EuroLeague Primer: Round 21 - Thursday

Written by

Kevin O'Brien

Updated on January 26, 2023 3:05PM EST

PREGAME UPDATES

ASVEL's David Lighty and Jonah Mathews will not play Thursday.
Nate Wolters and Arturas Gudaitis will be available Thursday for Panathinaikos.
Monaco's Chima Moneke is on the roster for Round 21.
Dovydas Giedraitis will suit up Thursday for Zalgiris.
Valencia's Victor Claver will be in uniform for Round 21.
Barcelona's Jan Vesely and Cory Higgins will both be available for Round 21.
Nigel Williams-Goss will suit up Thursday for Real Madrid, but Petr Cornelie will not.

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

BAR FC Barcelona at RMB Real Madrid

Status Check: Jan Vesely (BAR), Cory Higgins (BAR), Sergi Martinez (BAR), Nigel Williams-Goss (RMB), Alberto Abalde (RMB), Anthony Randolph (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB)

The Breakdown: Round 21 will begin in a big way, as these two clubs -- who are tied at the top with 13 wins -- will meet in the latest edition of El Clasico. Since dropping the Super Cup final to its rival in September, Barcelona has beaten Real Madrid twice, once in the EuroLeague and once in the ACB. The experts expect the home team to even the season series Thursday, as they are favored by 3.5 points on their home court. Stats and records are minimized when these clubs meet, as both teams will certainly bring their best. However, Real Madrid does own the best defensive rating in the league and a 4.2-point edge in net rating, so Barcelona will need to be at its best to maintain a share of first place.

VBC Valencia Basket at BER ALBA Berlin

Status Check: Bojan Dubljevic (VBC), Jasiel Rivero (VBC), Victor Claver (VBC), Sam Van Rossom (VBC), Martin Hermannsson (VBC), Millan Jimenez (VBC), Marcus Eriksson (BER)

The Breakdown: The visitors have surged back into the playoff race, winning three straight despite a rash of injuries. They will have to deal with another absence Thursday, and a notable one at that, as Dubljevic -- their steadiest contributor of late -- will be unable to go. Valencia is expected to get some reinforcements in Claver and Shannon Evans, but the oddsmakers still like the home team, who are favored by 2.5 points. After winning three straight themselves ALBA took the loss in each of the last two Rounds, and they did the same when these clubs squared off in Round 5. These teams are about even in the net rating department and they are also among the top three teams in pace, so this should be a close contest, and it should be high-scoring as well, which explains why this contest has the biggest over/under on the board.

EA7 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan at ASM AS Monaco

Status Check: Shavon Shields (EA7), Kevin Pangos (EA7), Tommaso Baldasso (EA7), Chima Moneke (ASM)

The Breakdown: These times combined for just one win over the last four Rounds, which has dropped Monaco to sixth place and Milan all the way to the bottom of the standings. The Italian team has won just six games all season, but one of those was against Monaco a little over a month ago, so they should have some confidence Thursday. The Roca Team is still favored by as many as 6.5 points, though -- more than any other favorite on the board. Milan ranks third in the league in defensive rating, and they limited Monaco to just 71 points last time around. They figure to do more scoring on their home court, and that could be bad news for the visitors, as no one rates worse on the offensive end -- and no one is all that close.

FBB Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at ASV LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Status Check: Nemanja Bjelica (FBB), Tonye Jekiri (FBB), Ismet Akpinar (FBB), Tarik Biberovic (FBB), Joffrey Lauvergne (ASV)

The Breakdown: After going through a bit of a lull, the Turkish team has gotten back on track and will be going for a fourth straight win. While they will be on the road, the experts expect them to pick up another victory, as they are favored by as many as 3.5 points. ASVEL got a spark from Dee Bost in Round 20 and snapped a four-game losing streak, but they will have their work cut out for them Thursday, as Fenerbahce ranks fourth in the league in both offensive and defensive rating and owns a 13.8-point edge in net rating. The French club kept it close for a half when these squads met back in Round 3, but they scored just 27 points in the second stanza and Fenerbahce won going away.

ZAL Zalgiris Kaunas at PAO Panathinaikos Athens

Status Check: Keenan Evans (ZAL), Isaiah Taylor (ZAL), Tyler Cavanaugh (ZAL), Dovydas Giedraitis (ZAL), Nate Wolters (PAO), Arturas Gudaitis (PAO), Lefteris Bochoridis (PAO), Lefteris Mantzoukas (PAO)

The Breakdown: In the third of the three games that will go off at the same time and round out Thursday's slate, a surging Zalgiris club will take on a Panathinaikos team that picked up just one win over the last eight Rounds. Despite the recent runs, the Greek team is a slight favorite on its home court, where they are an even 5-5 on the season. Should they pick up the win Thursday, they will sweep their Lithuanian counterparts, as they picked up a comfortable win against Zalgiris in Round 11. The visitors will be short-handed in the backcourt, but they are a bit more efficient offensively, and thanks to their recent play they now rank fifth in the league in defensive rating.

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