Six games will be played from Saturday to Monday.
October 19, Saturday
Enisey (Russia) – Avtodor (Russia)
Time: 18:00 (14:00 MSK)
Venue: Arena.Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Broadcast: League site
Fonbet odds: Enisey win – 1,50, Avtodor win – 2,60
Enisey is in the top five after the first three games. After sensation against CSKA, they got a hard win over PARMA. Enisey show their offense power: 4th best in two-pointers percentage (58.3), and amazing 40.7% from the arc which is the third result in the League. By the way Krasnoyarsk made 10 of 20 three-pointers against PARMA. This will be crucial against Avtodor who got 14 of 29 three-pointers from Khimki last game.
Avtodor last years is not famous for their strong defense. With any coach Avotodor scores a lot, and allows a lot. This season is just the case: 95.0 points allowed per game (second worst result). Evgeny Pashutin said his team lacked big man rotation against Khimki. Isaiah Hicks got injured during a practice and will miss about a month. League veteran Kaspars Berzins is his replacement.
Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) – Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus)
Time: 17:00 (17:00 MSK)
Venue: CEC Nagorny, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Broadcast: League site
Fonbet odds: Nizhny Novgorod win – 1,25, Tsmoki-Minsk win – 4,00
Nizhny Novgorod jumped to the second place after a dramatic win over Zenit. However, the hosts are not stable: after a win over Saint Petersburg they were beaten by Tenerife in Champions League with a -14 margin. Game against Tsmoki is not going to be easy, but the stats are in favor of Nizhny: they won 9 of 12 faceoffs, and last Tsmoki’s victory was two years ago.
Tsmoki-Minsk lost both games in the season, but proved themselves a team of fighters. Lokomotiv-Kuban and CSKA had to turn on the full power mode to beat the dragons. However, Rostislav Vergun will have to adjust the perimeter defense. CSKA made 18 of 33 three-pointers, and Nizhny knows how to attack from the arc with 36.7 percentage. The good news is that the great Branko Mirkovic is the one to respond. With 18.5 points and 5.5. assists per game, he’s one of MVP contenders.
Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia) – UNICS (Russia)
Time: 17:00 (17:00 MSK)
Venue: Basket Hall, Krasnodar, Russia
Broadcast: Match TV
Fonbet odds: Lokomotiv-Kuban win – 1,60, UNICS win – 2,35
Lokomotiv-Kuban just like their rivals surprisingly lost in the last weekend. But the games were different. Lokomotiv played a clutch in Kazakhstan, but Will Cummings’ decisive shot did not sink. Kuban made amends few days later, beating Limoges in Eurocup with a +11 margin. The abovementioned Cummings and Alan Williams were the best players of the game.
UNICS loss was a huge sensation. Dimitris Priftis even said the game against Kalev was a “shock”. UNICS lost the second period 8:27, and didn’t manage to come back. However, just like Loko, they managed to cheer up in Eurocup beating Nanterre in a thriller. Team’s main force of Jamar Smith and Erick McCollum was much more confident in that game: they scored 48 points and 11 assists together. The defense, however has issues to address as they allowed 92 points from Nanterre which is not typical for Priftis’ defensive style.
October 20, Sunday
Khimki (Russia) – Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 15:00 (15:00 MSK)
Venue: BCMO, Khimki, Russia
Broadcast: Match! Igra
Fonbet odds: Khimki win – 1,05, Astana win – 10,0
Khimki set the main intrigue of the start of the season. Who will be the first to beat them? But to be precise, the first loss already happened on Thursday when Rimas Kurtinaits’ side lost to CSKA in Euroleague. Khimki missed Chris Krammer and Stefan Jovic which made an impact on the defense. Although Astana’s backcourt doesn’t have stars like Mike James, Khimki’s uncoordinated defense can be a problem given Jeremiah Hill’s floor general skills–he made 15 assists against Loko.
Astana, however have other trump cards which can even be more significant. After the game at CSKA, Rimas Kurtinaitis noted that Khimki had problems with teams who have tall and athletic centers like Baskonia. That’s what Astana have: Dusan Ristic, currently the second scorer of the League (20.5 PPG). Curiously, the third place is taken by his teammate Malcolm Hill. Jeremy Evans and Davin Booker will have a hard time fighting taller and bigger Ristic. Astana rookie Isaiah Whitehead who is supposed to be on the roster will put even more pressure on the hosts’ paint.
Zielona Gora (Poland) – CSKA (Russia)
Time: 18:00 (19:00 MSK)
Venue: CRS Hala Zielona Góra, Zielona Gora, Poland
Broadcast: Match! Igra
Fonbet odds: Zielona Gora win – 7,90, CSKA win – 1,08
Zielona Gora: last season, United League rookies were beaten by the reigning champion with a 30+ margin both times. But today’s Polish team is more experienced and ready to fight. Zielona Gora battled against Khimki in season opener at VTB Arena till the buzzer. And the next time they beat Avtodor. It gets even spicier given that CSKA and Zielona Gora are next to each other in the standings. The Army club, however, is favored to win this one, having advantage in almost all the stats.
CSKA at the 9th place shouldn’t confuse anyone. They are gaining momentum which was proved by Euroleague faceoff against Khimki. Mike James who outplayed Khimki with 18 points within a quarter is fitting to Itoudis tactics. To tackle this one, the Polish will have to use double teams which an be a disaster. A quick reminder: the Red-blues reset club record for three-pointers (18) against Tsmoki, plus they have the first place in three-pointers percentage (41.7).
Octoer 21, Monday
Kalev (Estonia) – Zenit (Russia)
Time: 19:00 (19:00 MSK)
Venue: Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia
Broadcast: League site
Fonbet odds: Kalev win – 2,60, Zenit win – 1,50
Kalev withoud current standings doesn’t seem like a real competitor in this game, while Zenit is one of the title contenders. However, in the last game Kalev showed the downside of underestimation: UNICS were destroyed in Tallinn. This sensation got Kalev to the third place, right ahead of Zenit. Curiously, Kalev is the second worst scoring team with 74.7 points per game leaving only UNICS behind.
Zenit can face a real challenge in this one. And Kalev’s motivation improved after victory over Zenit is not the worst problem. Saint Petersburg have a tight schedule and a full list of injured players. On Friday, Joan Plaza’s side will have a tough away Euroleague game at Olympiacos. The good new is that Anton Pushkov is expected to be back giving a rest to Gustavo Ayon. Plus, Dmitry Khvostov has already made a debut against Nizhny with a nice record of 5 points and 3 assists within 15 minutes, saddened by 5 turnovers.
