Betting corner: classic overreaction after Maccabi game and unconvincing Efes' stars / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BNS, Patrick Albertini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit BNS, Patrick Albertini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

As usual, before the upcoming EuroLeague round, Andreas Blomdahl and Betting Corner present the best choices for betting enthusiasts.

Currently, Andreas correctly predicted 11 out of 17 possible outcomes. A very solid record, indeed! However, we remind you to gamble responsibly.

FC Bayern Munich vs Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Bayern are traveling back from Barcelona, where they lost 66-71 after a great second half from the hosts. All in all, solid Trinchieri-effort.

Maccabi are coming from Kaunas, Lithuania, where they finally got the scoring going, especially James Nunally, who scored 32 points. Maccabi won 94-78, and they shot 14/20 from beyond the arc.

Maccabi came up with the best performance away from home in a very long time, and suddenly, we get a 153.5 points line? Classic overreaction if you ask me.

Just because they're having an unreal shooting night, it doesn't mean that they will be anything close to that coming to the Audi Dome. They're about to face one of the best defenses in Europe, and Zalgiris' effort on Tuesday was the total opposite.

Just to state an example, Bayern have held their last five opponents, three of them in EuroLeague and two in BBL, to an average of 65 points.

I'm not saying Maccabi are scoring 65 points here, they probably score closer to 75, but we will still be fine. If Maccabi scored 80 against Zalgiris, I'm sure the total would have been around 151.5.

Bayern will be missing Djedovic meanwhile, Maccabi will be without Jake Cohen, and coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos is as much a game-time decision as a coach can get due to Covid-19.

BET: Under 153.5 @ 1.90

FC Barcelona vs Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

Barcelona are coming from a game with two different faces. The first half against Bayern was really poor meanwhile, the second one was something we used to see in Barca in Palau, and the final score was 71-66.

Panathinaikos had a good performance, but there was one thing that separated them and their opponents, which was Mike James. The former Panathinaikos player fired on all cylinders in the fourth quarter and scored 29 points. The game finished with the guests winning 91-83.

The big news here is that the big scoring key, Nemanja Nedovic, will stay in Athens due to rest and will not take part in this game. This means PAO are traveling to Barcelona without Ioannis Papapetrou, who is due to surgery, and Nedovic. A lot will rely on Daryl Macon, Howard Saint-Roos, and newly acquired Stefan Jovic.

Barcelona bounced back big time in the second half against Bayern, and I'm confident they will continue where they left. Cory Higgins and Alex Abrines were once again out against Bayern and have to be considered as game-time decisions here.

I think this one can get ugly, and Barcelona is just so much better with the current roster.

BET: Barcelona -13.5 @ 1.75.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Anadolu Efes are traveling back home after a great performance in Moscow, beating CSKA 99-97 in overtime. The fun fact is that the 19 3-pointers made from Efes was a new club record.

ASVEL looked solid away to Fenerbache but a late run in the 4th quarter sealed the deal for the Turks, who won 85-76.

I find this game a bit similar to the Bayern vs Maccabi one. Firstly, Efes are traveling home from Moscow with Shane Larkin playing 39 minutes, Rodrigue Beaubois playing 37, and Vasilije Micic 36 minutes.

Secondly, even if I think Larkin and Vasilije Micic are elite players, they have struggled to be consistent this season, and I'm not convinced they will have such performances on a back-to-back basis.

ASVEL have been unlucky the whole season and are still dealing with many injuries. David Lighty, Antoine Diot, William Howard, Victor Wembanyama, and Raymar Morgan are out, and now we can also add Elie Okobo, who will undergo surgery due to a shoulder injury.

I find it very likely that Efes are ahead in this game from the beginning and that they will take every chance they can to rest Larkin, Micic, and others. On the other hand, I can't see ASVEL scoring even 70 points with all the absences.

BET: Under 160.5 @ 1.85

Zalgiris Kaunas (3-17) vs UNICS Kazan (12-10)

Zalgiris played what looked like an exhibition game against Maccabi, with no defense to talk about, which resulted in the 17th loss of the season, 78-94.

UNICS are traveling from Berlin, and they want to forget such a horrible performance as quickly as possible.

The only positive in the last game against Maccabi was Marek Blazevic, who got 20 points for the first time and had a very impressive performance overall. They also had Joffrey Lauvergne, and Paulius Jankunas back after injury and Covid.

It is not easy to find positive things about UNICS recently. The hottest team in EuroLeague has gone ice-cold. To put the performance in context, they shot 3/23 from 3-point against ALBA Berlin.

What to make out of this? Zalgiris just want the season to be over, that's the feeling I have, and let's just say they seem to think it's funnier to have the ball than defend the ball.

UNICS could bounce back in any game, and this one looks like the perfect opportunity to do so. The defense in Kaunas is very poor, and I expect UNICS to get a lot of open threes and open shots in general.

The line is too low and affected by UNICS' recent performances. Even though Zalgiris are 3-17, they know how to score, especially at home.

BET: Over 152.5 @ 1.90

Real Madrid vs Zenit St Petersburg

After a poor first half, Los Blancos found their rhythm and beat Olympiacos 75-67 after trailing as much as 16 points just before halftime.

Zenit played a tough game in Vitoria, but after a strong second half, they beat Baskonia 90-82 thanks to Billy Baron and Jordan Loyd, who combined for 47 points.

This is a game I've been looking forward to the most this double-week. Expectations for both teams are high, and hopefully, the score as well.

Real Madrid have so much to improve in their offense, and it will surely be the main topic after the game against Olympiakos. Again, they will be without Gabriel Deck and the defensive specialist, Jeffery Taylor.

When we talk about Zenit, it's often about Xavi Pascual and the defense. But I would like to highlight their offense when playing away recently. In my opinion, they have looked very strong lately, scoring 90, 76, 93, 77, and 81 points in their last five games.

I believe Real Madrid will bounce back and have a very good offensive display. Meanwhile, Zenit will continue where they left off against Baskonia. An exciting game that I think will live up to its expectations. The line is way too low for this matchup, easy as that.

BET: Over 152.5 @ 1.90

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