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The fourth final in Abu Dhabi. The winners of the regular season, Olympiacos, and the fourth-placed Monaco are facing off. In modern Euroleague, regular season winners have not yet won the trophy. It is difficult to call it a coincidence when for 8 consecutive seasons, the tournament favorites have failed to show their best game in the decisive stage of the season. I predict that this year, it won't be easy for the highly-rated team, and the tension and pressure will be on Olympiacos' side. Monaco's talent in offense will not make it any easier. Okobo, James, and Loyd - some of the best one-on-one defenders in the league. Olympiacos' offense is based on team play, but we have seen how teams in the final four prepare against their opponents and how much individual basketball plays a role. With this in mind, Olympiacos signed Fournier during the off-season, who often breaks away from team plays and tries to solve offense on his own. However, he is not a typical ball-handler, he tries to attack from afar, and does not have great ball-handling skills, so I rate Monaco's chances higher in handling situations where the offense struggles. The battle between centers will also be interesting, with Theis, Papagianis, and Motiejūnas, all capable of punishing opponents from the perimeter and stretching the paint with pick and pops. Olympiacos' centers do not shoot much from beyond the arc, their handicap will be their size under the basket, but the question remains whether they can take advantage of it, as we do not see them being utilized in the paint very often. I believe that Monaco has many advantages that will allow them to compete and fight for the win, and a 7-point handicap seems like a good option.
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