Betting Corner: bad news for PAO and Zalgiris & three other predictions / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Vangelis Stolis, Begum Unal/BasketNews Credit Vangelis Stolis, Begum Unal/BasketNews

After a successful debut, Andreas Blomdahl and BasketNews’ Betting Corner edition is coming back with new suggestions.

Last week, Andreas correctly predicted all four events and now he prepared another five predictions for the upcoming Round 22.

Most importantly, we remind you to gamble responsibly.

UNICS Kazan (11-7) vs FC Barcelona (16-4)

The longest away trip of the season for Barcelona. They will have to deal without Alex Abrines and Nikola Mirotic due to COVID-19. A big blow, of course, since Mirotic average almost 20 points and is the one that has to bail his team out when the shot clock is ticking down.

I think we all can agree that UNICS is the surprise of the season so far. What's no surprise is that they are very solid at home with a record of 7-3 and are only allowing 68 points per game while scoring 76.

Of course, there is a lot of scoring power in both of these teams. The trio of Mario Hezonja, Lorenzo Brown, and Isaiah Canaan are deadly and can take down any team. The last meeting between these two where the epic battle just before Christmas, which ended in Barcelona's favor 111-109 after a big comeback in the 4th quarter.

This time though, we're going for a lower score. Barcelona, without Mirotic, are very limited against a big and tough UNICS defense. UNICS, on the other hand, are not going to play any run & gun game here. Besides, I think Barcelona's defense is looking better and better.

BET: Under 153.5 @ 1.90

Zenit St. Petersburg (12-6) vs AS Monaco (9-11)

Once again, we're looking for a crucial game for both teams in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Zenit got an impressive win at home against CSKA on Monday, but they paid the price of another injured point guard. This time, Conner Frankamp injured his ankle and could miss several weeks.

Since Shabazz Nappier remains out, a lot will depend on Dmitry Kulagin and the new signing Tyson Carter, who is yet to play for the Russian side. On top of this, the big man Arturas Gudaitis also injured his ankle and will miss the game against Monaco.

I mentioned it last week and will do it again, Monaco are looking good since bringing in coach Sasha Obradovic, and Mike James is once again showing crazy numbers!

On Tuesday, Monaco traveled to Lyon and beat ASVEL with 100-75. Donatas Motiejunas scored 22 in as many minutes, while Dwayne Bacon had a season-high 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

I expect this to be a very close game, and once again, I won't be surprised if a smoking hot Monaco grabs the W.

BET: Monaco +6.5 @ 1.80

Fenerbache Beko Istanbul (8-10) vs Zalgiris Kaunas (3-14)

Fenerbache to win in double-digits without Jan Vesely and Nando De Colo? It might sound crazy, but the visitors from Lithuania are dealing with even bigger problems.

Let's start with the hosts. Vesely and De Colo are out, while Pierria Henry and Ismet Akpinar are game-time decisions. A lot of responsibility will be on Achille Polonara, Marko Guduric, Devin Booker, Melih Mahmutoglu, and others.

These players have a lot of experience in these situations, and I don't think they will have any problem stepping up in their role.

Zalgiris, on the other hand, announced that the trio Arturas Milaknis, Tai Webster, and Paulius Jankunas were diagnosed with COVID-19.

On top of that, they lost Janis Strelnieks in the King Mindaugas Cup game against Jonava. This means that the Lithuanians will travel to Istanbul with three youngsters who normally play in the domestic second division.

I think Fenerbache will win big because they are more experienced when it comes to these situations, and I also think Henry will play, which would be a big bonus.

BET: Fenerbache -9.5 @ 1.75.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul (9-10) vs Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (4-14)

Unfortunately for the Greeks, the 5th win of the season won't come here, and I have a feeling it can get ugly.

After three straight losses, Anadolu Efes got two consecutive wins in the domestic league after cruising through Besiktas and Yalovaspor. They're looking healthy, have signed Egemen Guven, who contributed straight away, and I have a feeling that Efes are starting to level up from here.

Panathinaikos have a long way to go, even if Stefan Jovic is a step in the right direction. However, there is still a lot that has to be done within and around the club. Jovic won't be available, and his debut will have to wait.

The leading rebounder of EuroLeague, Georgios Papagiannis, will also miss the game due to an injury, and we still don't know if the sharpshooter Daryl Macon will travel to Istanbul due to a sore calf.

There is too much separating these two teams right now, and with PAO having the record of 0-9 and an average losing margin of almost 14 points when playing away, the bet is obvious.

BET: Anadolu Efes -12.5 @ 1.85

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (8-11) vs Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (7-11)

ASVEL have seen better days, and the loss against Monaco on Tuesday was even worse when James Gist had to leave the game due to an injury.

Crvena Zvezda are traveling to France after not playing a game since the 2nd of January due to a big chunk of the team having COVID-19.

So, we have a French team that has Gist, William Howard, and Raymar Morgan injured. Even though David Lighty started practicing, I consider him out here as well. We can't say for a fact who will play for Crvena Zvezda since, once again, almost the whole squad had COVID around New Year's Eve, but there's my theory.

ASVEL are lacking confidence, and to get back on track, they will go back to what they do best at home in L'Astroballe, which is playing defense.

Crvena Zvezda are already one of the best defensive teams in Europe, but the fact that they haven't played a game in 19 days will affect the offense a lot. The defense is there, but offensively I can see them scoring 60-65 points. I'm very confident this will be a defensive-minded game with all the absences and lack of playing time.

BET: Under 150.5 @ 1.80

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