This week at a glance: The EuroLeague playoffs are here!

AS Monaco vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

The playoffs get going with a bang on Tuesday evening as dynamic Monaco (21-13) hosts a Maccabi (20-14) team which enters the series hotter than anyone after winning seven of its last eight games. Monaco can take confidence from a thumping 86-67 home victory when the teams met less than two months ago and will look for Donta Hall – who had a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds in that game – to again provide physical dominance, while Maccabi’s hopes rest on the scoring ability of backcourt stars Wade Baldwin (16.7 points per game) and Lorenzo Brown (16.5 points per game).

Real Madrid vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

Zeljko Obradovic returns to take on the team he led to title glory in 1995 as Partizan (20-14) travels to Real Madrid (23-11). The coaching master’s priority will be finding a way to limit the influence of Real giant Walter Tavares, who leads the league in blocked shots (2.3 per game) and ranks third in rebounding (6.5). Partizan’s main man for that task is Mathias Lessort, the competition’s top rebounder with 7.3 per night. Lessort’s 16 points and 8 boards powered Partizan to victory, 104-90, when then the teams last met four weeks ago. Tavares was restricted to just 7 points, so Obradovic will look to repeat that formula on Tuesday.

FC Barcelona vs. Zalgiris Kaunas

Sarunas Jasikevicius faces the team of his life as Barcelona (23-11) welcomes Zalgiris (19-15) on Wednesday. The home team coach’s play-calling abilities and attention to detail will be a key part of this series, but Zalgiris chief Kazys Maksvytis has also done a great job in guiding the Lithuanian team to the playoffs in his first full season in charge. Maksvytis has created a defensively outstanding team that won its last four regular season games and will be especially alert to Barca’s long-range shooting abilities after the Spanish team led the league with an average of 40.3% three-point conversions.

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Regular season standings leader Olympiacos (24-10) will look to underline its status as title favorite by protecting its homecourt against visiting Fenerbahce (19-15). The Turkish team stumbled into the playoffs despite losing three of its last four games and needs to tighten up its defense after allowing more than 90 points in three of those contests. Olympiacos led the regular season in assists with 21.8 per game and will look for its usual ball movement to punish Fenerbahce’s vulnerable defense, especially by creating good looks for the league’s leading scorer Sasha Vezenkov (17.6 points per game).