Bold predictions for Round 5

ASVEL's Frank Jackson will be unleashed under Pozzecco

By Frankie Sachs

We can only guess what LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne will look like when it hosts Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Friday. But we can make an educated guess. So first the facts…

Frank Jackson is coming off his finest game yet with ASVEL; he went for 25 points on good shooting and 3 assists in 28 minutes at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul last week. Jackson has been an accomplished scorer at every level in his career. ASVEL sacked Coach TJ Parker after that game and his replacement, Gianmarco Pozzecco, started working with the team on Wednesday. That, of course, leaves him very little time to work wonders with ASVEL, but what Pozzecco can do is give confidence to his new charges.

A slick passing playmaker in his days on the court, I expect Pozzecco to put his faith in the guards and for Jackson to feed off that belief and reward the coach handsomely.

Mirotic will avenge Milan in Berlin

By Frank Lawlor

On Thursday, ALBA Berlin (0-4) and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (1-2) will break a 4-4 tie in victories between them since they first met in EuroLeague play back in late 2019. That includes ALBA's sweep of Milan last season, capped by a resounding 20-point victory in the German capital early this year. This time, however, the visitors from Italy have an ace up their sleeve. Power forward Nikola Mirotic has been an ALBA killer throughout his career. He is 10-0 with his various teams against ALBA over the years, with averages of 17.1 points and 21.9 PIR despite playing only 22.9 minutes per game. His career shooting accuracy against ALBA is off the charts: 77.6% on two-pointers and 43.1% on threes. Maodo Lo may be returning for Milan to face his former team, but Mirotic will be the man as he upholds his perfect record vs. ALBA and avenges his new team's two losses to the Berliners last season.

Baskonia will get another big win at OAKA

By Igor Petrinovic

Earlier this week, Baskonia had a social media post reminding us of one of the biggest wins in club history, its 71-74 road win over Panathinaikos in a deciding Game 3 of the 2006 EuroLeague Playoffs. Post included some vintage celebration photos of the victory that sent Baskonia to the Final Four. That was the first of four wins Baskonia has registered in Athens this century, as it has also won Game 3 of the 2016 playoffs to complete a sweep of the Greens. Neither teams enters this game on an up-swing, both at 1-3 records. But there is less pressure on Baskonia, than on Panathinaikos which has lost two overtime home games so far. Additionally, Baskonia has been stellar rebounding the ball so far this season, ranking second with 39.3 rebounds per game, including pulling down third-most 14.8 on the offensive glass. That rebound desire is what I see leading Baskonia to an upset win in the Greek capital.

LeDay will lead Partizan to Serbian derby win

By Javier Gancedo

Round 5 starts with a bang, as Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade takes on Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade at Stark Arena. Last season, Zvezda beat Partizan 73-76 in the first-ever EuroLeague Serbian derby and big man Zach LeDay did not have his most inspired night, getting 4 points, 4 rebounds and 3 fouls for a PIR of 2. A year later, LeDay is arguably playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 fouls drawn and a PIR of 18.5. He can be effective at the '4' and '5' positions, using his post skills and mid-range game to find advantages against Luka Mitrovic, Marko Simonovic, Mike Tobey or Joel Bolomboy. And if someone is a master on finding the opponents' weaknesses and making the most out it, that's Partizan coaching genius Zeljko Obradovic, so I predict Partizan wins this time and LeDay has a strong performance.

Real Madrid will show its champion’s pedigree in El Clásico

By Geoff Gillingham

Both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona come into the 35th installment of the EuroLeague’s El Clásico with a 4-0 record after sweeping the floor with their opponents to this point. But, at WiZink Center, one of the two teams will see their 100% record come to an end. For me, it will be the reigning EuroLeague champion, Real, that advances to 5-0. We might be just a few weeks into the new EuroLeague season, but Real has already flexed its muscles sufficiently and done enough for me to think that we are seeing the 2023-24 champion right before our eyes. Adding Facu Campazzo to this roster has made Los Blancos an even bigger threat, and I expect them to record a statement win against a Barca team that has admittedly been flying under first-year head coach Roger Grimau.