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The Turkish champion already seems powerful

A curiosity before the match is the fact that they met three times in the pre-season. The Turks won two times, and the Italians won only once, but in all the matches, neither of the teams was complete.

Siena return to the Euroleague after a very good season, where they managed to defend the champion's title for the seventh time in a row, despite of the numerous changes in the team. They haven't played exceptionally in the Euroleague, although they started off with five wins. However, they achieved only two more wins until the end.

This season, the team is completely changed, the assistant coach Crespi took over the role of head coach. They lost two important players, Bobby Brown and David Moss, but in spite of that, they seem to have assembled a respectable team. Ortner, Ress and the marvelous Hackett stayed in the team, and Siena's game completely depends on them.

After winning the Supercup in a match against Varese, they also recorded a convincing win in the championship. They defeated Vanoli with a 97-82 score. From the beginning to the end, Siena dominated the game, increasing the score-difference towards the end. They outperformed the opponent in every aspect of the game, scoring 12 out of 26 3-pointers, and 64.3% in 2-pointers. The list of scorers was headed by English with 22 points, Carter scored 18, while Hunter, Nelson and Green scored 12 points each. Nelson played a terrific game under the basket, scoring 12 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists.

-We played a very good match against a team who tend to run a lot. We played well in the offense, our shot efficiency was high, but only when we started playing defense, did we manage to make a significant score-difference. We will face Galatasaray next, a team who are stronger than us and deserves a place in the European Top 8 - said coach Crespi.

Green's lack of experience in playing European matches could pose a great problem, so we could be seeing Haccket a lot on the 1. This is exactly why they decided to  sign Rochesti, the third playmaker who has some experience and is more oriented on seeking out other players than Green. In the last two matches, the small forward Carter turned out to be a great reinforcement, scoring 18 points in both matches. Alongside Haccket, he'll pose the biggest threat to the Turkish team. They are rather weak under the basket, Hunter and Nelson have gathered most game-time playing side by side, while Ress and Ortner get only around 10 minutes.

-We are excited to be playing in the Euroleague once again. Galatasaray are a strong team, with players such as Jamont Gordon, Jawai, Domercant and Arroyo. We are a versatile team and we have to play a fearless game - said the team's captain, Ress.

It is interesting that Siena have six rookies in the Euroleague: Cournooh, Hunther, English, Green, Udom and Carter. One thing is sure, they are facing a difficult task against a team with one of the best defenses in Europe.

The Turkish champions will optimistically come to Siena, and not without cause.They started the season with a number of strong matches.

-We have the advantage of having played two derbies at the beginning of the season - said coach Ergin Ataman, after they unfortunately lost the Supercup in the match against Fenerbahce (64-62), and then disheveled Efes Pilsen in last week's derby in Istanbul.

Every Euroleague match is a derby to us. Siena are an experienced team who play aggressive basketball - Ataman added.

If his guys repeat the approach and the defense they showed in the match against Efes, the Italians won't be able to show off. The match ended with a 85-67 score. It could've been even worse if they hadn't lost the last leg 27-17. That's the real picture of their superiority. After only 10 minutes, they had a 27-13 lead. It was one of those scoring nights, when everything goes according to plan. They scored 16 out of 31 three-pointers, over 50%.

-We did an especially good job on the ball flow, we crushed their offensive schemes through defense. The score difference was big from the beginning, and we controlled the match later on - Ataman was content.

In all the home games, three in the Cup, the Supercup match against Fener, and the match against Efes, Ataman left Milan Macvan and Manucar Markoisvili out of rotation, due to the limitations of the number of foreigners. In the Euroleague, there are no such regulations, so they'll be in the roster, as additional alternatives to the exceptional team. Macvan will supplement Erceg, who scored 19 points against Efes, asserting himself as the first power forward. It will be interesting to follow Ataman's ideas and the expanded rotation which we'll have the chance to see in the Euroleague.

-It will be a top-level match. We played against them three times in the pre-season, but neither of the teams was complete. We have to give our best in defense, as well as in the offense, in order to win - said Erwin Dudley.

Siena have had a very good start of the season, pounding Varese with 81 in the Supercup and Cremona with 97 in the championship, but regardless of that, I don't think they will get anywhere near the 75.5 points margin today. The reason is the Galatasaray defense, one of the best defensive lineups in the game. Proof of that are their opponents' scores so far: Besiktas 67, Aliaga 63, Usak 67, Fenerbahce 64, Anadolu Efes 67. It is very clear that Siena will not get to run and gun the way they did vs Cremona, as Galata will slow them down as much as possible. Hackett is in for a hard evening as Ataman will probably stick Gordon on him, one of the best defense guards, and if needed Domercant is there as well. Aroyo will follow Green and English, players who lack a good overview of the game and like to take a lot of bad shots, and lose balls. Closing off Siena's forward Carter is the key to this bet, and Galata have solutions for this as well, Markoishvili and Akyol. Siena are weakest in the paint, with Nelson as their best man under the rim, and Galata have antidotes for him in Dagli and Jawai. Ress could be dangerous with his perimeter shots, but there are Aldemir, Macvan and Erceg to solve that, and I'm convinced Ataman will completely shut down that part of the game for Siena. Looking at the big picture, I just don't know how a team with six first timers in their first euro game everyone is eagerly anticipating, can score more than 75 points to one of the best defenses in Europe. Interestingly, they played each other three times in the preseason period, with Siena scoring 82 at the start of the period, and 63 and 75 in the other two games. In a game as important as this one, I see Siena at around 70 points. CSKA demonstrated in the preparation period what Siena can do vs a strong defensive team, leaving them at 47 points. Galata for the win also seems a good option for a somewhat smaller bet.