Panathinaikos: Nick Calathes doubtful for Game 3 vs. Real Madrid
Nick Calathes could miss Game 3 against Real Madrid after some irritations in his knee.
Nick Calathes missed half of Panathinaikos OPAP’s training ahead of Game 3 in the playoffs series against reigning champions Real Madrid due to some irritations on his knee and his participation is doubtful.
The absence of Calathes, who has been a true leader for the Greens in the course of the last couple months, could be a huge blow for Panathinaikos OPAP that hosts Real in a do-or-die game.
Real Madrid leads the playoffs series with two wins at home and is looking to punch a Final Four ticket in Athens this week. On the other hand, the hosts want to turn the tide and take the series back to Spain for Game 5.
Benzema wrote:
Unbelievable performance by Fenerbahce tonight against Zalgiris
Probably nobody could win series against Fenerbahce in Europe. Brilliant team with perfect players ahead with best coach in Euroleague history. Definitely I will cheer for them in Final Four. Well deserved.
Euroleague 2018-19 – Anadolu Efes vs Barcelona Betting Tips
Efes host Barcelona in a do or die scenario as we have reached the Game 5 of the Euroleague Quarter Finals!
Totals
Efes have covered 47.1% of their total point overs at home in the Euroleague this season (8-9) and just 2 of their last 9 were Overs. The total for this game is 154.5 points which is a total that Efes haven’t had at home this season, however the closest that they’ve had to that was a 155.5 point total against Barcelona in the Regular Season which was an Over as Efes won 92-70 and also against Barcelona in G2 of the Quarter Finals which was an Under as Efes lost 72-74.
Barcelona have covered 47.1% of their total point overs on the road in the Euroleague this season (8-9). They have had a 154.5 point total on the road once this season when they travelled to Turkey to face Fenerbache and that resulted with an Over as Barcelona lost 88-82. Barca are on a streak of 3 consecutive road Unders currently.
Fenerbahce: Lauvergne, Datome ruled out of Final Four
Fenerbahce will lack Datome and Lauvergne in the Final Four, per the team’s Wednesday announcement.
Fenerbahce Beko announced Wednesday (as adapted by EuroLeague) that center Joffrey Lauvergne and forward Luigi Datome are officially ruled out for the Final Four due to their respective injuries.
Lauvergne has been out since mid-February due to an ankle injury that he suffered in a Turkish Cup semifinals game. Datome suffered a right calf muscle tear in a Turkish League game against Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul on April 28.
Lauvergne averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 22 EuroLeague games this season. Datome had played all 34 games until now, averaging 9 points on 91.7% free throw shooting and 3.6 rebounds.
Fenerbahce also announced that Nikola Kalinic and Jan Vesely remain sidelined but are proceeding with their treatments and their condition will be re-evaluated before the Final Four.
Fenerbahce: Vesely and Kalinic more than likely to miss the EuroLeague Final Four
Fenerbahce BEKO is expected to compete for the EuroLeague title without four key members of the roster
After the duo of Joffrey Lauvergne and Gigi Datome, also Jan Vesely and Nikola Kalinic are expected to not be able to play for Fenerbahce BEKO in the upcoming Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
It was already known that both Vesely and Kalinic were battling injuries, but at this point it seems unlikely that they will be healthy on time.
As Fenerbahce team manager Cenk Renda said today on Tivibu Spor television station: “Two important players Gigi Datome and Joffrey Lauvergne are definitely out, as announced. Everyone is asking if we keep any info hidden from public. It’s not our type to hide things. We wish they could play, but they cannot. Kalinic and Vesely will take part in practices and coach will evaluate their condition. For now it seems that they are also unlikely to play in the Final Four. Of course, we cannot know when exactly they will be back and how the rehabilitation process has been… We are going to wait until the semifinal gameday to be sure about them. We are Fenerbahce. We will go out and play for the missing players as captain Melih said before. We would like to be in the final and bring the title to Turkey. And of course we wish the best of luck to our opponent Anadolu Efes“.
Anadolu Efes have a great chance to be in the Euroleague final for the first time in their club history. Lauvergne and Datome was painful lost before but Vesely and Kalinic probably the most important players besides Sloukas.
Efes is the only Final Four team without a net deficit in any single minute of play over the course of the season. That said, Efes has been less forceful in first halves and fourth quarters than its three rivals for the title. Its winning margins in both cumulative points (+72) and quarters won (35-29-6) during first halves over the course of the season are 30 points lower than the next-worst team, CSKA Moscow. All three of the others have won the first or second quarters at least 40 times.
What sets Efes apart are third quarters. Coming out of the locker rooms, Efes has dominated the next 10 minutes by a margin of +125, a quarter difference exceeded only by Fenerbahce's first quarters. A problem for Efes could be fourth quarters, which it won 20 times and lost 15 times for its sole negative net score in any quarter, -3, this season. However, since its third quarters were so favorable, Efes was ahead by around 5 points on average this season in every minute of the final quarter.
CSKA Moscow
CSKA has been solid all season, not having a net deficit in any single minute of regulation play. It only had a net deficit in the lone overtime game it played - at home against Zalgiris Kaunas, but ended up winning 99-97. CSKA was particularly strong in the first and fourth quarters and ended up with a 79-52-5 record in terms of individual quarters. The recipe of starting games strong and finishing even stronger has taken CSKA back to another Final Four.
CSKA dominated in fourth quarters, outscoring its opponents in the final 10 minutes in 20 out of 34 games with a total margin of +86. The team was also particularly strong at the outsets of games with a +70 margin in first quarters. Unlike all the other Final Four teams, which struggled at some specific points, CSKA was strong in second and third quarters, too. No other team has a double-digit winning margin in all four quarters; CSKA was +32 in second quarters and even better (+37) in third quarters.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
The graphics show that Fenerbahce has been deadly at the start of the game and even more dangerous at the end. Coach Zeljko Obradovic's team, however, has not been as powerful in the second and third quarters and lost its two overtimes - against Khimki Moscow Region and FC Bayern Munich. Fenerbahce has played 34 games and led 25 times after 10 minutes and won 28 fourth quarters while losing only 5, which could pay off in a high-pressure environment such as the Final Four.
Fenerbahce's cumulative margin is +126 at the end of first quarters and the Turkish champs' only trailed eight times after the first-quarter buzzer. That is critical in a Final Four environment and none of the other three teams starts – or finishes – games better. Fenerbahce has been simply outstanding in fourth quarters, with an accumulated margin of +179, which is almost as much as the three other teams combined (+191). It has been less effective in the middle two quarters.
Real Madrid
Generally speaking, Real has had slow starts. Los Blancos have overcome deficits at the end of first quarters by playing much better after that. Even though Real has won 20 of the 33 opening quarters it played, its combined winning margin is +9. The fact that Real has increased its numbers in second, third and fourth quarters proves the Spanish powerhouse's depth. Real has been particularly good in second quarters, winning 20 of them and getting a combined winning margin of +94.
Real showed no signs of slowing down after that. Only Efes (22-10, +125) has better numbers than Real (18-13, +50) in third quarters. And fourth quarters have truly belonged to Coach Pablo Laso's charges (21-12, +108). No other team has had a winning margin of +50 in both the third and fourth quarters, which shows that Real's coaching staff has been able to find its focus after halftime and finish strong.
What a performance by Shane Larkin who posts 30 pts 7 Rebs 7 ast 9/14 FG 5/9 3 pt 7/8 FG and a PIR 43 in a 92-73 win against Fenerbache! Legendary performance
2019 Euroleague Final – Anadolu Efes vs CSKA Moscow Betting Preview
The Euroleague Final is here and we have the surprise team of the season Anadolu Efes take on 7 time champions CSKA Moscow for the trophy!
Anadolu Efes
It’s been quite the season so far for Anadolu Efes who will have reached their first ever Euroleague Final and will seek to win their first ever top tier European basketball trophy. Efes were 20-10 in the Regular Season and then went on to beat Barcelona 3-2 in the QF Series following it up with an unbelievable 92-73 win against what were the 1st seeded and also their country rivals Fenerbache who were many people’s pick to win the whole thing. Efes have been known for their explosive offensive play as they are the 4th highest scoring team at 84.7 ppg this season which has led them for such a successful season.
CSKA Moscow
Unlike Efes, this is a team that to nobody’s surprise have made the Final with their star studded squad. CSKA have always been one of the biggest favourites in the Euroleague and this season it’s the same case with them. CSKA are 7 time Euroleague champions (2nd most in the competition) and have reached the Final for the 7th time since 2006 winning the last time they made it in 2016 against another Turkish team in Fenerbache. CSKA are also known for their explosive offensive play putting up 86.7 points per game only worse than Milano so this game could very well be an offensive explosion as we have 2 top 4 offensive scoring teams. CSKA were 24-6 in the Regular Season, they then beat Baskonia 3-1 and beat Real Madrid in the Semi Final in a thrilling battle 95-90 erasing a 12 point deficit to get to the Final. CSKA have already played in this arena in these Playoffs twice not so long ago when they faced Baskonia in the Quarter Finals and won both times.
Τony Parker’s ASVEL announced the cooperation with Olympique Lyonnais
The newest EuroLeague member will be associated with the local football club on multilevel partnership
The president of Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas and Tony Parker (LDLC ASVEL and Lyon ASVEL women president) announced in a joint press conference the acquisition of a minority stake from OL at the ownership of LDLC ASVEL and Lyon ASVEL Women.
It’s a strategic agreement that will allow Olympique Lyonnais to benefit from the international image and reputation of Tony Parker, particularly in the US and China, territories where OL Group intends to grow as a brand. This agreement also provides for synergies between the two clubs, particularly on ticketing, sponsoring, seminars and more general commercial activities.
All LDLC ASVEL matches will be played at the Astroballe until the opening of the future arena of OL Group, and eventually, all the Jeep Elite league games and some EuroLeague games will continue to be held in Villeurbanne. On the other hand, LDLC ASVEL should play the more prestigious matches of Euroleague in the future arena of OL Group when it will be operational.
The new arena at Olympique Lyonnais will complement OL City’s existing and future infrastructure, which includes Groupama Stadium (opened on January 9, 2016), the Kopster Hotel (opened October 1, 2018), OL the museum (inaugurated on May 28, 2018), the medical center (opening planned mid-July 2019), the office building “Les Loges” (opening planned October 2019), and the leisure center (opening forecast autumn 2020).
The arena will accommodate concerts (15 to 16,000 people), sports events (12,000 people) and large-scale seminars (3,000 people). “The creation project was born out of simple observation and the need for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, to create a new event room capable of organizing shows and major events. This new arena will be able to accommodate 15 to 16,000 people, which will make it the largest event hall in France outside Paris”, said Jean Michel Aulas.
Olympique Lyonnais paid 3,4 million euros in order to buy a minority stake of ASVEL’s ownership, which is 25%. They also paid 300.000 euros for a 10% stake in the women’s club ownership.
“I am proud to be associated with Olympique Lyonnais”, said Tony Parker. “It’s a historic day for the club and this is just the beginning. We are going to be live big moments together”.
Nicolas Batum, who is the director of basketball operations, added: “We are having an exceptional season which we hope that will end with ASVEL winning the French league championship title. This partnership permits us in the future to achieve our goals, staying on the top levels of the standings with both clubs and have a good showing in the EuroLeague”.
Barcelona drops the first offseason transfer “bomb.”
Nikola Mirotic has decided to sign with Barcelona according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The player will thus return to EuroLeague where he previously played from 2008 to 2014 with Real Madrid. His new team’s archrival club.
Earlier on Saturday (29/6), a report emerged mentioning Barcelona making a run to sign Mirotic and the player being positive about joining the club. However, this is still a rather surprising turn of events since, as Charania reports, Mirotic, an unrestricted free agent, could get a contract up to 50 million if he decided to stay in the NBA. By signing with Barcelona, the 28-year-old Spanish-Montenegrin forward will settle for much less money than what an NBA deal could bring him.
Actually, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweeted that the Utah Jazz was ready to pen a three-year, 45 million deal with Mirotic. Yet the player wanted to make a change in his life by returning to Europe.
The Dallas Mavericks had also been reported to consider Mirotic ahead of the NBA free agency. He becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st after completing the season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, Mirotic will get back in Europe and join Barcelona, a EuroLeague contender. The Blaugrana, once a EuroLeague Final Four staple, hasn’t been in the Top 4 of the competition since 2014. That was also the last season Mirotic played in Europe before signing with the Chicago Bulls.
Mirotic finished the 2018-2019 season by making the Eastern Conference Finals with Milwaukee. He was traded to the Bucks by the New Orleans Pelicans in February.
That's a big signing for Barcelona and every Euroleague fans should be happy about that. Still strange to know that Mirotic could have a better deal in the NBA and that he chose to return to Europe. With these signings Euroleague easily will make big steps forward towards league promotion.
