Kyle Hines supports Mike James, shares his EuroLeague playoff picks / News - Basketnews.com

Hines thinks Mike James will decide the series between Monaco and Maccabi but Real Madrid's roster depth will be the deciding factor in the Final Four.

Credit: Roberto Finizio/Getty Images Credit Roberto Finizio/Getty Images

With EuroLeague Playoffs just a week away, one of the best centers in the league's history - Kyle Hines - shared his picks for the 2022-23 postseason.

Mike James

MIN:30.86PTS:16.26 (50.6%)REB:3.65As:4.65ST:1.06BL:0.03TO:2.29GM:31ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

Looking at the first matchup between Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, the EuroLeague veteran thinks that the Peace and Friendship Stadium, commonly known in Greece as SEF, will play a huge role in the series.

"They have the home-court advantage. To play in SEF, it will not necessarily be easy," he said.

Hines picks Olympiacos to advance to the Final after winning the series 3-2. Hines thinks the biggest advantage the Turkish club has is the head coach Dimitris Itoudis.

"The reason why I give Fenerbahce two games is because of coach Itoudis. He's very experienced, he knows how to maneuver these types of games," the player explained. "One of the things he's amazing at is game preparation. This is probably his best quality. He's going to devise a great game plan to try and be successful."

"All in all, I think the home-court advantage is going to help Olympiacos advance to the Final Four," he concluded.

The second matchup between AS Monaco and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will be decided by one of the premiere guards in the tournament, Hines thinks.

"I'm a Mike James guy. Playoff Mike James can be something different. I think he can be the one deciding factor, especially when he's locked in," Hines shared. "With these playoffs, given what he had last year, I think he's going to be dialed in."

"For Mike James, I think he's motivated to try and get to the Final Four. I think this is one of his moments, and I think it's one of the best opportunities he can possibly have," the center said, picking Monaco to win the series 3-2.

Kyle Hines

Team:EA7 Emporio Armani MilanPosition:CAge:36Height:198 cmWeight:111 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The highly anticipated matchup between two Sarunas Jasikevicius' teams - his former in Zalgiris Kaunas and his current in FC Barcelona - will provide less intrigue than the previous two matchups, the EA7 Emporio Armani Milan player says.

"Barcelona is probably going to win the first two games. I think Game 3, just because of the emotion, playing in Zalgirio Arena isn't necessarily the easiest place. Saras going back home to play in that arena, Smits playing against his former team, I think it's going to be a surprising factor. Zalgiris is going to drum up enough emotion to pull out one game, but Barcelona is going to pull it out and be victorious in the entire series," Hines explained his reasoning for picking Barca's 3-1 win.

In the last quarterfinals matchup between Real Madrid and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, Hines put the most importance on the depth of the rosters that each of the two teams have.

"Real is one of the deepest teams in the EuroLeague, they're primed for a series like this," he began.

"One of the problems that they [Partizan] have probably been facing throughout the entire season is that they're not really deep, they're not a deep team, they don't have a deep roster," Hines named the reason why Partizan will lose 2-3. "What Madrid has, they have a deep team, they have so many guys and so many weapons, so many different areas in which they can take advantage of."

Looking at the first semifinal matchup between Olympiacos and Monaco, the Greek team's consistent play will be the determining factor, Hines says.

"They've been playing well, they've been playing the most consistently throughout the whole year, and I think it's their time to win that game," he shared.

Talking about the other semifinal, where yet another El Clasico would be scheduled, Hines wished his former teammate Sergio Rodriguez to advance to the final.

"I want to see my guy Chaco do well. I want to see his crowning moment," the center said.

The player thinks that the final between Olympiacos and Real Madrid will once again be decided by roster depth.

"Tavares is such a difference-maker, a game-changer. They have experience with Chaco and [Sergio] Llull, and Rudy Fernandez, the guys that have been there. Why not? You see those guys, that group that has been so important to the EuroLeague, ride out with an opportunity to win another EuroLeague together," Hines said. "They have Yabusele and all those different guys, Musa, Hezonja, all these guys that have been playing really well."

Check out the whole BasketNews EuroLeague bracket challenge with Mike Batiste, where he explains his picks and gives some juicy insights into his thought process.

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