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Even though the situation dictates that Maccabi desperately need a win and Khimki will still be the first-placed team even if they lose, it's not likely to expect this game to go in that direction. Haifa have outdone their expectations by reaching Round 2 and now they're playing against a team that crushed them by 39 points in the first game. They had their first-choice placers Ofoegbu and Cubillano then and they are out for today. They are without Henning as well, the player brought to replace Ofoegbu. Apart from that, Maccabi had a very difficult league game only 48 hours ago and it is very difficult to expect a team with such short roster to recover so quickly. Khimki's motivation is an important factor here. Even though a win for them changes nothing here, they have a terrific run of 28 wins in all competitions and they surely want to extend their run. There is no need to talk about the quality of this team and the first game showed everything. Today they won't be as convincing but I simply don't see a way for the Israelis to match the superior opponents and I even see the Russians getting a double-digit lead here. Details

Although the margin seems very high at first glance, this is definitely a bet to take. Both Banvit and Hapoel play extremely fast-paced basketball, as shown by their first match, that went to 165 points. This should be even more pronounced today, as the outcome of the game is irrelevant to Hapoel and they can relax even more, and they are a team that was put together top outscore their opponents. Banvit have been very efficient at home this season, going over this margin in 10 of their last 15 matches, and stayed under only vs defensively strong teams such as Uniks, Besiktas or Olimpia. Even when motivated, Hapoel are nowhere near that strong defensively, so this should show even more. In 7 of their last 10 matches Banvit went over 90 points, and they are certainly more than capable of doing so today as well. Details

I think that the best option regarding this game is the point under for the home team. Panathinaikos are traveling to meet Kifisia following a tough game and a bad defeat to Unicaja. Gist, who turned out to be their key player, didn't play that game. He won't play today either. Panathinaikos are struggling quite a lot offense vise without him and that will definitely become obvious today - they're meeting a team who have the best defense in Greece (other than Panathinaikos and Olympiakos). We pointed out on numerous occasions that Kifisia are a well-experienced team whose game manages to numb each and every opponent. They limited their opponents in all the eight away games this season, Olympiacos included, under 71 point. Panathinaikos, on the other hand, played 11 out of the last 12 home game under this margin. That speaks volumes of their game style. No discussion about it, Panathinaikos are the favorit for the win here, but the bookmakers are underestimating Kifisia and their defense potential too much. Panathiakos are just not the same team without Gist, there's also the fatigue from the trip to Malaga and the bad defeat they recorded there. Let us also mention that Panathinakos are playing the EuroLeague game against Olympiakos Thursday, and they definitely won't put too much unnecessary strain on the key players such as Diamantidis here. There are too many arguments for the home team under and I have to take it. Just as good a bet is the counter-handicap because Kifisia will probably not lose this by more than 20 points. Details

We've mentioned a few times that Rethymno are the team which are trying to play the fastest pace basketball in Greece. Apollon will have no problem responding to that because they have quite a few Americans who are fast and love the fast transition. That was very obvious in their first head to head game this season, which ended with 155 scored despite Applon's 5-27 three point record, and Rethymno's field goal percentage of 40%. The majority of these team's games easily reach 160 points, if the opponents are not the best defenses in the league. Not even with an average efficiency can I imagine this game ending at under 150 points and I have to take this. Details

With the arrival of Angelou as the coach, Efes have slowed their game down drastically and have improved the level of their defensive performance, which is something the Olympiacos's coach has noticed. Olympiacos base their game on a totally aggressive defense and so they limited Laboral to 70 and Unicaja to 55 points in their last two games. Today's game is very important as the team that wins it will be a in a much more comfortable situation, but there is also the matter of Greek-Turkish rivalry. Last year, Efese played a much faster basketball and the games in Piraeus ended with 128, 129, 124 points and only the last one ended in 154 points. Today, I expect defense to dominate the fixture and I definitely don't see this game going over 140 so this margin should be taken. Details

Rarely do you ever get to witness a Cup final in which the outcome is so easy to predict. The difference between these two teams is huge, and the winner of this game is set even before its start. That is precisely why you can use this handicap, which is, I think, set very low. The game atmosphere for PAO will be as if they're playing home. Unlike Aris, they played a few games here this season, and the arena was always packet with their fans. Another important thing to mention here is the last Panathinakos' game. They played Dramas and won only after overtime because of bad approach. Pedoulakis will definitely not allow something like that to happen today - this game is too important. Panathinaikos will therefore be at their best. When they do so, the best teams in Europe struggle against them. Such a young team as Aris will struggle a lot. In their head to head game this season, Aris were the home team, with all of the players at their disposal, while PAO on the other hand were in poor form. But, they managed to win by 16 points anyway. PAO will have the advantage atmosphere vise, they're in the best form this season, Lasme is on the team, and center Sarikopoulos might not play for Aris. I think there's no way this can end with the point difference of less than 20 points for Panathinaikos. Details

Not even Olympaikos and Panathinaikos could count on winning against Kifisia away, and I certainly don't understand why Panonios would. Kifisia won seven out of the last eight games, having lost only to Olympiakos away in the very end of the game. They are on a six game winning run home, having won all of them easily. Their game is in accordance with what they were saying at the beginning of the season. Panonios have been struggling quite a lot with the away games this season, they lost to Zvezda and Bilbao recently, and their games against Bisons and Trikalla went to over time. Kifisia are a much better quality and more importantly, a more experienced team than the aforementioned ones. Panonios will be met with a few difficulties - fan support home, top quality defense which will be difficult dealing with without Duvnjak, well-experienced home team...I think Kifisia is much closer to winning than the odds suggest, but just in case of a close end, this handicap is a way of playing it safely. Details

This is an under game by default. Both teams are in relegation zone, both are putting all their hopes into aggressive defense. The first head-to-head match ended in a 69-59 win for Ilysiakos and we can expect something similar today, only with a different winner. Trikall have a nasty run of defeats, but their performances are very good and the only thing they lacked is luck. Today, their now point guard will have his debut and they have to win; the only way to win is through defense. They shipped more than 70 points at home only against Panathinaikos, PAOK and Panionios - all top teams. They limited every other team with defense. Ilysiakos have also gone under this margin in five out of eight away games and they've gone over only against Dramas and Ikaros, and in an exhibition match against Olympiacos. This game will be everything but an exhibition and every point will be hard-won, the game will be slow and the home team are the favorites. All in all, it looks like an ideal game to go for away team's under. Details

Kifisia started showing why we were calling them the best team of the league behind Olympiakos and Panathinaikos lately. In the last seven matches, only Olympiakos managed to defeat them in a tight match. They're especially strong at home, so they have five wins in a row, and the weakest one was with eight points of difference. They crushed all of their opponents which is not surprising considering the difference in quality and experience. That will come out today because Aris are a very young team and their quality is far below Kifisia's. That's especially true for the away games, where Aris have four defeats in a row, and all of them in this handicap. Today, they're coming without their center Sarikopoulos which will make their job even more difficult, and I don't see how they can get the points here. Details

The home coach said that they have no chance without defense, which was the case in the last round. Today, the will aim to slow the game down as much as possible as Kolossos always do. In these circumstances, this margin of 72.5 points on home team is a great thing. Kolossos have only gone over it once - against Trikalla. In the remaining six games, they stayed under. Even though Apollon may not be the strongest defensive team in the league, they have left their opponents under in last three out of four games. A slow game with a low number of points, and considering the fact that Apollon have more quality as a team, this bet on home team's under seems like the best option by far. Details

As Maccabi Haifa lost their primary center Ofoegbu, the balance of power in this game has changed significantly. Siena will now have much more room in the paint and I have no doubt the Italians will know how to use that. Even with Ofoegbu, Maccabi have struggled in away matches, especially vs stronger teams (Khimki -39, Banvit -19, Uniks -21). Siena are not at that level, but Maccabi also don't have Ofoegbu now. In order for them to keep a chance of advancing to the second stage, Siena must win today, and the ideal scenario would also be them making up a -20 point lag from the first game. With the situation Maccabi are in, the home team's aggressive defense and the expected domination in rebounding, this suddenly doesn't seem so impossible. Details

Panionios put up a very good resistance in the first 20 minutes in Belgrade last week. The defense held on, the offense was concentrated and they were on a par. Their defense fell apart in the second half and Zvezda got away, but the game still ended in 148 points. It is no wonder as coaches Sferopoulos and Radonjić are primarily defense-oriented coaches and we should expect a similar game today. This margin has been based on the the games in the second phase of Eurocup without taking the wider picture into consideration. Panionios are killing everyone at home with their defense. They sometimes fail in away games as their defense doesn't always work and then they get high-scoring games. At home, they went under in 11 out of 14 games with this margin. Interestingly enough, Zvezda also have 11 unders in 14 games for this margin. Today's game is the last chance for Panionios to get a win in the second phase of the competition which means the motivation is there. Zvezda have to win to keep up with Bilbao and Nizhny. Both teams play great defense, both coaches love organized attacks and I would set a margin with some 10 points less than this so I will take this with a higher stake. Details

The difference in quality of these two teams, when the circumstances are ideal, is enormous. However, the visiting team will have to do without their best player, center Faye, today. He is irreplaceable at Panathinaikos, and the team will definitely lose rebound without him. Comparing the team's back courts makes no sense - Panathinaikos are the best team in the league in that aspect, after the two leaders. Since they failed in Spain this week, the home team are expected to be particularly motivated. They won't allow another failure in the championship. Considering the great handicap at the visiting team, I see this game as a destruction of Panonios by a big number of points. Details

With Panathinaikos in the game, this bet is always good. Suffice to say that have only gone over this margin once in 25 games this season. Interestingly enough, it was here in Vitoria in a game played a month and a half ago. But, let me explain first. Laboral then scored 79 points out of which they got 55 in an incredible first half when they had a surreal 90 % 3-point shot accuracy and Panathinaikos's coach admitted they defended Laboral's attacks the wrong way. On half-time, he changed the defense and Panathinaikos allowed their opponent to get only 24 points in the entire second half. Today Pedoulakis announced they have a cure for Laboral and that they will do a much better job at defending against them. Bramos confirmed that their basis will be aggressive defense and the numbers for Panathinaikos speak for themselves. Thus, PAO have left their opponents under 63 points in 9 out of last 10 games and only Maccabi went over and only to 68 points. Pedoulakis has finally got the defense he has been looking for the entire season and the biggest contribution was made by recovered Lasme and Ukić. PAO are playing great defense at the moment and it's hard to imagine Laboral scorin even 70 points, let alone going over this margin. Details

PAOK's six consecutive defeats are no coincidence. These defeats came as a result of accumulated fatigue of a team that is not used to playing on two tracks. As a result of this fatigue, two of their players got injured - Tsochlas and Margaritas, and they are in doubt for today. Even with them, PAOK's rotation is very limited and they mostly rely on the efficiency of their first five players. Considering the defensively minded coach Margaritis and this situation in the squad, it is hard to expect a fast-paced game that Cooper used to have with PAOK this season. PAOK have remained under this margin in 7 out of 11 games and this says enough about how high it is set, especially considering the fact that they're facing a team that lives and dies for defense. Ilysiakos are one of the slowest teams in Greece and are very strong at the same time and that's why they limit their opponents to small figures. No one has gone over this margin against them in the league, of course, except Olympiacos in the cup and Panathinaikos in the league. They even limited Olympiacos to 78 points which says enough about them. They will need that kind of defense today and I'm sure they have the quality to give PAOK a hard time and I don't see a way for the home team to score 80 here. Details

Dramas are the most pleasant surprise of the championship so far. Besides the unexpected fourth position on the league table, them winning against Olympiakos in the last round was sensational. Dramas showed their quality. They're a great team who have great foreigners, and can follow any rhythm of the game. In most cases, they can dominate the jump with the great jumpers Bavcic and Markovic. Today, that could bring them a big advantage because the only only real center Faye is questionable for the home team, he tried to play the last game under the block, but couldn't take it for more than 14 minutes. The first point guard Nikou is also questionable, he got injured in the last match, and this is clearly a big handicap for the home team. Besides, there's a series of defeats that Panalefsiniakos have at the moment, and that's creating a huge pressure for the team in today's match. Dramas gained huge self-confidence against Olympiakos, and if they stay grounded, I see them as winners here.
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It seems to me that Panathinaikos are very much overestimated here. Milano are great team with an especially good perimeter lineup. This is important for today's match as the way Panathinaikos have been playing is largely based on aggressive defense, which they use to break down their opponents. Milano have Jerrels, Langford, Moss and now Hackett as well, all of whom can easily respond to aggression from their opponents. Milano are also great in getting rebounds with Lawal, Wallace and Melli, which allowed them to beat the likes of Real Madrid in rebounding, while PAO have struggled with rebounds so far this season, and could again today. Although OAKA is known to be a hot venue and a hard place to play in, PAO already lost two home games this season vs Maccabi and Lokomotiv, and only barely managed wins vs Lietuvos and Zvezda, none of which were within the stated handicap. Milano have much more of a chance than the bookmakers are giving them, and I would not be surprised if they managed to win, but this handicap is definitely a better choice. Details

Maccabi are coming to Turkey in great form. They currently have a run of 8 consecutive games and coach Blatt believes they still have some margin for improvement. Maccabi were particularly impressive in their Euroleague away games against their strongest opponents Lokomotiv Kuban and Panathinaikos that they beat by double-digit points difference without either of the two scoreing over 60 points. It is extremely important for their game today as Galatasaray are practically identical to the teams above. The Turks have no talent like, for instance, Laboral whom Maccabi struggled against and the Turkish side will have a hard time attacking against the aggressive defense like the one Blatt has. The home team are too dependent on Arroyo and if they stop him, Galatasaray have no organization in offense. On the other hand, Maccabi are dangerous from all sides and the Turks cannot defend against that. Just like they marched through Krasnodar and Athens, I expect Blatt's players to break down the team that they are stronger than, even though the odds do not suggest that. Details

Panathinaikos finally found their defense like it was last season. In the last seven matches, only Maccabi managed to score more than 63 points and that was only 68. Also, the offense slowed down compared to the beginning of the season, and Panathinaikos scored more than 80 points in only two out of the last nine matches. Pedoulakis finally got what he had last year, a team that are crushing everyone with defense and are not reckless in the offense. On the other hand, PAOK had a lot of games with a bigger number of points this season, but they were all against weaker opponents where the fast point guard Cooper would lead the counterattacks and that would take those games to high points. Cooper had a virosis before today's match and his state is questionable. PAOK wouldn't allow him to run much because they know that that is the only real chance they'll have. Guest coach Markopoulos is known for preferring a strong defense and an organized basketball where the major role is played by the center Bogris. Last year, these two teams played two games with 132 points exactly, and I don't see anything different happening this year either. Details

Even though Olympiacos have been very dominant this season and have had 23 consecutive wins, some of which have had a huge difference, I don't see this outcome happening today for several reasons. First of all, the shock they suffered when Panathinaikos knocked them out of the Cup which ended their run of wins will certainly affect their confidence and they won't play with such ease. The second important thing is the absence of Spanoulis who might not play much in the league but still carries the team in offense and his absence means quite a lot. Petway is also injured and his attacking game and speed in counters often makes the mentioned huge difference. Th rest of the team is mostly hard-working and doesn't have the flow and speed needed to crush someone in an away game, especially not a solid and talented team like Dramas. Oly won the game by 10 points last season and I don't see how they could win by 20 or more without Spanoulis. Details