A regular season game will be held in the capital of Kazakhstan on Friday.
Friday, December 10
Astana (Kazakhstan) vs. Enisey (Russia)
Time: 19:30 (16:30 Moscow time)
Location: Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, Saryarka Bike Track
Broadcast: TV Start, League website
Rivalry history: 14 matches, Enisey – 8 wins, Astana – 6 wins
Astana: Astana winless series is not as long as Enisey has, but paradoxical: the Kazakh team very stubbornly resisted the two leaders of the League (Avtodor was able to snatch win with a 1 point lead), but then they lost to Kalev without options. Darko Russo noted that a big break in game practice affected – Astana has not played in the United League since November 14. This especially affected the legionnaires who did not play for the national teams: even the opening of the season, Jaylen Barford, who heads the list of the most resultative players in the League, played his worst game of the season, making 3 shots from the field out of 13 and scoring less than 10 points for the first time.
Enisey: The win in the first game of the season over Kalev remains the only one for Enisey – after that, the Krasnoyarsk team suffered five losses in a row. However, the calendar did not favor the Siberian team — in these 5 games they met exclusively with opponents in the Top-6. But in the next 3 games, Enisey will compete with its direct competitors. For Drazen Anzulovic’s team, this is a key opportunity to return to the battle for the playoffs, because then Enisey will have to play against CSKA and Nizhny Novgorod. The team’s newcomer James Thompson did not take part in the game with Zenit, and the St. Petersburg team took full advantage of the weakness of the Enisey front court — the Krasnoyarsk team were able to get only 23 rebounds.
Who to follow: Jaylen Barford will probably want to rehabilitate himself in front of the home stands for the fiasco in the game with Kalev. Moreover, Enisey defense does not look formidable– the Siberian team miss 90.3 points on average per game.
