Astana, Samara, Saratov and Krasnodar will host 4 regular season games on Thursday.
Astana (Astana) – UNICS (Kazan)
Time: 19:30 (16:30 Moscow time)
Place: Kazakhstan, Astana, Saryarka
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, Match! Igra, League website
Astana: Astana beat Avtodor at home last week, ended the winning streak and played equally against PARMA-PARI, losing only in the fourth quarter. Oleg Kiselev team has left the last place in the standings and has every chance to improve by the end of 2022. Of course, it will be extremely difficult to play with UNICS, the last win over the Kazan team was more than 3 years ago – in March 2019. Nevertheless, Astana is gradually improving and the recent Zenit loss in Saratov shows that a sensation can happen in every United League game.
UNICS: Nevertheless, the Kazan team is a clear favorite. This is confirmed by the first teams game on October 16, when UNICS won had the biggest win of the season. Since then, Astana roster has changed, but not so much. For UNICS, it is important not to lose against the opponents from the bottom of the standings, so one of the coaching staff main tasks is to set up the team to battle and not allow players to underestimate opponents.
Samara (Samara) – Pari Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod)
Time: 19:00 (18:00 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Samara, SCC Dvorets Sporta
Broadcast: League Website
Samara: A uncomfortable schedule with a large number of the road games affected the League newcomer results. 3 consecutive losses have pushed Samara to the 8th place, but there are still chances of getting into the Top 6 according to the results of the first stage of the regular season. And a home game with Pari NN is a great opportunity to improve things and get closer to the competitors. Samara already knows how to beat Zoran Lukic team: in October in Nizhny Novgorod, the League newcomer won with a 38-point lead, allowing the opponent to score only 52 points! Now the balance slightly different, which was influenced by injuries and illnesses. Nevertheless, Samara can show character and finish 2022 with a home game. But Sergey Bazarevich team need to figure out how to beat the opponents defense – Pari NN is among the top best teams of the season in defense, letting posing teams score 75.7 points.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: That loss against Samara became the biggest home loss for Nizhny Novgorod this season. In that game, Zoran Lukic team could not score for more than 7 minutes in the second quarter, allowing Samara leaders Ennis and Knight to make a 20-point run. Now Pari NN is going for a rematch, but it just won’t happen: in the previous game against UNICS, Jermaine Love and Dmitry Khvostov did not play. There is no info about their participation in Samara, which makes the game result even more unpredictable. However, Pari NN really works well in defense. A win in Samara does not guarantee Lukic team the Top 6 place, but it will bring it as close as possible. And in case of Loko loss against PARMA-PAR, NN will finish the 2022 at the 5th place.
Avtodor (Saratov) – MINSK (Minsk)
Time: 19:30 (18:30 Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Saratov, DS Kristall
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, League website
Avtodor: The Saratov team defeated the reigning League champion on Sunday – 91:79. Avtodor guard Malik Newman scored 25 points and after that win said that he feels that his team can beat anyone at the moment. His words can be proves on Thursday – the champion of Belarus is coming to Saratov. 2 months ago in Minsk, Avtodor won with 25-point difference. However, since then MINSK has strengthened and the Saratov team has roster problems – Ryan Boatwright, Brandon Garrett and Evgeniy Kolesnikov did not play against Zenit due to injuries and illnesses. However, even without them, Avtodor has excellent chances to win over MINSK – Avtodor surpasses its rival in all stats.
MINSK: However, the Belarusian team is also not everyone is healthy. One of the main MINSK problems is the absence of Zach Smith and Darol Hernandez-Zinenko, who averaged more than 17 rebounds per game. With such roster, the Belarusian team had a good game against MBA on the road, letting the Moscow team to go ahead only in the 4th quarter. MINSK is able to beat Avtodor, but for this it is important to play without mistakes and without giving extra space to the opposing team shooters.
Lokomotiv Kuban (Krasnodar) – PARMA-PARI (Perm)
Time: 20:00 (Moscow time)
Place: Russia, Krasnodar, Basket Hall
Broadcast: TV Start Triumph, Match TV, League website
Lokomotiv Kuban: The previous game of these teams was incredible. The Perm team had excellent chances to win, but Loko moved the game into overtime with Zakhar Vedishchev three-pointers. In the extra 5 minutes, Loko was stronger. Since that game, the Krasnodar team has noticeably strengthened the squad by signing 3 foreign players and two of them have already debuted. The game against PARMA-PARI is especially important for Loko from the point of the standings: with the win, Loko guarantee a place in the Top 6. In case of loss, the team will only allow the Perm team to get closer.
PARMA-PARI: PARMA finally ended the losing streak and has already won 2 games in a row, which allowed to return to the 7th place. For PARMA-PARI, the game in Krasnodar is incredibly important, because if Evgeny Pashutin team will lose, it will complicate the position. The positive aspect is the return of all the leaders, which makes the Perm team even more dangerous. It is important that the coaching staff relies not only on foreign players, but also trusts young Russians. So, in the game against Astana, Danila Pokhodiaev had his best scoring game (19 points) and he got into the Team of the Round. PARMA-PARI is worse in average performance, rebounds and ball control, but in such an important game for both teams, the game result will be determined by the details.
