Basketbolists
Digs Euro Chicks
Euroleague record: 19-8, +46.34u, 141.59% payback
Winterthur FCB - Žalgiris, Winterthur FCB -12 @ -109, 7u, Pinnacle
Yes, Basile is out, fair enough for me as I never considered him as a major threat there. For those who saw the game in Kaunas, this should have been a double digit win for Barca, but missing some 5 or 6 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 fast breaks by failing a lay-up made the game tight there. Yet the situation is as follows here. Žalgiris is still screwed with injuries. They get Mottola back, but despite the fact FCB dominated the paint in the first game and there is no defender that Barca can put on Navarro (Leading scorer in EL and he dropped 31 points on them in the first meeting). To add more to this - Popovič is still out for Žalgiris for today's match - he is their No.1 PG and leader of the team and has been out for a while and the team looked pathetic without him and was labelled as questionable for this match, but eventually is not playing. Kirk Penney is not going to make it either (though I do not consider him as very important player, but could have been a threat from distance against questionable Barca's perimeter defense (did get in some crucial treys in Kaunas as well). To add more problems to their outside game - Mantas Kalnietis is missing this match as well. So their 2nd/3rd option PG will be out as well there. So now Žalgiris will have to rely on Vidas Ginevičius and Vytenis Jasikevičius (younger bro of Šarūnas from Pacers). Ginevičius will get extended minutes for sure and the offense will be slower by much for them, but the thing is that I am not jumping on under here at the moment as it might very well be that Barca will score 3 digit points today.
Žalgiris is 2-7 ATS and both times they have covered have come against Eldo Napoli. While Winterthur FCB is 5-4 ATS this season which might not be that impressive yet they are 4-1 ATS at home with the only failure coming against Aris (only 3 point win) and winning rest of the games by double digits.
So all in all - double digit win here is something that we can expect once again against injury depleted Žalgiris.
Winterthur FCB - Žalgiris, Winterthur FCB -12 @ -109, 7u, Pinnacle
Yes, Basile is out, fair enough for me as I never considered him as a major threat there. For those who saw the game in Kaunas, this should have been a double digit win for Barca, but missing some 5 or 6 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 fast breaks by failing a lay-up made the game tight there. Yet the situation is as follows here. Žalgiris is still screwed with injuries. They get Mottola back, but despite the fact FCB dominated the paint in the first game and there is no defender that Barca can put on Navarro (Leading scorer in EL and he dropped 31 points on them in the first meeting). To add more to this - Popovič is still out for Žalgiris for today's match - he is their No.1 PG and leader of the team and has been out for a while and the team looked pathetic without him and was labelled as questionable for this match, but eventually is not playing. Kirk Penney is not going to make it either (though I do not consider him as very important player, but could have been a threat from distance against questionable Barca's perimeter defense (did get in some crucial treys in Kaunas as well). To add more problems to their outside game - Mantas Kalnietis is missing this match as well. So their 2nd/3rd option PG will be out as well there. So now Žalgiris will have to rely on Vidas Ginevičius and Vytenis Jasikevičius (younger bro of Šarūnas from Pacers). Ginevičius will get extended minutes for sure and the offense will be slower by much for them, but the thing is that I am not jumping on under here at the moment as it might very well be that Barca will score 3 digit points today.
Žalgiris is 2-7 ATS and both times they have covered have come against Eldo Napoli. While Winterthur FCB is 5-4 ATS this season which might not be that impressive yet they are 4-1 ATS at home with the only failure coming against Aris (only 3 point win) and winning rest of the games by double digits.
So all in all - double digit win here is something that we can expect once again against injury depleted Žalgiris.
