Saratov, Astana, Kazan and Minsk will host regular season games on Wednesday.
Avtodor (Saratov) – PARMA-PARI (Perm)
Time: 16:00 (15:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start, Match! Igra, League website
Avtodor: The Perm and Avtodor teams are neighbors in the standings, which allows to hope for a tense game. The game will also has the League significance: the loser will retain only theoretical chances of getting into group A at the second stage of the regular season. Avtodor plays much better at home: 6 of the 7 wins this season. At the same time, Darko Russo team still has problems with the roster: Brandon Garrett and Evgeniy Kolesnikov remain out of the game. Despite this, Avtodor has excellent chances to win – important to show high-quality defense and force the opponent to make mistakes as often as possible.
PARMA-PARI: Just before the New Year, the Perm team lost Bryon Allen. Considering that the guard was the best scoring player, PARMA-PARI coaching staff urgently needs to rebuild the team offense. Justin Roberson should take on the role of leader, especially since the guard already knows how to beat Avtodor: in the October game with Saratov, he scored 29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Joel James may become another joker, especially considering the fact that the Volga team has problems in the front court.
Astana (Astana) – Samara (Samara)
Time: 20:00 (17:00 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Saryarka
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Astana: The Kazak team ended the 2022 positively– Astana beat MINSK. But now Astana is waiting for a much more difficult opponent. In the October game, Oleg Kiselev team could not defeat Samara, trailing by 24 points after the first half. Compared to that game, Astana has become stronger with the signing of Markell Johnson and Kwame Vaughn. The Kazakh team is not the favorite, but has advantages. First of all, this is a home court – after all, Samara is not close and even with its fans, Astana plays better. Secondly, the opponent was not on the peak with 4 losses in a row. Good defense against Samara leaders will give Astana hope for success.
Samara: At the very end of the year, the League newcomer announced that Isaiah Reese and Philip Gafurov left the team. Samara really got into a difficult situation, dropping to 9th place after 4 losses in a row. Going to Astana is a good opportunity to improve. According to stats, Samara surpasses its opponents in almost all parameters, so the team need to prepare for the game with Astana without underestimating and with self-confidence. After Reese and Gafurov left the team, the bench players will get more minutes and it is important to take advantage of this.
Time: 18:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Kazan, Basket Hall
Broadcast: Match TV, League website
UNICS: The Kazan team has the most difficult opponent at the start of 2023 among the Top-3 teams. In the previous face-to-face game, UNICS managed to win only in the fourth quarter. Jalen Reynolds played a huge role – the forward was the first in the season to score 30 points with 5 steals and 3 rebounds. However, Daryl Macon did not play in Moscow, but currently leads the best scoring players of the season list with 18.0 points per game. Now Daryl is ready to lead UNICS to a 5th win in a row. But the Kazan team also has losses: Stanislav Ilnitskiy suffered an Achilles tendon injury and will miss at least 4 months.
MBA: The Moscow team will also not have the optimal roster – Aleksandr Khomenko is recovering from a knee injury. But Makar Konovalov and Mark Tikhonenko returned. The coaching staff headed by Vasily Karasev competently distributes playing time and only two players, Andrey Lopatin and Timofey Yakushin, spend more than 25 minutes on the floor. It is also not easy to single out a clear offensive leader: 8 players score from 7 to 12 points per game. But it is impossible not to mention Daniil Kasatkin, who has already scored 20 points 3 times: 24 against PARMA-PARI, 26 versus Loko, 28 with CSKA, and with the Army team he made a career-high 7 three-pointers. Teamwork in defense and performance of one of the leaders will be the key to the success.
MINSK (Minsk) – Zenit (Saint Petersburg)
Time: 19:30 (Moscow time)
Location: Belarus, Minsk, Minsk-Arena
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
MINSK: The Belarusian team starts the 2023 in the 12th place with just 1 win. But just before the New Year, MINSK pleased the fans by winning the Belarusian Cup. Having improved morale, Rostislav Vergun team is ready to host the reigning champion. MINSK has never beaten Zenit in the entire rivalry history. To fix this, the Belarusian team needs to think about defense – it will definitely not work to stop the St. Petersburg team. And in the offense, Uladzislau Bliznyuk, Supreme Hannah, Zach Smith and Jovan Slivancanin are simply need to prove.
Zenit: It is unlikely that Xavi Pascual team can be satisfied with the first 3 months of the season with 4 losses in 17 games. But Zenit is going to Minsk as an undisputed favorite. Thomas Heurtel demonstrated incredible basketball in December and no one will be surprised if the French guard sets a new season high in points or assists in the capital of Belarus. In case of a win over MINSK, Zenit will break away from MBA.
