January 23, Saturday
Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) vs UNICS (Russia)
Time: 17:00 (17:00 МSК)
Venue: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, CEC Nagorny
Broadcast: TV Start
Odds by Fonbet: Nizhny Novgorod — 3,25, UNICS — 1,34
Nizhny Novgorod: Before the New Year Nizhny lost only once, in January they haven’t won yet. Three consecutive defeats threw them off the leading places. It can be changed: at the moment Nizhny played even less games than Kalev (10), it means that they have some backup. The question is if Nizhny are capable of breaking this bad streak. After the win over Falco that let Nizhny get into Champions League playoffs, Zoran Lukic was complaining about roster issues, he said that the players simply can’t fully recover. For example, against Tsmoki Nizhny played with 7 players that caused the fatigue in the ending.
UNICS: Kazan continue their impressive winning streak. After a spectacular victory over Khimki it’s now 4. Dimitrios Priftis squad play successfully in EuroCup as well, they beat Gran Canaria on Wednesday. UNICS played their favorite basketball against the Spaniards, defensive basketball (they allowed only 63 points). Actually, in recent games UNICS allowed more than 70 points only once and it didn’t stole their victory over Khimki. For Nizhny, that have roster problems Kazan slow physical basketball may become a challenge.
Zielona Gora (Poland) vs Avtodor (Russia)
Time: 18:00 (20:00 МSК)
Place: Poland, Zielona Gora, CRS Hala Zielona Góra
Broadcast: Basketball World
Odds by Fonbet: Zielona Gora — 1,37, Avtodor — 3,10
Zielona Gora: Overcoming a poor start when mostly Zielona Gora were playing against contenders on the road, now they probably have one of the best periods in the United League. In last 5 games Zan Tabak’s team won 4, and it could be 5 if Iffe Lundberg would have hit a game-winner against UNICS when they lost only 1 point. By the way, it was 1-point differential too in hot won December game against Avtodor, Lundberg had one of the best scoring performances hitting 32 points.
Avtodor: 5-game winning streak helped Saratov settle in the top-8 but now they are close to fell off. Since December 23 Avtodor have lost 4 times in 5 games, the bad streak started after a loss to Zielona Gora. The only win they managed to get was against Kalev that are second worst team in the League. On Saturday, Avtodor will try to take revenge on Zielona Gora for December defeat. Duel between Lundberg and Nate Mason may become the jewel of the game, Mason set his League’s career-high against CSKA scoring 31 points.
January 24, Sunday
Enisey (Russia) vs Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 17:00 (13:00 МSК)
Venue: Russia, Krasnoyarsk, Arena Sever
Broadcast: League’s web-site
Odds by Fonbet: Enisey — 1,90, Astana — 1,90
Enisey: Enisey losing streak after defeat to PARMA is now 6 games. That game against Perm was probably the worst in the season for Siberians. They lost few key players (including all bigs), Krasnoyarsk managed to score only 52 points (team’s season-low) and lost 34 points. The game against ambitious Astana doesn’t look like an opportunity for Enisey to break the bad streak, at the moment Astana are simply stronger in most indicators.
Astana: Emil Rajkovikj’s team played 12 games against Enisey in the United League, the score is even – 6 wins 6 losses. On Sunday Astana will try to make the record positive, they are considered front-runners. Enisey have almost settled in the bottom of standings while Astana beat Lokomotiv-Kuban and PARMA (PARMA on the road) and had a close one against Zenit. For now, the main Astana’s issue is defense, especially in away games: in this indicator (points allowed on the road) Astana are the worst team in the League allowing 94,1 points in 7 away games. However, they will face the team with the worst offense in the League (72,3).
Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus) vs Kalev (Estonia)
Time: 15:00 (15:00 МSК)
Venue: Belarus, Minsk, Falcon Club
Broadcast: League’s web-site
Odds by Fonbet: Tsmoki-Minsk — 1,41, Kalev — 2,90
Tsmoki-Minsk: The Dragons are on the rise, playing more confidently game by game. In last 4 games Minsk were fighting to the last seconds and finally managed to get their second W of the season against Nizhny. Tsmoki obviously don’t want to stop: their chances to get the third victory and chase the 8th place are higher than ever before. The Dragons have to take revenge on Kalev for December loss: after it, they will have a 5-game streak against play-off zone teams.
Kalev: The victory over Tsmoki was the only victory of this season for Tallinn. After that, Kalev lost in 4 consecutive games, against Zenit they managed to score only 51 points, League’s season-low. Roberts Stelmahers squad still can’t play with full roster, Janari Joesaar who is team’s most efficient player missed the game against Zenit. Thus, the front-runner in this game are the hosts, Kalev haven’t won on the road this season yet.
