Four regular season games will be played on Sunday and Monday.
Sunday, March 25
Astana Kazakhstan – PARMA Russia
Time: 3:00 PM (12:00 MSK)
Place: Barys Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan
TV: VTB-League.com
Astana: After winning three in a row, Astana suffered a setback in NIzhny Novgorod, losing on Artem Komolov’s buzzer-beater. At the same time, the Kazakh club led much of the contest and could easily have extended the winning streak to four, if not for Komolov’s heroics.
The key for Astana in this match-up is to hound PARMA like crazy on defense and live up to its billing as a top-three defensive team (77.4 points allowed per game).
PARMA: Ural has a tough task ahead: breaking down Astana’s defense despite struggling in recent games to score the ball. After smashing Kalev with 104 points, the team has been listless on offense, with the exception of Codi Miller-McIntyre. Last Friday’s defeat to VEF was the first game since October when Perm failed to score more than 70 points.
Tsmoki-Minsk Belarus – Nizhny Novgorod Russia
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Falcon Club, Minsk, Belarus
TV: VTB-League.com
Tsmoki-Minsk: Tsmoki’s season was nearly beyond saving a few weeks ago. But the Belarusians took down PARMA on the road, before stunning Lokomotiv-Kuban at home to jump into the top eight. There’s still plenty of work to do, however. Alexander Krutikov’s men have a big game on Sunday vs. Nizhny Novgorod with 8th place on the line.
Nizhny Novgorod: If Tsmoki is struggling to score the ball (last in the League with 72.7), Nizhny has different issues. Not counting the blowout loss to CSKA, every game in recent weeks has been a rollercoaster ride. Twice, Nizhny has squeaked out wins down the streak and twice let wins slip away. In the game vs. Astana, Zoran Lukic’s club failed to match its average of 84 points, but significantly better defense proved enough for a win. On the other hand, Nizhny lost by 10 in the FIBA Europe Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, despite Stevan Jelovac’s double-double (28 points and 12 rebounds).
Monday, March 26
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 MSK)
Place: USH CSKA, Moscow, Russia
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
CSKA: The Army Men are clicking at the right time. CSKA won twice in the EuroLeague, taking down rivals Khimki and Olympiacos in convincing fashion. Dimitris Itoudis may let several of his players get some rest vs. Enisey, but will still be a heavy favorite, given the multiple weapons on the bench. Nando De Colo led the team in scoring vs. Olympiacos with 25 points, for example, while Leo Westemann’s perimeter shooting and Othello Hunter’s dominance in the paint was the key to victory vs. Khimki.
Enisey: Krasnoyarsk has yet to win in 11 tries vs. CSKA. Monday’s game won’t be easy, for objective reasons. Rebounding is the only category in which Enisey has the upper hand (37.1 vs. 35.8), but Hunter and Hines have shored up CSKA’s rebounding in recent weeks, making the Army Men even more difficult to stop. Enisey’s best chance may be to take advantage of the home team’s fatigue from playing in the EuroLeague, but CSKA has proved over and over again this season that it has plenty in the tank.
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 MSK)
Place: BCMO, Khimki, Russia
TV: Match TV, VTB-League.com
Khimki: At the beginning of the season, both of these teams were expected to contend for 1st place and a high seed in the playoffs. But with less than two months remaining, six games separate the two teams. Despite the 9-8 record in the VTB United League, Moscow Region has enjoyed a strong campaign in the EuroLeague, clinching a first-ever spot in the postseason with a win over Anadolu Efes earlier in the week. The following game vs. CSKA, however, exposed some of the team’s deficiencies, such as defensive rebounding (the Army Men pulled down 15 offensive boards). Kazan has a dominant rebounder in Stephane Lasme, who could cause trouble for Thomas Robinson and co.
UNICS: Kazan has not played in the United League in three weeks, ever since crushing Lokomotiv at home to tighten its grip on 1st place. The team stumbled, however, in the EuroCup, bouncing out to Bayern in the quarterfinals. With back-to-back games vs. Khimki and CSKA up next, UNICS has a tremendous opportunity to lock down a top seed in the VTB United League playoffs. Kazan’s best bet in Moscow Region is to copy the CSKA strategy: Aggressive basketball on every inch of the court, constant ball movement and pressure in the paint.
