular season hurtling towards a finish, teams are aiming to take part in the postseason, one way or another. Here are the teams with possibilities to reach some postseason goal this week.

Real takes another shot at being first to playoffs

After failing to reach its goal of qualifying first to the playoffs last week, standings leader Real Madrid (22-5) will try it again on Thursday at home against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (16-11). A win will be enough to qualify the defending champions, but even a third defeat in a row won't count them out. Tipping off 15 minutes later are Olympiacos Piraeus (16-11) and visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna (17-10). If Olympiacos should lose that home game, it would be enough for Real to qualify despite losing its own game. That's because Olympiacos would not be able to surpass Real's 22 wins now, and having been swept by the champs – as well as by Barcelona and, in this scenario, Virtus – Real would always finish ahead of the Reds in a tiebreaker.

Real also has a path this week to not only reach the playoffs but clinch a top-four finish, but it requires a lot of help. To do that, Real must first win its own game. Then it must hope that AS Monaco (17-10) loses at home to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (10-17) while either Virtus or Barcelona (18-9), which visits Valencia Basket (13-14), also loses. Failing that, a Real win would also clinch fourth place or better if Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (17-10) loses at home to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (6-21) on Friday. In other words, at a minimum, Real needs third-place Panathinaikos or fourth-place Monaco to lose at home to bottom-three clubs in order to secure home-court advantage this week.

Barcelona still needs help to reach Play-In Showdown qualification

Second-place Barca (18-8) might have the opportunity to extend its campaign beyond the regular season on either night of Round 28. The first chance for qualification to the Play-In Showdown, requiring at least a top-10 finish to the regular season, would mean that Barca defeats Valencia away on Thursday soon after Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (14-13) beats visiting Zalgiris Kaunas (11-16).

If that scenario doesn't complete itself, but Barca wins in Valencia, then it may also clinch a top-10 finish on Friday if EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (11-16) defeats visiting Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (13-14) or if ALBA Berlin (5-22) wins on the court of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (14-13).