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Zalgiris beat Real at this arena last season

- Zalgiris are quite the surprise. We didn't think they would be able to cope this well at the beginning. Beating them will be tough - Real's coach Pablo Laso said.

Zaligiris' crisis was short-lived. A win over Lietkabelis in overtime and the defeat to Dinamo Sassari in what was a very crazy game were the two games Krapikas' men didn't do well. Before that, they were on a 6-game winning run that started right after their away game in Madrid.

Zalgiris ended the crisis in an impressive manner - beating Prienai by 29 points. Zalgiris were extremely motivated and head and shoulders above the opponent to take the 14-point lead by the end of the first half. It was a one-sided win for the Lithuanian team that could have ended with a 50-point difference. But, they released the grip as the game advanced to win by 29 points. 

The problems Zalgiris struggled with as they faced Dinamo in Sassari were not as nearly as obvious in the meeting with Prienai. They recorded only 12 turnovers, had good three-pointer efficiency (50%, 16 attempts). Coach Krapikas gave almost all of his players equal time on the floor - Lekavicius was given the most (28 minutes), Gaudaitis 22.5 and Tarolis 20. Anderson, starting five top player spent only 10.5 minutes in the game, which speaks volumes of Zalgiris' dominance. Four of their players recorded double digits - Gaudiatis was the top scorer with 12 points. Every player was given the chance and all of them scored. To summarize, Prienai were like a practice session ahead of the meeting with Real Madrid.

Zalgiris will be back to their Zalgiris Arena after playing UNICS in the old one. 15,500 spectators are expected tonight. Three days before the match, the tickets for the lower sector were sold out, while the rest sells just as rapidly. Everyone wants to see the best European team, that Zaligirs managed to beat last season home lead by a brilliant performance by Dentmon. The American point guard who is not longer at Zalgiris scored 36 points and 7 three-pointers in that game. Anderson is now expected to step in and be the top scorer.

- We are in for a tough game. Playing top-quality teams that have lost the previous game is very difficult. They lost in Istanbul, which means they will be completely focused on winning this. Real have a great roster, they can attack from any position, which will make it more difficult for us, but we won't flinch before the challenge. We are sure the arena will be packed to give us strength throughout the game - coach Krapikas said. He can't count only on point guard Vecvagars, who's been injured for a while now. The young Tarolis will probably be that extra player Krapikas will have to leave off the list.

Real are now aware that Zalgiris are not as easy an opponent as they thought ahead of the season. They struggled with Zalgiris in Madrid, after which the Lithuanians went on to win in Istanbul and to beat Kazan home. That means Real are still far from securing top spot in the group, which is their goal at this stage. That goal was jeopardized last week as they lost to Efes in Istanbul. Llull was keeping Real in the game, but made some crucial mistakes in the last five minutes, allowing Efes' buzzer beater to sink them.

- Zalgiris are quite the surprise. We didn't think they would be able to cope this well at the beginning. Beating them will be tough - Real's coach Pablo Laso said.

His team got back to winning right after Istanbul to beat Murcia by 25 points. The defense did brilliantly, limiting the opponents to a two-point efficiency of 34% and three-point efficiency of 37%. Maciulis had his best game since he joined Real, finishing with 20 points and perfect 4/4 three-point record. Rudy Fernandez was not on the team again and Laso confirmed he's not going to be there today either. Young Campazzo made it in the starting five alongside Maciulis and Llull to finish with 8 points and 6 assists in 30 minutes.

- There will be some changes with regards to out roster. Unlike in our first head-to-head meeting, Rudy is out while Zalgiris now have a lot more confidence and a top scorer in their American. They lost to Sassari, but their game is good.

As for Fernandez, Laso said he hopes Rudy will be back on the team next week.

- It will be tough today, I know how difficult it is to play in Kaunas. They will want to make amends after the defeat in Sassari. Playing my old team will be weird, it's where I grew up and learned about basketball - Maciulis said.

Real scored 10 out of their 17 three-point attempts even though their top scorer Llull didn't score any of his 5 shots. That will certainly not happen again. He's been finishing with 17 and 20 points as Real met Zalgiris last season.

Real are without Fernandez, they struggled in the first h2h, Zalgiris are playing home at the packed Arena and they have been doing great, but Real are at an entirely different level. They have far better players in each position. Real beat them this season already, despite doing badly in that game. Their top players had horrible three point percentages, while Zalgiris ended with three point efficiency of 50%. All that in spite, Zalgiris never got close to threatening Real's lead. The team from Madrid are now much better, with almost no chance of that poor shooting efficiency to happen again. This will end with a double-digit point difference for sure. Real failed in Istanbul and that was enough. They now meet a less tougher opponent that won each of their last h2h games by 20 or more point. I expect the same to happen today.