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Sassari's coach admitted it himself, his team's defence isn't impressive, and neither was it impressive last year. They're extremely offensive-oriented and too dependent on outside shots. They might have some problems there since Oldenburg are particularly strong in the back court when it comes to defence. Joyce, Kramer and Paulding are known for their aggressive defence and I think they can limit the Italians' shot quite a bit. In terms of paint, Oldenburg are physically stronger, and Sassari have no real centre. Moreover, the German team are known for their good home games. For example, they recently defeated the powerful Artland with +22 at home, and this weekend they led +19 against Trier in the fourth quarter, after which they started slacking. Oldenburg's excellent teamwork should also be noted, since their team is almost unchanged compared to last year's, while the Italians' roster has been sufficiently altered. Details

This Asseco has nothing to do with any of their previous seasons' teams. This is a completely different team, rejuvenated and altered. The preseason showed that they will need a lot of time to coordinate the players and put things into working order. The transfer window is still ongoing in that team and it remains to be seen when will they all gel together. Their preseason games were mostly low-scoring affairs. For example, against Kotwica, whose defense isn't too good, they won 67-49, but they lost to Polpharma 58-77 and 66-74. They were defeated by Anwil 60-74, 56-71 by Slask, 52-70 by Trefl. This is not a surprise, as coach Dedek showed strong defensive tendencies last season at Start. The visitors from Koszalin don't have a good preseason behind them either, but the team has remained in coach Sretenovic's hands, which should warrant a disciplined and defensive basketball, just like last season. In terms of player quality, they definitely have the advantage, as well as in terms of physical power, especially in the paint. Details

Hagen's style is well-known, and today they'll face the team that plays basically the same. Run and gun style of the home team almost can't get a better opponent than Rasta who continued the very fast game in the first league, just like last year when they had 93 points per game in the second league. Hagen will be able to develop their game, and with a constant pressure and double teaming in the defense, they'll force the guests to shorter offenses. Home team had 92 points total against the Bayreuth in the last round, a round before Wurzburg 86, and Bayreuth has a really good defense. They had 99 points per game in the pre-season. For example, they had 101 total against Telekom, and Rasta conceded 96 total by Telekom a few days prior. Hagen had 76 shoots out of the game against Bayreuth, with 30-ish free throws. It best describes their game. The 93 points margin seems pretty high, but considering the home team style of play, and the similar style by the guests, that margin seems very reachable. Details

Two teams with similar playing styles are meeting each other already in the opening week of Poland's elite basketball competition. They are very offense-minded teams who have faced one another twice in the preseason, and fast-paced, run-and-gun basketball was on display on both occasions. Their defenses, however, are much weaker. Tarnobrzeg won 90-73 at home, and lost at Radom 71-89. It should be pointed out that Rosa's two top scorers didn't play in those games. Last season these teams met in four league games and none of those ended below 160 points. Tarnobrzeg mostly played high-scoring games in the preseason and were unconvincing in the defense. For example, they allowed 92 points to Kotwice, 88 to Trefl, 88 to Anwil... This is a team in which several US players are given full rein, they tend to play short attacks and rely on outside shooting. This kind of approach certainly suits the home team and an attractive game of basketball can be expected here. Details

Artland proved to be a good defense oriented team. But, that impression was ruined on Wednesday against Oldenburg. They could no longer keep up in the second halftime, and realizing what is about to happen, coach McCoy decided to rest his best players in the final quarter. Artland's performance is quite different home and away. For example, Tübingen manged to score only 60 points against them in the first round, Alba only 66 in the second one. Their game got more aggressive since they've got a new coach, they have two very physically dominant centers in the key. They were the only team that managed to beat Brose in both of their head to head matches last year. Both of those matches were defense oriented. Brose still remember all the troubles they went through at Artland's arena, so they plan to respond to Artland's aggressive game with even more aggression. They can definitely keep up with their opponent physically. Brose played Tübingen on Wednesday and allowed them to score only 62 points, but they haven't been themselves in the two matches they played away so far. Brose are definitely playing the role of favorite, but Artland, who are traditionally good home, also stand a chance. Details

Telekom are a typical home team who were close to winning in the first round against powerful Bayern. They scored more than 80 points in that match, and Bayern's faster pace certainly suited them since they try to play as fast as possible transition as well, lead by their point guard Jared Jordan. That is why their opponent today should suit them as well. Rasta Vecha proved in the first few rounds that they will stick to their game - short attacks, and many three point attempts...Their problem is second worst efficiency in the league. Trier, who are not particular oriented on offense, managed to score 84 point against them in the first round. Rasta's centers are not that good and that is a segment which Telekom should be dominating over thanks to their tall players who move swiftly. To summarize, the visiting team's style agrees with the home team, and they should go over this margin with average shooting. Details

In the first league Rasta Vechta resumes with their style of play from the second league. It's "run and gun" basketball with fast attacks and numerous three-point shots. For example, against Trier who are a defensive-driven team, they had 78 shots. They almost scored 90 points and they took the win. In pre-season games they also showed their typical play. Against Manresa they played 91-89, against Leeuwerdena 111-71, Bakkena 91-84, Gothe 111-89… They generally both score and concede a lot of points. Last year they averaged 92 points in their home games. The coach is the same, the star players are the same and there won't be any significant changes in strategy. Ludwigsburg is without doubt a better defensive team but unlike last season, this year they arranged it so that they are more convincing in the offense. They have fast transition and the "softer" approach of the hosts will soothe them fine. Details

Although Ulm have lost to Braunschweig in the first round, they have shown much more than Bremerhaven. Bremerhaven continue to play bad like in the preseason. They also have injury problems, so it is unlikely that they will be able to cope against Ulm, who are always strong at home. Ulm should fancy the away team playing quick and attacking, with loose defending as they have better players in the roster, especially the guard positions. With Bremerhaven playing poorly as they were in the preseason and the start of the season, I expect Ulm to be at their attacking best today. The away team are missing two key defensive players, Jackson and Searcy, so they lack quality in the paint to profit on the only weakness in the Ulm team. Jackson's absence means the away team can't really stop Ulm's top shooters, Hess and Long, while it can't be expected they'll dominate rebounds without Searcy. Details

Although Ulm won against Bayern in the last preparation match on Sunday, I doubt they can shoot for three-pointers with 70% efficiency today. Braunschweing showed excellent performances during the preparation time, they are a well organized team with some very good defensive players. Above all it is Immanuel McElroy whose task will be to stop the best three-point shooter of Ulm, Adam Hess. With Nan and Visser the home team have centers which are capable of handling the tall away team players, especially after John Bryant left. That is not the only problem of Ulm. The forward Matt Howard is feeling consequences of a minor injury for a while and Nankivil, Theis and Plaisted haven't done full preparations either. Today they won't be able to count on the playmaker Mason-Griffin and the important forward Schwethelm. As the young Till Jönke is also questionable, the only solution for the playmaker is Per Günter. At the last moment they brought the lesser known Dominican Edgar Sosa. If Ulm were completely consolidated and healthy, favoring them would make sense, but now at the start of the season I think it is a 50-50 match which could be decided by only a few points. Details

Ludwigsburg were almost relegated last year, but they stayed in the first league only because a second division team failed to acquire the necessary licence. Coach Patrick used the summer to create a completely new team as he saw fit. They played a few good matches in the preparation period. They beat Brose, Tübingen, even France's Nancy 74-68 in the last one, just to mention a few. Patrick' good tactics, aggressive defense and fast transition, proved to be working once again in that match. That defensive aggression is not good for the visiting team at all. Bremerhaven did really badly in the preparation period, especially when it comes to defense. Coach Oldham admits they have to work on it a lot. They lost 98-72 to Bronse, 110-75 to Oostende, 86-67 to Leuven, 96-80 to Oldenburg, and 69-56 to Gröningen in the last preparation period match. All the most important players left last season, this is a completely new team, and it's more than obvious they lack a defensive expert that was Jacub Burtschi. Another problem are their starting line up players' injuries (Jacson and Searcy). Center Searcy who had a good preparation period might be greatly missed. Details

There are three main reasons why Kazan should win convincingly in this game. The first is the fact that they are a better team than the guests, and they have not lost at home yet . On the last away tour they managed to win in a very tough away games against Prague and Riga, which is a good indicator that they are capturing the right form. This applies especially to the defense game. For seven games in a row they did not receive more than two goals (average 1.67). Another reason is the form of their goalkeeper. Kazan's duo Barulin-Garipov shared the third place in the league with a percentage of saves (94.6) and it does not matter which one of them will start today. In the goalkeeping segment, Severstal is certainly in a subordinate position. The third reason is the form. Severstal has so far lost all three matches away, and the only victory it reached at home was against the poor Dinamo Minsk and the impressioned Medvescak. They were always losing at home against a bit stronger opponents. Compared to the last year, they are significantly weakened, and now can not count on two of their four best defenders. Kazan is probably the strongest team in the east and the strongest club with which Severstal meets this season. The hosts have rested, and are certainly motivated in front of their fans, and I think that it will be difficult to avoid a convincing defeat. When Kazan is concerned, it is always a good option to play a team set under Severstal, but practically it is always profitable to play only on the margin of 1.5 goals. So handicap acts as a better option. Details

Unlike in the first few rounds, both Traktor and Magnitogorsk significantly improved their defense. It looks much more coordinated and firmer, exactly according to the expectations ahead of the season because of the lineup and defensively orientated coaches. Traktor conceded only three goals in four matches since they returned to their arena. In the last round they left Sibir without goals. They are not so dominant in the offense, partially because of the injury of the main forward Kuznetsov. The goalie Michael Garnett didn't go under 94% of saves in that period. Another great goalie, Magnitogorsk's Koshechkin, also has the same percentage. So the away team conceded five goals in the last four rounds. In the last round they scored 6 against Amur and 4 against Admiral the round earlier but the defenses of those teams cannot be compared to Traktor's. In addition it should be noted that both Amur and Admiral were on long away tours which significantly improved the advantage of Magnitogorsk. Against Traktor they have a division derby which is usually very feisty. They have gone over the total of 5 goals only once in their last eight duels (in the preparation match). Details

Barys and SKA have so far displayed the best offensive game in the league. The home team has a 15-4 goal difference in the first two rounds, and the visiting team 16-6. It's not surprising. Barys has been well known for their offensive game style for years now, which is lead by their North-American trio - Boyd-Dawes-Bochenski. They have already acquired 13 points together. A big plus for the home team is good co-operation between other offensive trios, the second and the third one, made up by the best Kazakh players. It's not very likely that they will give up on their offensive game style, and SKA in that respect very similar to them, and their offense is better than their defense. Last year, for instance, in their two head-to-head championship games, they scored 10 and 9 goals. Barys scored 5 goals home, and 3 away. Details