EuroLeague Primer: Round 22 - Wednesday

Written by

Kevin O'Brien

Updated on February 1, 2023 2:34PM EST

PREGAME UPDATES

Matt Thomas and Dimitrios Agravanis will not make their Panathinaikos debuts Wednesday.
Real Madrid's Vincent Poirier and Adam Hanga will be discarded for Round 22.
ALBA's Maodo Lo and Ben Lammers will not play Wednesday.

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

ZAL Zalgiris Kaunas at EFS Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Status Check: Keenan Evans (ZAL), Isaiah Taylor (ZAL), Tyler Cavanaugh (ZAL), Dogus Balbay (EFS)

The Breakdown: You may have had an eyebrow raised in your direction if you said before the season that Zalgiris would sit sixth in the standings and Efes would be outside of the top eight heading into their Round 22 matchup, but that's exactly where thing stand. Efes comes in on a 1-3 run, but the oddsmakers are expecting them to get back on track, as they are favored by 9.5 points on their home court. The numbers support that spread, as Efes is 86 points better in the point differential category and won by 26 when these teams met in Round 12. Zalgiris has been a tad better on the defensive end than their counterparts, but they also check in 10 spots lower in offensive rating and scored just 60 points last time they faced the Turkish team. Both teams are below average in the pace department, which explains why fewer points are expected in this matchup than the next two.

ASM AS Monaco at BER ALBA Berlin

Status Check: Maodo Lo (BER), Ben Lammers (BER), Marcus Eriksson (BER)

The Breakdown: In what is expected to be the most competitive contest of the evening, the Roca Team will head to Germany to take on an ALBA team that currently occupies the last spot in the standings. Monacoh is favored by as few as 3.0 points Wednesday, but also as many as 4.5. No team plays quicker than ALBA, which helps explain why as many as 10 more points are expected in this contest than the one above and five more than the one below. The German club fares a bit better on the defensive end than their opponent and lost by only three points when these teams met back in Round 14, but they will also likely have to overcome the absence of two starters in Round 22.

PAO Panathinaikos Athens at RMB Real Madrid

Status Check: Mateusz Ponitka (PAO), Matt Thomas (PAO), Dimitrios Agravanis (PAO), Lefteris Bochoridis (PAO), Lefteris Mantzoukas (PAO), Alberto Abalde (RMB), Anthony Randolph (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB)

The Breakdown: The first of the two Rounds on this week's schedule will conclude in Spain with a matchup between two clubs who met all the way back in Round 1. Real Madrid won by just three points that night, but the experts are expecting a much different result this time around, as the home team is favored by as many as 12.0 points. The Spanish squad has had a lengthy injured list all season, but they will be closer to full strength than their opponent, who will be down one of their top producers and also without the two players who just joined the team Tuesday. Both teams rank top-5 in pace, which is why the over/under on this game is not lower. However, they also combined for only 139 points last time around, and no team rates better on the defensive end than Real Madrid.

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