Bayern (13-17) will look to get back on track by holding serve at home against a red-hot Maccabi (17-13) team still pushing for a top-four finish.
Pablo Laso, Bayern: 'We're playing with our fans'
Wade Baldwin, who spent the 2020-21 season with Bayern, is a one-man offense for Maccabi at the moment, scoring at least 14 points in the last 11 games and powering the Round 30 win over ASVEL with a sensational 30 points and 10 assists. Bayern head coach Pablo Laso's defense will attempt to shut down Baldwin with a gameplan that restricted Zalgiris and Zvezda to just 58 and 66 points, respectively in Bayern's last two home games. But the German team's offensive limitations were again evident in defeat against Valencia on Wednesday, when Vladimir Lucic couldn't strike a buzzer-beating triple in a costly 70-68 defeat.
Pablo Laso, Bayern head coach
"The defeat against Valencia now leads to us being dependent on others and no longer having control. Maccabi has a strong team and can still make it directly to the playoffs. And yes, that was a tough loss because we gifted them the start and simply couldn't hit a single shot. But it's a home game and we're playing with our fans. And we want to be there, in case there's still a chance, we'll fight until the end. Devin Booker is definitely out for Friday."
Oded Kattash, Maccabi head coach
"The stats isn't with us this season in the second game of a double week. We'll make an effort to secure a double win in a double week for the first time this season. Bayern is getting better and better as the season move forward. They are fighting to get into the play in, they will play aggressive and we must be focused."
John Dibartolomeo, Maccabi player
"A tough game for us in another challenging season. We will try to win our second game in a double week for the first time this season. We expect it to be not easy, great crowd. It's a tough opponent and we have to be ready."