The new season starts on Saturday! The opening game of the regular season will feature the finalists of the last Playoffs and the SuperCup 2024.
Place: Russia, Moscow, Megasport
Time: September 21, 2024, 14:00
Broadcast: Match TV, Start, League website
Rivlary
CSKA and UNICS are the only teams that have played in the League since the very first season. Not surprisingly, the rivalry history is incredibly rich. The first time the 2 rivals played in the 2009-10 season final, where the Moscow team won (66:55) and the first title. But only the most recent games between the teams can be the subject of a separate article.
For CSKA and UNICS, this will be their 10th game in 2024. Before the SuperCup final, the score was tied 4-4, with the Moscow team losing all 3 games in the regular season, but taking the Finals 4-1. On September 14 at the VTB Arena, the CSKA once again activated killer instinct,got the win 87:72 and securing the first trophy of the season.
Off-season
The season is just beginning, so it’s appropriate to talk about summer roster changes. CSKA is less concerned, though: the reigning champion retained the core, while adding Serbian national team star Aleksa Avramovic. In UNICS, the changes were more significant. Nenad Dimitrijevic moved to Olimpia Milan, but the offense was strengthened by DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Tony Taylor, while Andrey Lopatin and Aleksandr Platunov added depth, the powerful frontcourt remained unchanged.
Offense or defense?
The opening game of the season will see another clash of 2 play styles.
Stanislav Eremin, the Kazan team president assistant and honored Russian coach said it best:
– The game-opener will be a rivalry of 2 styles. After all, Perasovic style is defense. And in all of our good pre-season games we tried to play better defense. That’s why we have a chance to win.
CSKA looks very good in offense. Both from the perimeter and inside and play well. This game will be interesting due to 2 styles will collide.
Losses
UNICS’ performance in the first game of the season will largely depend on whether they can solve problems in the lineup. Aleksandr Platunov and key forward Louis Labeyrie missed the SuperCup due to injuries. Marcos Knight, one of the main offensive options, was held out of the final game against the Moscow team in the first quarter. All of them will miss the opening game of the new season.
The situation is different in CSKA. All the Moscow team players participated in pre-game training, but head coach Andreas Pistiolis missed the sessions due to illness.
Leaders
Aleksa Avramovic
The League top newcomer in the 2024 off-season played a major role in the Serbian national team that took bronze at the Paris Olympics in August. Aleksa continues to maintain the classy shape that earned him the best defensive player award. He was a leader during CSKA preseason games, and then took another individual award in his first official tournament – his first since moving to Russia – becoming the SuperCup MVP. In the final against UNICS, Avramovic proved himself at a key moment in the third quarter, when the Kazan team nearly tied the game: he got involved in the defense and made several decisions with his individual skills, giving the team the right energy – CSKA started the winning momentum. The guard had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists with 5 of 11 from the game.
It is noticeable that the transfer to CSKA has been a serious challenge for Avramovic – he is trying hard and doing everything he can to become the new favorite of the Moscow team fans. Aleksa should definitely be expected to be active on Saturday.
Jalen Reynolds
The Moscow team often has trouble guarding athletic bigmen. Reynolds falls right into that category. But in the SuperCup final CSKA did it well. Jalen had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 24.5 minutes, but made only 2 of 10 from the game. Toward the end of the third quarter, the American center was ejected and UNICS never got back into the game.
With well-known Jalen nature, we should expect the bigman to be as determined as possible for revenge during upcoming game versus CSKA.
Old-new friends
Amath M’Baye and Tony Taylor played 177 games together (they had 3 seasons together at Karsiyaka and one at Virtus), more than any other teammate in their careers. The players had a warm chat during the SuperCup at VTB Arena – there will be another meeting on Saturday!
Taylor was UNICS’ best player in the SuperCup deciding game – 19 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, 6 of 11 from the game.
Numbers
– CSKA had the best scoring offense at the SuperCup (95.3 points per game).
– UNICS had the best defense at the pre-season tournament in Moscow, allowing to score only 76 points per game (the Kazan team shared the lead with Zenit).
– The overall win-loss ratio is 89-27, CSKA has favor.
