This week's games are split over three days, starting with Crvena Zvezda facing Panathinaikos on Wednesday
Game Center: Crvena Zvezda stays unbeaten under Coach Obradovic, beats PAO
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Wednesday, November 5
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 86-68 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Crvena Zvezda enjoyed a morale-boosting 86-68 win over Panathinaikos in Wednesday evening’s solitary fixture to stretch its winning streak to seven games, improving to 7-2 (6-0 under Coach Obradovic) while Panathinaikos dropped to 5-4 after a largely lop-sided contest. Codi Miller-McIntyre paced Zvezda on 14 points, 9 boards and 7 assists, Chima Moneke racked up 14 points and 8 boards while Ognjen Dobric posted 10 points for the home team, which snapped its seven-game losing streak against Panathinaikos. Kostas Sloukas led the visiting team on 16 points and Cedi Osman added 14, but top scorer Kendrick Nunn netted a mere 6 points.
In a bruising and physical contest, Zvezda made a bright start and stifled out the visitors with ironclad defense in the first quarter, carving out a 20-12 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. Panathinaikos was reduced to shooting 0 of 10 from downtown and committed 4 turnovers in the first quarter, while Zvezda made 9 of 12 from inside. Roared on by a fervent hone crowd, Zvezda caught fire in the second quarter as shots poured in from all angles. The home team romped away into a stunning 42-20 lead before the Greens finally got going, slashing their deficit to 46-32 at halftime after a dreadful first half in which they shot 5 of 20 from long range and committed 8 turnovers.
The third quarter saw Zvezda hit top gear again as the home team held Panathinaikos to a grand total of just 1 point in the opening 6 minutes, while the home team hit nothing but net at the other end to carve out a massive 67-40 advantage ahead of the final 10 minutes. With a mountain to climb, the Greens launched a fierce onslaught and produced a 7-21 run, closing the gap to 74-61 midway through the fourth quarter. However, the visitors had left themselves too much work to do and Zvezda ran out a worthy winner to delight its faithful inside a jam-packed Belgrade Arena.
Thursday, November 6
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (18:45 CET)
In Thursday’s opening tipoff, two teams striving to find form meet in Istanbul as Fenerbahce (3-5) welcomes ASVEL (2-6). The reigning champ is struggling with offensive inconsistency and will want to start fast after only scoring 22 first-half points in last week's heavy loss to Real, while ASVEL fared even worse in a 37-point pummelling at Zalgiris despite 14 points from in-form guard Glynn Watson. These are the third-worst and worst offensive teams in the league (78.9 and 78.5 points per game, respectively), with ASVEL also suffering the lowest two-point conversion rate (49.5%). The visitors' task is complicated by the absence of former Fener star Nando De Colo through injury, which could give the home team’s main offensive weapon Wade Baldwin (14.5 and 5.8 assists per game) more opportunity to dominate.
Dubai Basketball vs. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (19:00 CET)
A pair of EuroLeague newcomers meet for the very first time as Dubai (3-5) hosts co-leader Hapoel (6-2). The home team has slid down the standings with three straight losses, while Hapoel is targeting an immediate response after its four-game winning streak was ended last week in a low-scoring loss at Olympiacos. The physical presence of twin towers Filip Petrusev and Mfiondu Kabengele – who combine for an average of 12.9 rebounds per game – has contributed to Dubai boasting the league’s best interior defense, limiting opponents to just 51.5% of two-point attempts. But Hapoel is the league’s third most accurate team from three-point range (38.5), so shooters like Antonio Blakeney and Collin Malcolm (50% and 52.6% from deep respectively) will be happy to take their chances from beyond the arc.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. Virtus Bologna (20:30 CET)
Baskonia (2-6) will attempt to build more momentum against a Virtus (4-4) needing a return to form. The Italian team suffered two heavy road defeats last week due to a malfunctioning offense, scoring only 65 and 71 points in Kaunas and Munich, and must take better care of the basketball after committing 20 turnovers at Bayern. Baskonia is heading in a different direction after picking up its first wins of the season, and will hope that guard Matteo Spagnolo can build on his best performance of the season – 19 points and 6 assists – in the Round 8 win over Efes. A key to the outcome will be the shooting contest between the league’s second and fifth highest scorers, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (20.6 points per game) and Carsen Edwards (18.4 ppg).
Paris Basketball vs. FC Bayern Munich (21:00 CET)
Fresh from two home wins, Bayern (4-4) is aiming for a road triumph as it travels to faltering Paris (4-4). The German team has been lifted by the return to fitness of experienced big man Johannes Voigtmann, and will hope that new signing Spencer Dinwiddie finds his rhythm after scoring just 6 points on 1-of-7 field-goal shooting in his debut against Virtus last time out. Paris is coming off consecutive losses and give more could support league-leading scorer Nadir Hifi (22.3 points per game) by giving a debut to newly signed swingman Jared Rhoden. Fast-paced Paris leads the league in offensive rebounding (16.6 per game), so Bayern will need Voigtmann and Wenyen Gabriel to be ready for a battle of the boards.
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv vs. AS Monaco (21:00 CET)
Maccabi (2-6) will look to snap a losing run with a visit from in-form Monaco (5-3). Visiting playmaker Mike James will take center stage as he needs a PIR of 8 or more to become the competition's all-time leader in that category, and he arrives in great form with an average PIR of 22.7 in the last three games. The hosts are targeting defensive improvement after allowing 99 points in both the last two games, and also needs Jaylen Hoard to maintain his excellent form (12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) as he faces a similarly all-action forward, Alpha Diallo (13.6 points and 3.9 boards per night). These are the league’s top two teams in assists (20.3 and 20.5 per game respectively), so expect a free-flowing and high-scoring contest.
Friday, November 7
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (18:30 CET)
Two teams seeking the consistency required to start climbing the standings meet in Istanbul with Efes (3-5) hosting Milan (3-5). The Italian team boosted its confidence with a badly-needed Round 8 home win over Paris, partly thanks to Giampaolo Ricci crashing the boards to the tune of 5 offensive rebounds. So Efes big man Ercan Osmani will have to continue to help out Efes’s injury-hit frontcourt. The home team will look for defensive ace Nick Weiler-Babb – who has at least one steal in six straight games – to control the influence of Milan playmaker Quinn Ellis, the provider of 8 assists in last week’s win. And as always, the long-range shooting of Shane Larkin will be crucial as he attempts to extend a sequence of six straight games with multiple three-balls.
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Valencia Basket (19:00 CET)
Two of this season's surprise packages go head-to-head as Zalgiris (6-2) welcomes Valencia (5-3). Led by the all-round efforts of Sylvain Francisco, Zalgiris has won its last three games by at least 15 points, most recently thrashing ASVEL with eight different players recording double-digit PIRs. Valencia has been almost as impressive, coming off a perfect double-round week at home which ended with all-action forward Omari Moore continuing his great season with a decisive late burst against Dubai. Both teams are enjoying great accuracy from long range, with Zalgiris leading the league with 42.9% of triples made while Valencia ranks fourth (36.9%), so the shooting of Maodo Lo (51.9% from deep) and Kameron Taylor (48.3% behind the arc) could go a long way towards deciding the outcome.
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (20:15 CET)
Olympiacos (5-3) will look for another strong home performance with a visit from stuttering Partizan (3-5). The visiting team, which has lost three in a row, will be powered guard Duane Washington, who has averaged 16 points across the past five games. Partizan will hope that Nick Calathes can play more than the 7 minutes he managed in last week’s debut against Barcelona, but the veteran pass master faces a tough task against Thomas Walkup, whose presence led his team to last week’s low-scoring victory over Hapoel despite only scoring 3 points. That game featured a third double-double of the season for Nikola Milutinov (8.2 boards per night), who faces a big battle in the paint with Partizan powerhouse Tyrique Jones (10.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game).
FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (20:30 CET)
The week concludes with a bang as Barcelona (4-4) welcomes Real (4-4) for the season's first Clásico. Real got back to winning ways by overpowering Fenerbahce last week, with backcourt duo Theo Maledon and Facu Campazzo combining for 26 points and 10 assists. The visitors – who are seeking its first road win of the season – could be reinforced in the paint by new arrival Alex Len as he looks to complement the excellent form of starting center Walter Tavares, who has underlined his status as the competition’s all-time shot blocking leader with five swats in the last two games. Barca leaned on strong defense to grab low-scoring victories over Milan and Partizan last week, however it will be without Round 8 MVP Toko Shengelia after he suffered an injury in the Spanish League this past weekend.