Euroleague Basketball coming to you past Midnight
Taking a look at Euroleague Basketball match wish CSKA Moscow vs Winterthur FCB.
Game Preview:
First place in Group C will be on the line Wednesday when reigning Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow hosts Winterthur FCB Barcelona in the Russian capital. Winterthur, one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Euroleague this season, topped Fenerbahce Ulker at home 84-70 last week as league-leading scorer Juan Carlos Navarro had 19 points. CSKA routed Zalgiris in Kaunas 59-78 as Trajan Langdon and Matjaz Smodis scored 15 each. The game will see some old teammates reunited, as Langdon and Barcelona center Denis Marconato were teammates under CSKA coach Ettore Messina on the Benetton Treviso squad that lost to Barcelona in the 2003 title game. Barca big man Michail Kakiouzis and CSKA's David Andersen and David Vanterpool were all teammates on Montepaschi Siena's 2004 Final Four team. Smodis and Thomas Van Den Spiegel played also played at the 2004 Final Four alongside Barca's Gianluca Basile on Skipper Bologna. The cumulative experience on these rosters, which also includes heroes from this summer's world championships in Japan, like Navarro whose Spanish squad topped Theo Papaloukas's Greece in the final, is among the most in the Euroleague and promises a world-class encounter between two potential title contenders. One way to see the quality in these teams is that while they are among the upper echelon of offensive teams (Barca scores 84.2 ppg. and CSKA 77 ppg.), they rank second and third respectively in fewest turnovers (Barcelona 11.4, CSKA 12.6). Barcelona also leads the league in assists (17.4 apg.). The depth on these teams makes it impossible to find one or two individual matchups that could decide the game. It will be interesting to see how the league's top defense – CSKA has limited opponents to 66.2 points per game – looks to stop Navarro (22.6 ppg.), who averages more than double his next-highest-scoring teammate, point guard Jaka Lakovic (10.2 ppg.). CSKA's forwards must also keep an eye on Jordi Trias (8.2 ppg. on 61.5% shooting), whose all-around game has been one of his team's biggest strengths this season. Trias leads the team in rebounding (7 rpg), steals (1.3 spg.) and blocks (1 bpg.). CSKA's top scorers have been Langdon (14.6 ppg.) and Smodis (14.5 ppg.), but players like Papaloukas (10.6 ppg.), Andersen (10.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) or J.R. Holden (8.8 ppg.) can all be the go-to guy on any given night. CSKA rides an eight-game home-court winning streak into the game, dating back to January, when Lakovic scored 21 and had 5 assists in a victory for Panathinaikos in Moscow. CSKA won't be easy to beat at home, but if anyone can do it, it's this Barca squad in a game that could be a Final Four preview.
I guess the writer of this preview likes Winterthur FCB getting +7.5 and maybe this is the public perception, but I see CSKA defense and home court advantage covering this number.
CSKA -7.5(W)
Game Preview:
First place in Group C will be on the line Wednesday when reigning Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow hosts Winterthur FCB Barcelona in the Russian capital. Winterthur, one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Euroleague this season, topped Fenerbahce Ulker at home 84-70 last week as league-leading scorer Juan Carlos Navarro had 19 points. CSKA routed Zalgiris in Kaunas 59-78 as Trajan Langdon and Matjaz Smodis scored 15 each. The game will see some old teammates reunited, as Langdon and Barcelona center Denis Marconato were teammates under CSKA coach Ettore Messina on the Benetton Treviso squad that lost to Barcelona in the 2003 title game. Barca big man Michail Kakiouzis and CSKA's David Andersen and David Vanterpool were all teammates on Montepaschi Siena's 2004 Final Four team. Smodis and Thomas Van Den Spiegel played also played at the 2004 Final Four alongside Barca's Gianluca Basile on Skipper Bologna. The cumulative experience on these rosters, which also includes heroes from this summer's world championships in Japan, like Navarro whose Spanish squad topped Theo Papaloukas's Greece in the final, is among the most in the Euroleague and promises a world-class encounter between two potential title contenders. One way to see the quality in these teams is that while they are among the upper echelon of offensive teams (Barca scores 84.2 ppg. and CSKA 77 ppg.), they rank second and third respectively in fewest turnovers (Barcelona 11.4, CSKA 12.6). Barcelona also leads the league in assists (17.4 apg.). The depth on these teams makes it impossible to find one or two individual matchups that could decide the game. It will be interesting to see how the league's top defense – CSKA has limited opponents to 66.2 points per game – looks to stop Navarro (22.6 ppg.), who averages more than double his next-highest-scoring teammate, point guard Jaka Lakovic (10.2 ppg.). CSKA's forwards must also keep an eye on Jordi Trias (8.2 ppg. on 61.5% shooting), whose all-around game has been one of his team's biggest strengths this season. Trias leads the team in rebounding (7 rpg), steals (1.3 spg.) and blocks (1 bpg.). CSKA's top scorers have been Langdon (14.6 ppg.) and Smodis (14.5 ppg.), but players like Papaloukas (10.6 ppg.), Andersen (10.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) or J.R. Holden (8.8 ppg.) can all be the go-to guy on any given night. CSKA rides an eight-game home-court winning streak into the game, dating back to January, when Lakovic scored 21 and had 5 assists in a victory for Panathinaikos in Moscow. CSKA won't be easy to beat at home, but if anyone can do it, it's this Barca squad in a game that could be a Final Four preview.
I guess the writer of this preview likes Winterthur FCB getting +7.5 and maybe this is the public perception, but I see CSKA defense and home court advantage covering this number.
CSKA -7.5(W)
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