Zalgiris - Olympiacos

In the 7th place of the tournament table, Žalgiris will face off against Olympiacos, who currently holds the 2nd position.

Žalgiris does not seem stable. The start of the game against Hapoel was solid, but the lead quickly evaporated. The team once again fell into a close and nervous game until the last quarter, even though the opponent did not shine either. Such waves become dangerous against higher level opponents. Many times, Žalgiris loses control of the game and the obtained handicap often slips away in a matter of minutes.

Meanwhile, Olympiacos demonstrates a different style. They rely on discipline, physicality, and patience in controlling the pace of the game. In their last five games against each other, the Greeks celebrated, and the last match last November ended with a 17-point lead in their favor. This is not just a coincidence, but a trend.

In the past ten Euroleague games, the -2.5 point handicap with Olympiacos has only been unsuccessful twice. This not only shows their ability to win, but also their ability to close out the games with a larger lead. Such teams rarely let their opponents make emotional comebacks.

Žalgiris may start the game well and even briefly take the lead. However, their instability as a team, tendency to lose control, and difficulties in maintaining control of the game in close situations raises doubts against an opponent of this level. Olympiacos is a more stable team, and in these kinds of matches, it is typically stability that determines the outcome.

Considering the team's current form, head-to-head statistics, and the offered -2.5 point line, this handicap seems a bit too low to me. In this matchup, the Greeks have clear arguments for their advantage, both statistically and in terms of game quality.

Without going overboard with the bet, I choose Piraeus Olympiacos -2.5.

Even though the wine glass may be impressive, after a loud party in Peru, it is often accompanied by a form crash, and also with the opponent being one step ahead of the betters, plus the news about Francisco's agreement with Barça, such news balances the microclimate within the team, not to mention the fact that Cisco will play with less capacity until the end of the season because of the fear of getting injured. I predict an easy Olympia Peru.

Olympiacos arrives without Milutinovo and Vezenkovo. There would be no excuse for losing these home games to a team without two key players, who are in fact the top two most valuable players of the season. It doesn't matter that Peters and Jones are substitutes, they cannot be replaced equally, and it is crucial for Žalgiris to win here.

Sasa, Nikola out. Only the Greens remain to try and save this season with Fournier not performing well and not wanting to repeat the first game mistakes with Dorsey. The Greens are in good form and many are expecting a cosmic salary, so Tubelis should dominate here as he has been shooting well recently. Olympiacos is very static with Walkup, the other point guards are injured or struggling to adapt, and Cisco will do what he wants here.

No matter what Masiulis says, that defense needs to be started and blah blah blah, but Žalgiris wins with their offense and even though Kaunas team can fight against LKL mushrooms, when solid teams come, their defense crumbles. So Olympiacos has problems with losses, but their team still has a lot of talent in offense, and the line doesn't seem big and confidently moves forward.

The opponents arrive without Milutinov, against whom Moses struggled to do something in the first round. Meanwhile, Jones is a center that can definitely be beaten in 1x1 situations, and I would say that Moses is currently in better form. He should be an important player on the court today, getting a lot of minutes, so I think he should score some points.

As it is known, Milutinovo will not be there, although Jones has arrived, but due to his period injury he will not be able to play at 100%. Therefore, tonight Donta could become the main team's center, and he will get more playing time. This would allow him to repeat what he has done once this season and four times last season, reaching the 10 rebounds per game line. According to the Euroleague ranking board, he is among the top 5 best rebounders (in terms of efficiency). The odds for him to be the most valuable player have dropped significantly from 1.77 to 1.57.

Former Zalgiris legionnaire, who for unknown reasons feels hurt by green-white, for which he always feels indebted and tries to pay it back with double dedication on the court, scoring double-digit point totals. His playing time varies depending on how well Olympiacos is doing - if they are not doing well, he is quickly benched, which results in his statistics suffering. Today will be a special evening when he will have to play for 30+ minutes. P.S. Yesterday, the line for his 10 points was 4.75, today it dropped to 3.65.

As you know, without Milutinov, even if Jones has arrived, he won't be able to play at his full 100% due to his periodic injury. As a result, tonight Donta could become the main center of the team, and with the 5 rebounds he usually gets (according to statistics, 4.9 in 15 minutes), he could easily get 7+ in 20+ minutes. He has already done this in every third game this season.

Yes, Žalgiris is in excellent form today and now it seems to be the most favorable situation to win against the "powerful" Olympiakos at home, who will be without Vezenkov and other strong players. However, they still have more than one capable player who can determine the outcome of the match. Žalgiris often struggles under pressure when they are considered clear favorites, which can result in giving away points to much weaker teams. I believe that Olympiakos, in this regard, is somewhat underestimated and I expect a tense battle where experience could determine the outcome of the match.

As the last meeting against Olympiacos showed, Moses does not feel any warm emotions and is able to make a double-double against a top 3 team in just 20 minutes. It is not enough to have the desire, one must also have the skills. Today, the Greeks will arrive with a completely different attitude - after a two-digit difference in the final game, which was more of a circus show than a basketball game, and without their two main centers Milutinov and Vezenkov, to put it simply, they want to destroy and demotivate. This should make Moses' performance easier tonight. He has only managed to achieve 10+ rebounds in one game, against Zalgiris, three times this season.

The doubts team fell in the semi-finals and had time to think about their game, only the Spanish club has a lot of potential, while Virtus' miraculous game is now in the past and they are easily beatable in the Euroleague. Barcelona seems to be significantly ahead in terms of coefficient, and it will be difficult to expect miracles from Virtus again.

The attack of Zvezda throughout the season was consistently good, but their defense often struggled, yet this is the modern basketball and current Euroleague. Although Efes is not the fastest team, in previous seasons they were also weak in attack. However, their attack has improved recently, resulting in a better game. They have won 3 games in a row and scored over 90 points. Larkin, who was ready to play in the team, was chosen to play in the Turkey cup beforehand.

The team Zvezda has been consistently good at attacking throughout the season, but their defense often weakens significantly, as is characteristic of modern basketball and the current Euroleague. Although Efes is not the fastest team, they used to struggle in attack in the past. However, their attack has improved recently, resulting in a better overall gameplay. They have won their last 3 games and scored more than 90 points in each. Larkin was ready to play in the team before the Turkish Cup. We must take advantage of their improved form and the game of Efes.

The coefficient for Virtus has risen and it can be taken. At home, this is a good team, even though the results have dropped lately, they can still score against anyone at home, when it's known that it's difficult for everyone to play in Bologna. Barca is an old team, which seems to be getting worse towards the end of the season and I believe in the Euroleague they will eventually fall to the playoffs or even below it. I don't expect them to continue demonstrating such form.