Six regular season games will be played on Thursday, Sunday and Monday.
Thursday, April 26
Time: 7:30 PM (3:30 MSK)
Place: Arena.Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Enisey: The Siberians still have a chance to rescue their season, but they need to beat St. Petersburg on Thursday. It’s not out of the question, especially after how the team played against UNICS last week, very nearly upsetting the League’s second-place team.
Don’t expect a very high-scoring game. Both teams have a lot on the line, plus neither shoots well from beyond the arc (Enisey is 13th, Zenit – 11th). On the other hand, there’s going to be a lot of driving to the hoop and battling for rebounds.
Zenit: St. Petersburg has never lost to Enisey, posting a perfect 7-0 record. One of the main factors in Zenit’s loss to Nizhny Novgorod was Sergey Karasev’s foul trouble. The St. Petersburg star only played 11 minutes and finished with a single assist. The two teams also combined for almost 80 free throws in the game, which could happen again in Krasnodar.
VEF Latvia – Lokomotiv-Kuban Russia
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: VTB-League.com
VEF: Riga can still make the playoffs, despite missing a chance to take down Avtodor last week. Thursday’s opponent is very different. Lokomotiv-Kuban is all about defense, which is often a winning strategy in late-season match-ups. Avtodor may have had trouble containing Ken Brown and co. and gave up Alex Perez’s overtime-forcing 3-pointer, but Loko won’t be as generous.
Lokomotiv-Kuban: The game against PARMA showed Loko has recovered from its EuroCup disappointment and is ready to move forward. Sasa Obradovic’s men were nearly flawless on defense vs. Perm, shutting down ball movement and neutralizing the club’s primary offensive weapon, Codi Miller-McIntyre. If Kuban was able to stop one of the League’s most athletic talents, Riga will need to a different approach.
Sunday, April 29
Enisey Russia – Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus
Time: 4:00 PM (12:00 MSK)
Place: Arena.Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Enisey: The Siberians are playing on short rest. This will be the team’s third game in a week with another potentially decisive showdown looming vs. Lokomotiv on May 5. Luckily for Enisey, all three games this week are at home, making it easier to recover and prepare for each match-up without distractions.
Tsmoki-Minsk: The Belarusians have not defeated Enisey since October 2015. Krasnoyarsk’s win in Minsk earlier this season was the team’s only road win for months. But the Dragons will be looking for more than revenge, needing a win to stay alive in the playoff chase. Tsmoki has the best road record of any team outside the top eight (3 wins), but only averages 70 points per game, which could be an issue on Sunday if Enisey continues its streak of solid defense.
Time: 5:30 PM (3:30 MSK)
Place: Molot Sports Palace, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
PARMA: After three straight losses, PARMA remains tied for 8th place, but can’t expect its good luck to continue. Nikolajs Mazurs and co. will try to snap the skid vs. Avtodor, a team that prefers a wide-open game with plenty of offense. Perm won the first meeting between these teams, led by Codi Miller-McIntyre’s dominating performance in the backcourt. The duel between Perm’s Westbrook clone and Saratov point guard Justin Robinson will be huge on Sunday. PARMA head coach Nikolajs Mazurs has his own score to settle with Avtodor. He was given the job last season in Saratov, but only lasted one game before being dismissed.
Avtodor: Avtodor has quietly moved into 2nd place in the League in scoring (86.7 points per game). This game has playoff implications for both teams (Avtodor is looking to catch 5th-place Khimki), but also features a striking contrast in styles. Avtodor uses athleticism at each position and likes to attack the paint. PARMA, on the other hand, favors three-point shooting. These two teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to 3-pointers: PARMA averages a League-leading 27.5 triples per game, compared to only 20.4 per game from Saratov, fewest in the League.
UNICS Russia – Nizhny Novgorod Russia
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Kazan, Russia
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
UNICS: As the regular season nears the finish line, the drama continues to build. Only one team has been eliminated from postseason contention (Kalev) and none of the top eight teams have locked in a seed. The line between favorites and underdogs is blurring: everyone can beat everyone. Enisey took UNICS to the wire last week, while Nizhny Novgorod obliterated Zenit.
UNICS could also struggle vs. the Volga club. In the first match-up between these teams, Kazan needed a game-winner from Quino Colom with three seconds remaining in a wild back-and-forth affair.
Nizhny Novgorod: The win over Zenit could prove huge for Nizhny, but there’s work left to do. Zoran Lukic’s men have three tough games remaining on the schedule, away vs. UNICS, then home to 6th-place Avtodor and 3rd-place Loko. At the same time, Zenit is the only top six team Nizhny has been able to beat this season. Production from the team’s role players will be key: Ivan Strebkov erupted for 24 in the win over Zenit, relieving some of the pressure on stars Stevan Jelovac and Jake Odum.
Monday, April 30
VEF Latvia – Astana Kazakhstan
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: VTB-League.com
VEF: Riga has a busy week–the game vs. Astana will be the team’s third in a week–and desperately needs to win this one. Both teams will have played 22 games entering the contest and VEF could take a huge step toward the postseason with a won over another playoff hopeful. These two teams also feature very similar playing styles: VEF and Astana are near the bottom in scoring and field-goal percentage, but both are excellent on the glass.
Astana: Mikhail Karpenko’s men managed to snap a five-game losing streak last week, taking down a different Baltic opponent in Kalev. Unlike the Estonians, however, Riga is still in contention for the postseason. This could be one of the most exciting games of the week, featuring two teams desperate to extend their seasons. Astana will be a little more rested, playing only twice this week, though the Kazakh club has a long trip to the Latvian capital.
