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Total points margin was based on stats and I think it's at least 2-3 points off. Granted, Pinherios are a good in offense, averaging 82.9 points, while conceding 85.7. They seem to be the team that mostly plays overs and that is true. What stats don't reveal is that they were incredibly good in offense in that game with Uberland that ended with 180 points in total. Days had field goal efficiency of 100% back then and that is something that doesn't happen every day. The first quarter resulted in the faster pace of the whole game and Pinherios now call for a game in which their offense will play the key role. Minas are an offense-oriented team, no matter how bad that might sound.They concede only 70 points per game and win on account of good defense performances. Only Limeira managed to score more than 80 points (83) against them so far, while they limited Baura, the most efficient team in the league. Minas cannot match Pinheiros' offense, and the home team clearly don't have what it takes to beat Minas' defense. They scored 65 to Pameiras, 68 to Franca, and 55 to Baura. All those teams are weaker than Minas defense-wise. Both teams said they want to play good defense in order to win and I think we're going to see a slower-pace game that will end at about 150 points. Details

I've been toying with more options at this game. Counterhandicap at Zvezda (that the won't lose by 7 or more points) is a very good option, just like total points over (156.5) but I think the best choice here is Maccabi's under (80.5). There's no need to explain why I chose this since they're playing Zvezda, a team with brilliant defense that's been conceding an average of 73.4 points in 11 Euroleague matches, that crazy game with Galatasaray that ended with the Turkish team scoring a total of 110 points after 2 overtimes included. Without that match, Zvezda are right next to the top Euroleague defense (Efes, 69.7 points). The fact this is their third game in only 7 days will be additional reason for the Serbian team to try and bring the game to a slower pace. Maccabi will try and bring the speed up but Zvezda's defense transition is very good. They also have players capable of defending Maccabi's top offense specialists (Lazic and Jenkins against Smith and Landesberg, Kalinic and Mitrovic against Randle, and Marjanovic against Tyus and Schortsanitis). Only Williams might not be able to cope with Pargo. Zvezda conceded 64 (Olypiacos), 68 (Valencia), 66 (Laboral), 83 (Neptunas), and 82 (Galatasaray) in away games. Maccabi went over this margin home with Limoges (92), Alba (95), and Unicaja (81). Cedevita (73) and CSKA (61) were unders. Clearly, they struggled with productivity when faced with tough offenses. Details

Romania won Southeast Europe championship with team in this age group and that says enough since teams like Turkey, Serbia, and Bulgaria participate in that competition. They are a good-quality team and have gotten even better since Aciobaniei joined. He was the best player at EC for juniors. Finland are a bit of a mystery, not having won a single set in three preparation games with Poland (a bit better than Romania) to record a set-difference of 0-12. I therefore think the bookies have made a mistake here. They gave Finland the role of the favorite because of their past results. If more bookmakers offered this better, I would have gone with medium to high stake. Details

Despite the handicap on Romania, we should try with their win as well. Judging by their results with respectable teams like Turkey, Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria, they seem to be a good team and I think they can beat Finland. I wonder if Finland should even be the favorite today. Details

We cannot miss out on this handicap when Isner is doing like this. Everyone's complaining about the heat, some players were forced to retire, and Isner seems to be worst-affected by the temperatures, which make his normally slow movements even slower. Pavlasek forced Pospisil into a tie-break and beat Fognini, which is the greatest win of his carrier. He's on a roll, while Isner doesn't seem to be doing well. It might be the conditions or the fact he got injured here once. He had one break in three sets that ended in tie-breaks against Fognini and didn't stand a chance against Pospisil. Details

Kudos to Ito for what he's done last year, but he still wasn't close to what Garcia did. Although it's usual that he had his bad sides, the Spaniard ended with 25 ATP wins while the Japanese managed only three. The game is here obviously on the side of the 36th player of the world who is good this year. Against the dangerous Donskoy he missed the first set, but pulverized him after. In the following two sets he didn't allow for a single break and it seems like this tournament is good for him; in which he played both the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Ito found himself in the second round thanks to a good roster. He convincingly beat the little-known Ramanathan, but that was expected, and now he's up for something else. I'm convinced Garcia is at least one bar above Ito and today the match will depend on him. He's motivated, aware of the chance and I expect him to win in a match where he will cover this handicap without a problem. Details

As the tournament advances, the margin at Kvitova's matches is going up. This margin is the highest one of the week and I personally don't see any reason for it. In the first two rounds here, Kvitova proved that she wasn't only talking about working on physically fitness, she was actually working on improving it. She's ready, I daresay, like she's never been before. She has not lost her service in two matches, her moving is good and attacking timely. Smitkova still has a lot to prove on hard court. I do appreciate everything she's done last season, but she's not Kvitova's level. She lost a set in both of her matches here, meaning she's not consistent yet. Govortsova and Siniakova failed to take advantage of it, but Kvitova won't. Smitkova won two games against Safarova and only four against Lisicki. Kvitova is better then both of them in almost every segment of the game. She crushed both of her opponents here and I really believe she'll win convincingly once again. Smitkova isn't good enough to be able to stop her. Details

Diyas is in the shape of her life, one of the rare young tennis player who also has exceptional mental energy. She convincingly beats her opponents no matter what their playing style is. She keeps the level of her game at all time and makes her opponents commit errors. Zheng is in pretty bad shape, she has too many amplitudes in game and they last too long, and a payer like Diyas is not her cup of tea. She lost previous matches from worse opponents than Diyas, and the ones she won, she did so unconvincingly. All in all, Diyas should win because of mental and playing domination, and Zheng is a player who suits her very well because currently she's mentally weak and poses no threat. Details

Sharapova said she wants to be No.1 again, which means she's extra motivated, as her opening match here proved. She limited Shvedova to a single game. Everything about Sharapova's game was great, especially her moving. Suarez played another match in three sets and spent 2 and a half hours on the court. Lucic had 4-2 and squandered it all away. Navarro spent most of that match defending, which was expected. She beat Sharapova last season, surprising her with untypical assertiveness. Sharapova learned her lesson and I'm sure she's start fierce and focused today. When she's like that, most opponents stand no chance. Suarez has nothing that could stun Sharapova and the fast conditions are set to make the Russian even a greater danger. Details

The Hornets might be on a 2-game winning run, but they don't stand a chance today, in my opinion Boston and Orlando are not at New Orleans' level quality-wise. The team from Louisiana are finally facing a weaker team, after playing all the playoff teams in the last 10 games. They managed to win half o those games to stay in the race for the playoff and if they plan on keeping the race going, they need to beat teams such as Charlotte. The Hornets are without their top two players (Jefferson, Stephenson). New Orleans' starting five seems to be a lot better than Hornets', who might be in a lot of trouble with defending Davis since they don't have a player who is capable of doing that well. Holliday will be the visiting answer to Walker, who is not well know for being consistent, which is why I wouldn't be surprised with him not doing well like in the two last games. New Orleans are a much better team, which should be visible from the final score. Details

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