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Oldenburg without their main playmaker

Dru Joyce has earned a one-game suspension. One could say it came in a bad moment as his team will host the mighty Bayern today, a team which confirmed their good form a few days ago in Kaunas

Oldenburg could rest easy when Brose beat Frankfurt yesterday. This means the hosts here have practically secured their place in the qualifications for the BBL Cup finals. This is very important as the form of German vice-champions is not good. This team has lost four out of last six league games. Their last defeat happened on Friday in Berlin when they met the motivated Alba who practically settled the game after the first 10 minutes. 

The Berlin team had a 20-point lead at the start of the second period and this increased to +25 by half time while they only finished their job afterwards. Oldenburg had 17 rebounds less and they seemed unable to defend anything. They were also very poor in offense. Their three-pointer was 4/17 (24 percent). The only noteworthy performance was that by their small forward Rickey Paulding who got 6/10 and 13 points. Julius Jenkins and Nemanja Aleksandrov also got double-digit score with a combined field goal of 8/24.

- Alba won this game quite deservedly. They were more aggressive, they found their rhythm faster and they dictated the tempo afterwards. The only comfort left for us was that we won the second half - said Sebastian Machowski.

This expert will have some more problems today. Not only are the steaming hot Bayern coming to visit but they also lost their main playmaker Dru Joyce on Friday. The American made a stupid mistake against Alba as he elbowed Akeem Vargas in the face when the scoreline was 44-72.The discipline committee gave him a fine of 2,000 euros and one game of suspension.

- Now the other players will have to take responsibility - said Machowski who will have to use shooting guards Chris Kramer and Julius Jenkins as point guards in this game.

This could cause some major problems in the organization of their game. Oldenburg only got 8 assists against Alba (Joyce in 17 minutes). They have no real substitute point guard as Kevin Smith is the nominal reserve PG, but he almost hasn't played at all this season and he hasn't had a single assist. 

- We are hoping our fans and our players will give their best so that we defend a good score against the Bavarians - said Machowski. 

Oldenburg have won both games against Bayern in the past two season, but the Munich club are dominant this season. They've only had one defeat this season (Alba away) and they currently have a run of seven wins. If you include the Euroleague games, they have a run of 5 wins. Their handled their trip to Kaunas on Friday without any problems as they were up by 12 points at half-time against Žalgiris. The game was put to bed in the third period as their lead surpassed 20 points. A bit of relaxation in the last period enabled the Lithuanians to embellish the scoreline a bit.

- We were motivated and concentrated. We managed to slow Dentomn down. In general, our team defense was great, especially i the first 25 minutes which gave us additional confidence - said coach Svetislav Pešić.

The most important thing for Bayern is to set their fast rhythm and the did exactly in Kaunas. They had 65 shots (10/21 for 3 points) with a 50 % efficiency for 2. Their point guard Malcolm Delaney scored 14 points, Heiko Schaffartzik and Bryce Taylor added 12 each. You can say that the Bavarians managed to get a convincing win without too much contribution from their centers. No players from the Bryant-Troutman-Thompson-Ibdihi-Savović quintet was brilliant. Considering the fact that Oldenburg are missing their main center Adam Chubb and Aleksandrov is more of an outside player, I'd say the away team definitely have the upper hand here.

- Today's game is one of the most important games in the first part of the season. The fact that Oldenburg lost against Alba means very little. They're a complete team that got reinforced by Philipp Neumann in the paint and have always been dangerous from the perimeter. I expect an interesting game - said Pešić.

The Bavarians will have Nihad Đedović at their disposal but their last two games and convincing wins over Ulm and Žalgiris have proved they can do without him. The width of their squad is their biggest quality this season.

- The with in Lithuania is very important but we have an equally important game against Oldenburg - added Heiko Schaffartzik. 

In theory, this is a derby but in reality, form, quality, and the current situation largely speak in favor of the away team. Bayern lost both games against Oldenburg last year and this will be a huge motivation for them today. The Bayern form last year and the one from today cannot be compared as they are now a team dominating the German league, they have the widest bench and they showed what form they are in on Friday as the beat Žalgiris in Kaunas without any problem whatsoever. They could have easily beaten them by 20 points had the Bavarians not relaxed in the last period. Oldenburg have been fluctuating a lot lately and this is not the level of play from last year. They have four consecutive defeats at home and they were heavily defeated in Berlin on Friday. The suspension for their first point guard Joyce hurt more than the defeat itself as they have no real replacement for him. Their reserve point guard Smit practically hasn't played at all this season and they will use Jenkins and Kramker, typical shooting guards, as point guards and the question is how this will turn out. In addition, Oldenburg are far from convincing in the paint. Their first center Chubb hasn't played this whole season and Italian Crosariol is not at this level. Aleksadnrov is pretty poor in defense as a power forward, and Smeulders has only recovered recently...Bayern are well-equipped under the rim (Troutman, Thompson, Bryant…) and should have an advantage in rebounds. All in all, the only advantage Oldenburg have is the home court while everything else suggests that this game will not be very tight.