The action keeps coming as Round 7 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague delivers an exciting batch of games, including a showdown between the reigning champion and the league's hottest team in the Spanish capital. Here's your guide to all the action.
Round 7 promises top-to-bottom drama
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Thursday, November 9
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Having aced coach Dusko Ivanovic's return with a dramatic home win, Baskonia (2-4) will aim to confirm its revival against an Olympiacos (3-3) team that is still searching for consistency. The return of Chima Moneke was key to Baskonia’s triumph as he recorded 16 points including the game winning free throws. This week he goes up against former Baskonia forward Alec Peters, who leads Olympiacos with 13 points per game and has registered double-digit scoring in five of six games so far. Baskonia's key scorer Markus Howard has averaged 20.3 points in the last three games, and his battle against defensive ace Thomas Walkup will be another key.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Zalgiris Kaunas
Two teams needing a turnaround in fortunes go face to face as Efes (2-4) hosts Zalgiris (3-3), with both suffering two-game losing streaks. Efes coach Erdem Can needs to find a way for offensive stars Shane Larkin, Darius Thompson and Will Clyburn to function well together after seeing his team average just 76.3 points per game, third-worst in the competition. Better accuracy from long-range would help; Efes is making just 33.1% of its three-point attempts so far. In contrast, Zalgiris leads the league in accuracy from deep with 42%, including a remarkable 6-of-7 from young guard Dovydas Giedraitis. But the Lithuanian team needs to tighten up defensively after allowing at least 82 points in each of its last four games, so this could be an opportunity for Efes to click.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. FC Bayern Munich
Maccabi (3-2) plays its first "home" game at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade without fans as struggling Bayern (2-4), which has lost three in a row, visits. Maccabi shares the ball better than any other team in the league, averaging 22.6 assists per night, led by Lorenzo Brown's league-best average of 8.8. It's a very different story for Bayern, which averages a league-low 14 helpers per game. Pablo Laso's team has a better chance of winning through the physicality of Serge Ibaka (7 rebounds per game) and Isaac Bonga (6.0 rpg.), but Maccabi is also capable of crashing the boards with Josh Nebo (6.4 rpg.).
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Partizan (2-4) looks to respond to last week's last-second loss by overcoming high-flying Fenerbahce (5-1), which has won four in a row. The Turkish team has triumphed through efficient offense, committing fewer turnovers than any other team, 10.3 per game, to go with a league-best 4.8 steals on defense. Partizan tops the league in scoring (86.2 points per game) and two-point shooting accuracy (61.8%). James Nunnally leads Partizan's scoring with 12.7 points per game and his versatile skillset will be very useful against his former team, which has its own versatile forward in Nigel Hayes-Davis, who had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in last week's win over Olympiacos.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Valencia Basket
Two teams on a very different path meet in Italy as struggling Milan (1-5) welcomes high-flying surprise package Valencia (5-1). The visitors rely on a team ethic and a strong defense, ranking second in the league with 70.8 points per game allowed. Chris Jones manages the Valencia offense with averages of 11.3 points and 4.7 assists. The fact that Milan's leading assist-maker is Shavon Shields, with just 3.7 per game, illustrates how much head coach Ettore Messina's men have struggled to find fluency during their four-game losing run. The hosts will look for its collection of big men including Johannes Voigtmann (9.5 ppg., 4.0 rpg.) to control the tempo against a confident visitor.
Real Madrid vs. Virtus Segafredo Bologna
A big clash at the top of the standings sees unbeaten leader Real (5-0) welcome red-hot Virtus (5-1), which has won five in a row behind. October MVP Toko Shengelia of Virtus will face a fearsome showdown with the dynamic Guerschon Yabusele if he, as expected, returns from injury on Friday night. Those two stars will play a big part in the battle for inside dominance, with Real ranking third in two-point shooting accuracy (57.3%) while Virtus is second (57.6%). In-form Real big man Vincent Poirier (12.6 ppg., 5.6 rpg.) and Virtus veteran Jordan Mickey (12.0 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) will also be pivotal in what is sure to be a very physical contest.
Friday, November 10
ALBA Berlin vs. Panathinaikos Athens
Two teams near the foot of the standings will be searching for a boost as ALBA (1-5) hosts Panathinaikos (2-4). After being called out by coach Ergin Ataman following last week's loss to Barcelona, Juancho Hernangomez will look to react by significantly improving his season averages of 4.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The Green will hope to welcome back guards Kostas Sloukas and Luca Vildoza after they missed the trip to Barcelona. ALBA is coming off a hard-fought loss at Valencia where Sterling Brown continued his strong form with 19 points and Matt Thomas (16 points) had his third-straight double-digit scoring game, but the German team must take better care of the ball after being undone by 18 turnovers in that game.
FC Barcelona vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Barcelona (5-1) will look to extend its perfect home record with a visit from Zvezda (2-4), which clinched new coach Giannis Sfairopoulos's first victory in charge and ended a four-game losing streak. Barca boasts the league's best defense, allowing just 70.2 points per game, and will look to control the boards against a Zvezda team that leads all teams in offensive rebounds (14.3 per game). The Spanish team has won nine straight against Zvezda, dating back to 2017, and will look for the defensive skills of Tomas Satoransky to contain the magical creativity of Milos Teodosic, who has hit at least one three-pointer in every game so far and recorded a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists in last week's win over Bayern.
AS Monaco vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
A French League derby will see ASVEL (1-5) attempt to build further momentum after grabbing its first win of the season against high-flying host Monaco (4-2). Monaco was powered by Mike James to a fourth consecutive victory in Round 6 at Milan. This game is highlighted by two of the four players to have reached 4,000 points in the competition as James goes up against Nando De Colo, who contributed 13 points and 6 assists to last week's win at Zalgiris. Elsewhere, expect an all-action showdown between Monaco's Alpha Diallo (10.5 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 1.5 spg.) and visiting Charles Kahudi, who doesn't post flashy numbers but always leads his team through hustle.