CSKA will meet Lokomotiv-Kuban of Krasnodar in a regular season game.
Where:
USH CSKA (5000 seats), Moscow, Russia
When:
November 10, 2019, 19:00 (19:00 MSK)
Broadcast:
Match! Strana, VTB United League site
Looking back
Kyle Hines never lets go despite the efforts of ex-Loko players Kirill Fesenko and Evgeny Voronov
Face to face:
CSKA vs Loko is one of the main rivalries of new Russian basketball.
Kuban may be the worst opponent for CSKA in the regular season. Since League switched to full-format round robin system in 2014, the Red-greens at least tied season faceoffs with CSKA. The last year was the only exceptionas the Army club won twice. In 2014/15 season, Loko managed to win both.
Overall record in League games is 18-8 for CSKA.
Intrigue
CSKA (4-2) and Loko (3-1) pace up after a mediocre start of the season. The Red-blues won 3 in a row, hiting 100 points everytime. After a loss in Nur-Sultan, will face the Big five team for the third time in a row. And Luca Banchi’s team won the last two: against UNICS and Zenit. Most likely, the winner of this game will get to the 2nd place (currently taken by Loko).
Last week
Both teams had European games. Loko met Rytas in Eurocup and suffered a painful loss at home – 82:87 which makes things complicated for them before the decisive part of the regular season. They have four more games (three away), and another loss can be pricey.
On Friday, CSKA had a late night game against Villeurbanne which ended around 1 in the night Moscow time. The Army team lost after Jordan Taylor’s last second three-pointer – 66:67. Long story short, both teams will be hungry and motivated. The only difference is that CSKA had less time to recover and to prepare.
Injuries
Loss from Rytas was not the only problem for Loko this Tuesday. The captain Vitaly Fridzon broke metacarpal bone on the left hand.
Ex-CSKA player will undergo a surgery to miss at least two months. Big loss fro Loko. According to the rumours, Krasnodar are negotiating with Mindaugas Kuzminskas.
CSKA will not have Mikhail Kulagin who’s recovering from the injury. It’s still a question if Joel Bolomboy and Daniel Hackett can play, both missed last Euroleague game.
Recruitment
Kosta Koufos is ready to play now. CSKA Rookie missed the start of the season over an injury, but made his debut against Villeurbanne with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes. This Sunday, ex-NBA player can play his first game in VTB League.
Scoring
The fans can expect a lot of points. CSKA and Loko are in Top-3 scoring teams. The Army team lead the rating with 93.3 points per game, and Kuban are ranked third with 87.0 points.
CSKA score an average of 107.0 points per game in last three matches.
Rebounds
Teams’ rebounds are quite a stat as well. The Red-blues are ranked fourth with 36.7 rebounds per game, while Loko is the third with 37.3. The paint will be hot.
Familiar faces
Dmitriy Kulagin and Fridzon are famous, but not the only ex-Army players in Loko. Nikita Kurbanov came back to CSKA in 2015 after a solid season in Krasnodar.
Duel
Mike James vs Dmitriy Kulagin
Last season, James (playing for Milan) was Euroleague best sniper. In CSKA, he has the same role. Mike is top scorer of his team with 16.8 points per game. Moreover, with 4.2 assists per game he is the best again. The American is unstoppable in the start of the season.
And that’s more of a challenge for Dmitry Kulagin. Like the fact he faces his ex, and that’s when he makes outstanding performances. In the first faceoff after transfer to Loko, he scored 17 points and made 7 assists to get the win in Moscow. Kulagin will be trying to stop James and make a difference in the offense.
