UNICS (Kazan) vs. Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar)
Place: Kazan, Basket Hall
Time: March 2, 14:00 (Moscow time)
Broadcast: TV Start, Match TV, League website
Everything you need to know
UNICS is the only team in Group A that currently has a winning streak of 2 or more games. It’s a paradox: all other teams have failed in their last or penultimate game before the All-Star Game break. The Kazan team has 5 wins in a row and gained a decent momentum and seem to be serious about competing with CSKA for the first line in the standings.
As for Loko, after a bad start to the season, the vice-champion has made a huge impact that has led the team to third place before the All-Star Game. However, the opening game of the second stage spoiled the impression of a pretty young team – the Krasnodar team lost by 39 points.
Why can win…
UNICS: The reigning champion is the hottest team in the League right now (along with Uralmash, who also has 5 straight wins). The Kazan team hasn’t lost since January 13 and been good against both top defensive teams (Zenit, CSKA) and strong offensive opponents (Enisey).
Each of the previous 4 games had a different hero: Jalen Reynolds off the bench against MBA (19 points), Nenad Dimitrijevic against Avtodor (35 + 6 points + 6 rebounds + 4 steals), Dmitry Kulagin against CSKA (27), and Erick Green off the bench against Enisey (31 + 5 rebounds).
In addition, UNICS has improved its team defense and now ranks second among the best defensive teams of the season with allowing to score 74.4 points per game.
Lokomotiv Kuban: It’s going to be tough in Kazan, especially considering the disappointing trip to St. Petersburg 2 weeks ago. However, the loss against Zenit should help Aleksander Sekulic team highlight weaknesses and show once again what any relaxation leads to.
Krasnodar also has a joker – DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, who has been in good shape and took the All-Star Game MVP with 44 points. By the way, almost 3 months ago, the forward was the hero of the Krasnodar team versus UNICS: Loko made their biggest comeback, and Akoon-Purcell finished the game with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Standings motivation
At the end of 2023, it looked like CSKA would never give up the top spot, but the Army team losses and UNICS’ winning streak allowed the Kazan team to get as close as possible. Win against Loko will only improve Perasovic team chances of winning the regular season and will allow the reigning champion to equal the leaders in the standings.
A loss wouldn’t be critical for UNICS, but in this case, the Kazan team would allow Loko to get within 1 win. And that’s great motivation for the Krasnodar team, who clearly want to get higher before the Playoffs. However, the Group A standing is so tight that any upset could drop the team down a spot, and now Lokomotiv Kuban is in danger of giving Zenit their third-place. Enisey and PARMA are already 2 wins away.
