Previewing the action on Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday, February 15
Avtodor (Russia) – Khimki (Russia)
Time: 7:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Avtodor: Saratov stayed busy during the All-Star break, defeating Oldenburg in the FIBA Champions League. The club has also won three of its last five games in the League to rejoin the playoff chase. With the standings beginning to bunch up, a couple more wins could vault Avtodor as high as 6th place. But it won’t be easy. Saratov lost to Khimki by 32 earlier this season and is missing several of its big men.
Khimki: Khimki has advanced to the Eurocup quarterfinals, which won’t begin for another two weeks, giving Moscow Region time to focus on catching Zenit and moving back into the top-three. Dusko Ivanovic’s men have improved on offense in recent months, averaging more points per game than Avtodor, a team known for attacking the basket. The rebounding battle will be especially intriguing as both teams rank in the top-three, though Saratov’s frontcourt isn’t be at full strength. Expect Marko Todorovic and the rest of the Khimki big men to try to take advantage.
Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia) – Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 8:00 PM (8:00 MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Krasnodar
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Trailing 1st-place CSKA by only a game and a half, Lokomotiv may no longer be content with 2nd place. The Railwaymen have won 12 in a row, matching a club record, with a chance to make it 13 on Wednesday in Krasnodar.
Kuban’s defense continues to impress, holding opponents to a measly 67.8 points per game. On the rare occasion when an opponent does score a lot of points (Enisey dropped 85 in a recent loss to Kuban), Loko’s offense can hold its own, averaging 82.7 per game.
Astana: Astana has lost four in a row and six of its last seven, sinking to 6-9 and 8th place. The Kazakh club missed a big opportunity in its most recent game, losing at home to 12th-place Kalev. Astana is worst in the league at scoring on the road, averaging 70 points per game, which does not bode well in Krasnodar. Ilias Papatheodorou will need to get creative for his team to have any chance of picking up its second road win of the season.
Thursday, February 16
Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) – UNICS (Russia)
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 MSK)
Place: Sports Palace, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Nizhny Novgorod: Arturs Stalbergs’ men have been much better in recent months, winning four of seven after a 1-7 start. The win against Kalev on Monday pulled Nizhny within a game of Astana and 8th place. With as many as seven teams in contention for the final three postseason berths, every game is huge the rest of the way.
Having battled injuries all season, Nizhny is beginning to gel, especially on the defensive end. Nizhny was giving up 95+ plus points per game earlier in the year, but has only conceded 90 points or more once in the last five games.
UNICS: On February 9, Kazan suffered its 8th-consecutive loss in the Euroleague, falling to Real Madrid by four points. The club has also struggled in the United League, dropping to 5th place thanks to a four-game skid.
The roster has been in flux for several weeks–Orlando Johnson recently left the club and Kostas Kaimakoglou is out for a month with an injury–but the return of Quino Colom, Anton Ponkrashov and Coty Clarke should give Evgeny Pashutin plenty to work with moving forward. UNICS also signed Parma leader Danilo Andjusic, giving the team extra depth in the backcourt.
Zenit (Russia) – CSKA (Russia)
Time: 8:00 PM (8:00 MSK)
Place: SC Yubileyniy, St. Petersburg, Russia
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
Zenit: The stakes are high for Zenit in this game. First, a win would keep the team’s 1st-place ambitions alive. Second, everybody remembers the beatdown Zenit received in Moscow last November. Weakened by injuries, St. Petersburg lost to CSKA by an eye-popping 49 points.
Zenit has improved since then, recently advancing to the Eurocup quarterfinals (where they will meet Lokomotiv-Kuban). The club has also won six straight in the VTB United League and could move within a game of CSKA with a win.
CSKA: The Red-Blues don’t need any distractions. After crushing Crvena Zvezda in the Euroleague, CSKA had more good news for the fans: Head coach Dimitris Itoudis declined an offer to coach the Greek national team in order to focus on his duties in Moscow.
Thursday’s showdown with Zenit should be terrific. Moscow and St. Petersburg are the League’s top two teams in points scored (93.7 and 90.1 per game, respectively) and assists (Zenit is actually slightly ahead of CSKA in this category). With so much firepower on hand, including the All-Star MVP Andrey Vorontsevich, Slam Dunk Champion Janis Timma and Three-Point Champion Sergey Karasev, the fans are in for a treat.
