Two Euroleague heavyweight powerhouses meet again in the Spanish capital, where Real Madrid takes on Panathinaikos Athens on Thursday. Madrid is tied for first place in Top 16 Group E with a 9-2 record, with Panathinaikos not far behind at 7-4. A win would mathematically take Madrid to the playoffs; Los Blancos can also advance without a victory if CSKA Moscow downs Unicaja Malaga. The teams meet for the fourth time this season. In Top 16 Game 5, Madrid topped Panathinaikos 54-58 behind 13 points from Felipe Reyes.
Madrid superstar Rudy Fernandez has sat out the last two games due to back problems, joining Marty Pocius on the injury list. If Fernandez remains sidelined, Sergio Llull will see more playing time at the shooting guard position while Sergio Rodriguez, who comes off a great game against Unicaja, and Dontaye Draper will split minutes at playmaker. Rodriguez must use his creativity and passing skills against Euroleague legend Dimitris Diamantidis, who has the defensive skills, leadership and game knowledge to be a decisive factor at any given time. Draper must be ready for a physical test against explosive playmaker Marcus Banks. Panathinaikos will lean heavily on its frontcourt led by Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who dominated in his last visit to Madrid, James Gist and Stephane Lasme, who put up big numbers in their second meeting. Madrid has no shortage of big men to counter them, starting with Mirza Begic and Rafael Hettsheimeir at center. The athletic Marcus Slaughter could be an ideal matchup for Lasme, while Felipe Reyes has the power to create trouble for Big Sofo, just like he did earlier in the Top 16. The visitors could look to create mismatches of their own through Rising Star Nikola Mirotic, but Gist has the athleticism and quick legs needed to guard him. Llull and Jaycee Carroll provide the fireworks from downtown, while Carlos Suarez will see extended playing time at small forward if Fernandez can't play. Carroll can test his scoring skills against Roko Ukic. Suarez faces a strong test against explosive forward Jonas Maciulis and Llull must use his athleticism and dynamism against Michael Bramos.
Madrid must use its size advantage in the paint, try to stop Diamantidis, expect Carroll, Llull and – if available – Fernandez to make the difference at the wings and try to be its usual self on offense, playing high-tempo basketball. Panathinaikos must keep full control of the game through Diamantidis and Ukic, try to get Schortsanitis involved and expect a big game from Bramos and Maciulis at the wings, especially on defense.
Watch Here - Link
Europe - EuroLeague Grp. E
March 21
18:45 Zalgiris Kaunas vs Anadolu Efes
20:45 Real Madrid vs Panathinaikos
20:45 Unicaja vs CSKA Moscow
Europe - EuroLeague Grp. F
March 21
20:45 Barcelona vs Caja Laboral Baskonia
Thursday, March 21, 2013
21.03.2013 Real Madrid vs Panathinaikos basketball Europe - EuroLeague Grp. E
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.