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Darussafaka can decide which opponent to play in the semis

Things are pretty straightforward in the Turkish championship. Efes will win the top spot in regular season if they win this. If they lose, Fenerbahce will get the top spot. Darussafaka will finish in spot 4 either way, which means that they will meet the top table team from regular season in the potential semifinals. That means they can now choose who will that be. Efes seem like a better choice but for that, Darussafaka need to lose today

This is the only game out of the last three in regular season which has any kind of importance. But, it's important only for one of the teams - Efes. After Fenerbahce beat Usak on Saturday home, Ahmet Caki's team is now one win short and need a triumph against the city rivals to tie the record with Fener and, in turn, stay in spot one since they have a better head-to-head record. 

Efes are on a two-game winning run before this match, both of which were recorded after Caki took over. After Ivkovic got sacked, he was made the head coach. We can't really make conclusions after just two games but Efes limited their opponents to under 67 points in both, which is definitely different compared to Ivkovic's Efes.

Efes were particularly convincing last Wednesday when they beat TED by 23 points in Ankara last Wednesday. That was a close match at the beginning but Efes started getting ahead in the second quarter and didn't stop until the very end. They opened the final quarter with a 12-point lead and won it by 11.

- The win made us stay at the top. Individual mistakes caused us trouble in the first half. We responded and took control in the second half. We won the match without losing control - Caki said. 

That loss of control was often deadly for Efes but things seem a bit more disciplined now. The new coach made some changes, he does not go small with Sarić or Brown at five. Saric gets less time on the floor since the new coach took over. He got 15 minutes against Gaziantep and didn't play the TED game. Balbay, Batuk and Korkmaz now get more time on the floor. Obviously, the new coach prefers Turkish players. 

Efes will be without Diebler today again.

Darussafaka won 8 out of the last 9 league games and that was still not enough for them to get spot 3. But, everything might turn out to be fine in the end. Spot 4 will see them play Banvit in the quarterfinals, which means Dacka will have the home court advantage but it also means they are to face Efes in the potential semifinals, if they lost to them today. That basically means that Darussafaka can decide which team to play in the semis - Efes or Fener. Efes would bea  better choice, which is why it's in Darussafaka's best interest not to try too hard today. 

Mahmuti doesn't seem like someone who would lose deliberately but no one would blame him for doing it today. Bartzokas, for example, tanked the VTB quarterfinals for Euroleague Final Four.

Darussafaka are on a 3-game winning run ahead of this derby match. They played a fast-pace game only with Istanbul, while they relied on their trademark defense more against Turk Telekom and Trabzon. There were more ups and down in their game in that last meeting but they still won easily. Wilbekin played only 13 and a half minutes but no one spent more than 27 on the floor (Gordon).

- It's an important win. We are trying to get ready for the playoffs and we manage to win only when we give it our best on the floor. That kind of a game demands a lot of effort and focus. Some players get more minutes, some rest - coach Mahmuti said, while center Harangody added:

- We are focused on the playoffs even at practice sessions.

They already played Efes three times this season (once in the league, twice in EL). The first win is, given the circumstances, not very likely to happen today...

I think Darussafaka will not go full throttle in this game and that is why I'm going with this- Coach Mahmuti says he needs to rest some players for the playoffs, while power forward Harangody said they are focused on the playoffs even at practice sessions. That means their minds are already somewhere else, not on this game which is not important for them at all. They can afford to choose their opponents in the potential semis. A defeat for the visitors today woulds see Efes finish top table and if Harangody and others go past Banit, they will face today's opponents in the semifinals. That is a better option than meeting Fener, who would finish top table if Darussafaka beat Efes. It took me a while to decide whether to go with a sure win or a handicap but this is my reasoning behind this decision - if Darussafaka decide to tank this, they will not do it to lose by 2-3 goals. Besides, the home team have motivation because top table spot brings them home court advantage throughout the playoffs. We have 3-0 in head-to-head matches. They won the EL game here by 13 points. On top of everything, Efes got better after Ivkovic left and seem more serious, mostly in defense which is very important. They have enough talent to hit enough points anyway.