Slam and Freaknick’s Picks: Euroleague Game 2
Asvel vs. Fenerbahce Ulker
SLAM: Ulker has too many weapons to have another down offensive week, look for them to put some points on the board: FB Ulker.
FN: The big guys hold it together long enough for Lynn Greer and Willie Solomon to settle down and heat up: FB Ulker.
Unicaja vs. Olympiacos
SLAM: Giorgios Printezis gets revenge on his old team, as he and Joel Freeland team up to be one of the best young frontcourts around: Unicaja.
FN: Childress, Halperin, Wafer might be the only backcourt that can keep up with Cook, Jeter and a healthy Taquan Dean: Olympiacos.
CSKA Moscow vs. Lottomatica Roma
SLAM: Ibby Jaaber can’t win 1 vs. 5 against CSKA: Moscow.
FN: Ibby Jaaber runs circles around a tired CSKA backcourt and Andre Hutson exploits the emptiness in the paint: Roma.
EWE Baskets vs. AJ Milano
SLAM: Slamerific pick for best game of the week, so were all winners here, unless your EWE Baskets: AJ Milano.
FN: High-scoring affair goes to the team with the highest scorer: Rickey Paulding (left): EWE Baskets.
Real Madrid vs. Asseco Prokom
SLAM: Really, you have to ask? If anyone else decides to play besides Darjus Lavrinovic then it’s an easy win for the men in purple: Madrid.
FN: Asseco Prokom is less than the sum of its parts: Madrid strolls.
Montepaschi Siena vs. Zalgiris
SLAM: Siena won by 45 on the road last week, needless to say I’m not worried about them at home: Siena.
FN: Zalgiris is a spunky bunch. Montepaschi’s defense turns spunk to sadness: Siena.
Regal FC Barcelona vs. Cibona
SLAM: Do I really need to predict this game? Cibona lost by 45 last week and Barcelona won by 23, nuff said: Barcelona.
FN: Come on…really? Barcelona.
Efes Pilsen vs. Partizan
SLAM: Pilsen needs to figure out roles for their team but in this case they should be able to out-talent Partizan: Efes.
FN: The Boys from Belgrade fight hard, but Nachbar shows the home crowd he’s worth the money: Efes.
Orleans vs. L. Rytas
SLAM: In Slam’s tossup game of the week, the home team always get the advantage: Orleans.
FN: Coming off a French League win over Asvel, Orleans keeps it rolling behind a big game from Cedric Banks: Orleans.
Caja Laboral vs. Maccabi Electra
SLAM: If their name was still Tau Ceramica then they get the win here, but Maccabi Electra has moved ahead in the cool name department: Maccabi.
FN: Tiago Splitter can’t do it alone on defense. Lampe, Lasme and Fischer (right) throw themselves a block party: Maccabi. (Side story: Lior Eliyahu vs. former team.)
Union Olimpija vs. Maroussi
SLAM: Maroussi put up a good fight last week but without that home crowd advantage I don’t think they get it done here: Olimpija.
FN: Becirovic and Walsh get on the same page and Olimpija’s young frontcourt shows up: Olimpija.
Panathinaikos vs. BC Khimki
SLAM: I can’t pick against Nick Calathes’s hair gel two weeks in a row: Panathinaikos.
FN: OK, so it might be dumb to pick against the defending champs at home, but every time I close my eyes, I have visions of Mozgov, Jankunas and Javotkas all going off for double-doubles: BC Khimki.
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Tags: D'Or Fischer, Euroleague basketball, Rickey Paulding
How many IRPs do you see Ksistof raking up this week?
Between 18-23, pretty big week against a Zalgiris. Travis Watson’s not great at defending more versatile big men. If you’re talking fantasy though, I say save 16 credits and go with D’Or Fischer.
I can already see where both of you got it wrong. I just can’t see Rytas losing in France if they’re talking about qualifying to the Top 16 and they are… The words are a “no joke” thing if out of Kurtinaitis’ lips. I’d put it on at least 65-35 in favour of Rytas.
Žalgiris is going to have a tough time against Siena as it has not only the players, but some thought behind the game opposite to Efes from last week. If their little guys get some help from the frontcourt there’s a chance to see another surprise Lithuanian victory.
As Freaknick said, Watson is going to have a hell of a time against Ksistof. He’s just not built for running around the arc and will certainly not be having the time of his life chasing Lavrinovic. For what I see, no one else in Žalgiris roster is capable of containing the twin if he’s on his night.
Thanks Simas. Well, as far as the Rytas game goes, I’m kind of playing at the law of averages, ie: Orleans will win one or two (three, maybe) in group play, so this is one of those home games I’ve penciled in. As for Rytas, I see them comng down a bit from an impressive win last week, and Orleans has the team that can steal a game early in the season, whereas Rytas is built more for a sustained, multi-week kind of charge. With that said, if that’s the only game I get wrong this week, it would make me one happy man. Good luck tomorrow.
Just don’t take me too seriously - everything is possible. I’m not counting Orleans out and they have a huge advantage in athleticism and if they can literaly run away with the game - they were worth it.
An update on Lavrinovic - he’s having back problems, might miss the Žalgiris game all in all.
That’d be a big help to the green and white, not so great for the green and black. Unfortunately though for Zalgiris, MPS still has the guards to win at home, and Stoney and Eze are going to make life tough for T-Wats and the other bigs (but T-Wats’ rebounding numbers will surely go up if he can stay closer to the basket instead of chasing Ksistof around, as you mentioned). Thanks for the Lithuanian Perspective, Simas.