Bold predictions for Rounds 17

Check out some bold predictions from EuroLeague.net staff members for Round 17 the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Efes’s bigs will cause problems for Fenerbahce

by Geoff Gillingham

Dan Oturu has made quite the impression since joining Anadolu Efes Istanbul in a mid-season transfer, and I expect him to have another successful night against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the Istanbul derby. In particular, I believe that Efes’s center tandem of Oturu and Tyrique Jones have enough power and force to cause plenty of problems for Fenerbahce’s trio of big men: Johnathan Motley, Georgios Papagiannis and Sertac Sanli. In recent weeks, it hasn't been clear whether it will be Oturu or Jones who goes off, but typically one of the two has enjoyed a key role for head coach Erdem Can’s team. On Thursday evening, expect to see Oturu and Jones make their presence felt in the paint as they look to hand Saras Jasikevicius his first defeat since taking over at Fenerbahce.

Zalgiris will end its losing streak

by Frank Lawlor

Five defeats in a row by an average of just 4.2 points have left Zalgiris Kaunas (5-11) looking up from 16th place at what seems like a steep climb back into contention for the playoffs. That climb will only get shorter with home wins, and Zalgiris has the pride and poise to take a big one on Thursday against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (9-7). Several Zalgiris players have put up solid games despite the recent losses -- most notably former Maccabi guard Keenan Evans -- and now its time for them to do it in unison. Zalgiris has better defensive numbers across the board than the visitors and a couple of advantages on offense, namely three-point accuracy. What will push Zalgiris over the hump, though, is this team's collective pride backed by a push from its home fans at Zalgirio Arena.

Bayern's Lucic will light it up against his old team

by Igor Petrinovic

In each of the two games he played since returning from injury, Bayern forward Vladimir Lucic scored 2 points and had 2 rebounds. He has a total of 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers, while shooting a combined 0-for-5 from long range. But I believe Lucic, a former All-EuroLeague forward, will show he is on track to get back to his old self on Thursday night with depleted Valencia in town. Lucic played for and helped Valencia win the EuroCup crown in 2014, and against his former team he will prove that he can still deliver and be a major factor for head coach Pablo Laso's team.

ALBA will be a handful for the Reds

by Frankie Sachs

All signs point to a big win for Olympiacos Piraeus this week in the German capital. After all, the Reds are 5-1 historically in road games at ALBA Berlin, former ALBA star Luke Sikma is returning to town for the first time since joining Olympiacos over the summer, and Olympiacos center Moustapha Fall, who comes off a historic performance in Round 16, had his best game ever in Berlin in November 2020 with a PIR of 42. However, this ALBA team, which a month ago was crippled by injuries, has welcomed many of its stars back. The youngsters, who played bigger roles when the likes of Sterling Brown, Matt Thomas, Yanni Wetzell and others missed games, used those opportunities to improve themselves. Now, ALBA is deeper than ever. Last week ALBA beat FC Barcelona and was within 6 points in the fourth quarter against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul before the latter pulled away. Expect to see head coach Israel Gonzalez's men ready for Olympiacos.

Barcelona will stay unbeaten in Monaco

by Javier Gancedo

FC Barcelona visits AS Monaco in the competition's final game of 2023, right at the regular season's halfway mark. Barcelona registered narrow wins in its two visits to Salle Gaston Medecin over the last couple of seasons. Barca has plenty of reasons to be optimistic against a Final Four-level team like Monaco. First, it has two very different centers in Willy Hernangomez and Jan Vesely, who are ready to match up against Donatas Motiejunas and Donta Hall. Second, Barca has been very effective against Mike James over the years. Tomas Satoransky and Rokas Jokubaitis can control the game tempo. Nikola Kalinic and Jabari Parker add much-needed versatility to use against Alpha Diallo and John Brown. And I believe Barca has defensive answers to everything Monaco can try in this game. It says here that the visitors should get their third consecutive victory in the principality.