Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and Monaco can reach the Final Four with a win
Game Center, Game 4: Real Madrid 65-68 Olympiacos after 3Q
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5 Минутное чтение
Thursday, May 1
Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (21:00 CEST)
After winning on Tuesday to narrow the series deficit to 1-2, Real Madrid will look to continue its comeback against Olympiacos Piraeus.
The Spanish team will hope that Walter Tavares can again avoid foul trouble to allow him to exert the same kind of influence that allowed him to record 15 points and 5 rebounds in Game 3.
That's especially important because backcourt efficiency has been an issue throughout the series for Los Blancos with Facu Campazzo and Sergio Llull struggling to make an impact against an excellent Olympiacos defense, although Alberto Abalde did step up by contributing 9 points and 6 assists on Tuesday.
Olympiacos will hope to welcome back Evan Fournier after missing Tuesday's game with an ankle injury, and his presence would remove some of the scoring burden from Sasha Vezenkov – the only Reds player other than Fournier to average double-digit scoring in the series so far.
In a series so far dominated offensively by Mario Hezonja at one end and Vezenkov at the other, it could be time for another hero to step up. And one X-factor in a game where fatigue will play a part is Shaq McKissic, who has endured an extremely quiet series so far – averaging just 2.0 points per night and a negative PIR – but should have enough energy reserves to unleash his frustrations with a more telling contribution in Game 4.
Friday, May 2
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:30 CEST)
After relinquishing home-court advantage with a narrow loss on Wednesday, Anadolu Efes Istanbul needs to bounce straight back against reigning champ Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.
It was inevitable that Kendrick Nunn would recover from a slow start to the series at some stage, and the season MVP proved decisive in Game 3 with 25 points. So Efes will focus its defensive efforts on attempting to prevent Nunn from staying hot, but the Greens will feel that it also possesses plenty more weapons which are waiting to spring into life – just as the previously quiet Konstantinos Mitoglou did on Wednesday with 18 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting.
Against such a potent opponent – Panathinaikos ranks second in the league in scoring with 87.8 points – Efes knows it will have to improve its offensive output from the 77 points mustered last time out. The hosts definitely needs big man Vincent Poirier to overcome an injury which restricted him to just 2 points and 3 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss, although Dan Oturu stepped up with his best game of the series and could have to reach those standards again.
As always, though, the key player for Efes will be Shane Larkin. The star guard has averaged nearly 33 minutes on the floor during the series and delivered well with 18.0 points and 4.3 assists. If Panathinaikos can slow down Larkin, a ticket to Abu Dhabi will be within reach.
FC Barcelona vs. AS Monaco (20:45 CEST)
This week’s action concludes with FC Barcelona seeking another home win to keep the series alive against AS Monaco.
Joan Penarroya’s team delivered a determined performance on Wednesday to seal a high-scoring victory, with the key role played by backup big man Willy Hernangomez as he recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds.
With Jan Vesely’s status uncertain, that kind of presence from Hernangomez will again be crucial for the Blaugrana, while visiting coach Vassilis Spanoulis will hope that his own centers Mam Jaiteh and Daniel Theis will offer better protection of their backboard after allowing Barca to claim 14 crucial offensive rebounds in Game 3.
Another statistic to concern Spanoulis is the fact that his team failed to snare a single steal in Game 3, and visiting backcourt stars Mike James and Elie Okobo will look to recover their usual defensive intensity to complement their ever-present offensive threat.
Having scored 89 points in defeat on Tuesday (led by James with 20 points and Okobo with 19), Monaco will not particularly concerned by its offense, which has performed with fluidity and efficiency throughout the series.
Instead, the key to the game is likely whether the visitors can stop Barca’s key scorers Kevin Punter, Jabari Parker and Dario Brizuela – who all scored in double figures in Game 3 – from forcing a series decider next week.