The VTB United League regular season is headed to the finish line and the pressure is rising. Last week’s games had a big impact on the standings with CSKA and Zenit scoring big wins and several clubs inching closer to a postseason berth.
Khimki without Shved no match for CSKA
Khimki leader Alexey Shved missed both games with CSKA this season. Not surprisingly, the Yellow-Blues struggled to compete with the reigning champs. Moscow Region lost 95-79 in the first meeting, then dropped a 92-70 decision on Monday, falling behind 33-15 in the opening quarter.
As an outsider, it’s difficult to know what exactly happened with Shved on Monday. Khimki may have wanted to avoid playing CSKA at full strength ahead of the playoffs. Or, perhaps, Alexey really did tweak an old injury.
The second scenario is more concerning. If Shved is out for a few games, Moscow Region is in a bit of trouble. It’s difficult to overestimate the Russian guard’s impact at Khimki and the schedule doesn’t get any easier going forward.
Zenit drops Loko in 4th place…
The race for 2nd and 3rd place is starting to cool off after Zenit’s road win in Krasnodar. Loko drops to 4th place and will find it very difficult to move up in the standings.
Now Kuban needs to win its remaining games and hope for some help from Zenit and Khimki (one of the two teams needs to lose at twice). St. Petersburg isn’t likely to give ground. Khimki, on the other hand, especially if Shved’s injury turns out to be serious, could suffer some unexpected setbacks.
… UNICS remains in 5th place
Rumors were going around that Kazan planned to tank in the final month of the season in order to finish 6th and avoid a possible meeting with CSKA in the semifinals. But the win over Avtodor shut down the gossip. Kazan is firmly ensconced in 5th place and unlikely to end up anywhere else.
Theoretically, UNICS could still move up or down. But the odds of that happening are quite slim. For now, it appears Kazan will meet Loko in the first round of the playoffs, an exciting prospect for the quarterfinals.
VEF and Enisey on the verge of clinching playoff berths
VEF and Enisey picked up hard-fought, valuable wins over the weekend. Both teams have nearly clinched playoff spots, enjoying 3-4 game leads on 9th place Nizhny Novgorod and Avtodor. Everything would have to go wrong for either team to miss the postseason now.
VEF and Enisey can clinch in the upcoming games. VEF takes on Parma (March 2) and Enisey faces Astana (April 2). A win in those two games and an Avtodor loss to Krasnodar on April 3 is all they need. There’s no guarantee, of course, it will be that easy.
Nizhny Novgorod returning to the playoff chase…
Recently, Nizhny Novgorod has been dealing with internal problems, in addition to the competition. DeAndre Kane’s departure and Ivan Strebkov’s injury left the team with a very short bench and head coach Arturs Stalbergs has been forced to get creative. In Perm, Maxim Grigoryev made his return from injury, while 19-year-old Georgy Zhbanov also played.
The win over Parma restored the team’s confidence. Nizhny may not be able to catch VEF and Enisey, but Astana is still within reach. The Kazakh club leads Nizhny by 2.5 games, but has to overcome a brutal finishing schedule: Enisey, Nizhny Novgorod, UNICS and Khimki.
The head-t0-head meeting between these teams will likely decide the outcome. Scheduled for April 9 in Nizhny Novgorod, the home team will have to win by 9+ points in order to pick up the tie-breaker (Astana defeated Nizhny Novgorod earlier in the season, 83-74).
… Avtodor losing touch
Avtodor’s chances of cracking the top eight are fading by the day. Astana enjoys a 2.5 game lead on Saratov and holds the tie-breaker, meaning Avtodor would have to jump the Kazakhs in the standings. The club would need to go at least 4-1 down the stretch, a daunting task with games against Lokomotiv, Enisey and Zenit remaining.
Parma battling, but can’t get elusive win
Throughout the season, the League newcomers have played attractive basketball, but can’t find a breakthrough win. Parma has pushed Enisey twice, gone to overtime with UNICS and Avtodor and played even with Khimki, VEF and Tsmoki-Minsk. The fans hoped to finally taste victory against Nizhny Novgorod, with the visitors limping into Sunday’s game, but once again, the opposing team took control in the final minutes to earn the win.
Perm is now focused on several upcoming road games. Visits to Riga, Minsk and Saratov won’t be easy. Nothing is for Perm. But there’s some optimism around the club. The players are fully adjusted to the League and play with more than enough passion and effort. If not in Riga, then in Minsk Parma should be able to compete for a win.
