UNICS meet CSKA in a regular season game.
Where:
Basket hall (7000 seats), Kazan, Russia
When:
December 2, 2019, 19:00 (19:00 MSK)
Broadcast:
Match! Strana, VTB United League site
Look in the past
Two superagers: Kostas Kaimakoglou (UNICS) stops Kyle Hines (CSKA)
Face to face:
UNICS and CSKA have been competing for ages. Despite the keen struggle, the Red-blues have a big lead (76-19). The teams had 21 faceoffs in VTB United League, and Moscow lead 17-4.
Last season, Kazan turned the tables: for the first time, they had won twice in a season (71:68 at home and 83:73 in Moscow). UNICS were close to take CSKA’s first place in a regular season, but suddenly lost to PARMA.
Their last big faceoff was 2016 finals. CSKA won in four games.
Intrigue
UNICS and CSKA have new teams. This always means unstable start of the season. And this is the case of both teams. To make things worse, Kazan suffers injuries. Last week, UNICS had two straight home losses: from Nanterre and Zenit. Third one and a negative record (currently 4-4) is definitely not their intention.
CSKA after summer reconstruction lost Will Clyburn, a key player. As a result, the reconstruction continued during the season which is even more challenging. The Army club are vulnerable, but have already reached the second place (6-2) after two losses in the beginning. The reigning champions will keep on chasing Khimki in Kazan.
Last week
UNICS had a rare free week. After Zenit on Nomveber 25, they had a rest thanks to Eurocup break.
On Friday, CSKA played at Barcelona, Euroleague leader, and won with a comfortable lead 96:67. The Red-blues are ranked 5th in Euroleague with a 7-4 record. CSKA – having two losses in Spain (Baskonia and Real) prior to trip to Catalonia – were good on both sides of the court and showed one of the best season performances. This should add confidence – despite the challenges the team moves forward.
Points
CSKA have a huge lead over UNICS in points per game. Moscow are ranked second in VTB League with 91.9 per game while UNICS have only 80.8 (10th place).
Mike James November MVP
Good news for CSKA fans. James will start the game as VTB League November MVP. The guard hit 16.3 points per game with 53.6% field goals, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds, plus 16.0 efficiency points. CSKA won three of three games in November.
Familiar faces
Velrii Likhodey is 2003/04 school league champion with CSKA.
Nikita Kurbanov played for UNICS in 2008, and 2013/14 season.
Duel
Errik McCollum vs Mike James.
Basketball is for tall guys, but one doesn’t have to be giant to compete in a major league. And it’s not about modern trend for universal players and smaller rosters. This game might be decided by two small guards: McCollum (188 cm) and James (185 cm). These Americans show amazing skills which matter more than athleticism. Both lead their teams’ offense, act as floor generals, finish, create, assist, and take control in decisive moments. This duel is supposed to be the main event of the week.
Comment
UNICS head coach Dimitris Priftis:
We’ll have a tough game at home court. I think everyone understands the level of the rival. We have a bad time of some straight losses, but we work hard everyday to trun things around. We need to improve defense and stay focused for all 40 minutes. We have to play with energy and aggression, and choose wisely a moment to shoot.
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
UNICS is the finishing point of our long trip. Kazan is a top class team, so we’re glad to have time to prepare and practice before the game. We have a good tempo and need to keep on.
