Last tips

Tip Preview:
- Key facts for the game:
- Murcia are in great shape. They finished the regular season with 5 consecutive wins and gave Real a very competitive game 1 in Madrid before succumbing to a 107-103 loss.
- Palacio de Deportes in Murcia has been a fortress this season. The hosts have won 12 of the 17 games played at home while their biggest loss was by only an 8 point margin to Barcelona. Real Madrid managed to escape with a win but only after overtime.
Real Madrid will again be missing Rudy Fernandez.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Olympiakos might be leading 2-1 in the series but Panathinaikos have actually been the better team so far. They lost game 2 by a buzzer beating 3-pointer by Spanoulis who probably committed travelling before shooting and game 3 after leading for most of the match and suffering an incredible blackout in the last 5 minutes.
- Coach Pedoulakis has transformed the Greens into a much more balanced team since he has taken over from Djordjevic despite receiving a surprisingly small contribution from Raduljica and Williams so far.
- Olympiakos will be playing for the rest of the series without key-man Printezis who has been their best player all season and is the only one on their roster capable of providing easy points in the paint with his high accuracy shots. He was shooting with a 64% excluding 3-pointers before going down with injury in the last game.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- What we mentioned last week is still valid today. AEK remains the team with the deeper bench and that has proven decisive in the first two games. Today it may be even more crucial with White and Waters suspended for Aris (Sakota and Papantoniou will miss the match for the visitors for the same reason).
- The game will be played without spectators as a protest from Aris for the officiating in the second game.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- What we mentioned last week is still valid today. AEK remains the team with the deeper bench and that has proven decisive in the first two games. Today it may be even more crucial with White and Waters suspended for Aris (Sakota and Papantoniou will miss the match for the visitors for the same reason).
- The game will be played without spectators as a protest from Aris for the officiating in the second game.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Bench depth could be the key in this series. Aris has a weak supporting cast and will be again without Hagins while tonight will be playing their sixth match in the last two weeks after getting eliminated from Panathinaikos in 5 games. AEK had an entire week to regroup after the loss against Olympiakos and have anyway a much deeper bench than Aris.

Tip Preview:
I will leave out any key facts for the Euroleague final and offer some thoughts instead. This is without a doubt the final everyone expected between the two best teams in Europe this season. On one side CSKA with arguably the two best guards in Euroleague in De Colo and Teodosic and by far the most efficient offense but a less than reliable defense (14th in efficiency rating) and without any true back-up center for Hynes and that's something to worry about. Fenerbahce on the other side is a much more balanced team efficient both in attack and defense. In the bench of Fenerbahce there is no need for introductions for the ''lord of the rings'' coach Obradovic who will go against his promising pupil Itoudis in what is surely an exciting story. All things considered, I just don't see CSKA as the big favourites here as to justify the odds that circulate and backing Fenerbahce to lift their first ever Euroleague title is the sensible choice.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- After going 2-0 Panathinaikos lost both matches in Thessaloniki but Calathes missed the third one with injury while Gist, Feldeine and Haynes missed the fourth due to disciplinary reasons. They are all expected to return for the crucial last game.
- Aris would have lost all games in Athens this season with double digits if it wasn't for some late looseness from Panathinaikos in game 1 but with so much at stake this won't be the case anymore.
- Αris will be playing again without their only true center Hagins while the short rotations and weak bench are expected to make a difference for the visitors who will be playing their fifth game in 10 days.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Despite their disappointing Euroleague campaign, Real Madrid have won 6 straight and 13 of their last 14 games in the ACB.
- Malaga's inconsistency is well documented. Last week against Gran Canaria they shot almost 50% from the 3-point line, a rare feat for Malaga who are not among the best shooting teams in the league. It will be difficult repeating this kind of performance against Real Madrid.
- Markovic and Smith are still unavailable for Malaga while Real is injury free.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Cantu have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are out of objectives after securing their place in Lega A so their season is practically over. Moreover they should be a little rusty after going 10 days without an official game.
- Varese are still motivated as they remain in playoff contention and they are in incredible form. They are on a 4 game winning streak and have won 7 of their last 9 matches.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Despite a positive period in which Malaga have won 6 of their last 7 matches, their performances haven't been entirely convincing as the absences of Markovic and Smith keep hurting them.
- Malaga have won just 3 of the 11 matches played against teams placed in the top 8 of the ACB.
- Gran Canaria is one of the more dependable teams of the league without big fluctuations in their performances throughout the season.In fact they have lost two games in a row just once.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Sevilla recovered well after the loss at Bilbao winning easily against Estudiantes and their good form continues.They have won 7 of their last 11 matches in ACB.
- Tenerife have lost 3 consecutive games by an average of 18 points.
- Tenerife cannot rely on White and Sekulic today while Richotti and Jones are questionable having missed most of the team practices this week.Newly signed center Gagic is unavailable for this match.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Sevilla are in great form having won 5 of their last 7 games, including impressive wins against Valencia, Laboral Kutxa and Gran Canaria.
- Bilbao face an injury crisis with Hannah and Todorovic out, Borg doubtful and several other players with various minor injuries hence not in their best condition.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Cremona have already secured home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and will be playing without italian internationals Cusin and Vitali, so a different squad rotation is almost certain.
- After securing a place in the final of the Europe Cup, in form Varese are now pushing strongly for a playoff spot in Lega A having won 5 of their last 7 matches.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- After losing Causeur and Shenghelia to injuries, Adam Hanga arguably Baskonia's best defender is also doubtful tonight.
- Panathinaikos' ascent came to an abrupt end in the first game but it's hard seeing the Greeks having such a disappointing game again.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Despite the inconsistent performances and the poor defensive attitude Cantu remains an immensely talented team with players like Fesenko, Johnson, Hodge and Ukic in their ranks.
- Cremona have been the better team this season but are still without captain Vitali while 4 of their last 5 home wins came with a total margin of just 8 points so they were unconvincing and arguably lucky at least to a degree.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Zaragoza will play without their starting SF Joan Sastre.
- It has been a disappointing campaign for dysfunctional Zaragoza who despite possessing a talented enough roster to fight for a playoff spot, have failed to find any consistency sitting just 2 wins above relegation zone.
- Estudiantes have completely transformed their squad during the season and big results lately against Valencia and Bilbao speak for themselves.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Koroivos have lost 12 of their last 13 games and standing within the relegation zone while PAOK have won 3 of their last 4 and seem out of their slump.
- The handicap is just 2,5 points because of the close relation between the coaches of the two teams, Soulis and Charis Markopoulos (father and son respectively). Many suppose that PAOK will be doing favors today to their opponents because Koroivos desperately need to win in order to keep their hopes alive. Nevertheless the motivation for PAOK is just as strong as they are fighting for a playoff spot and qualification to the Champions League, so I'm not expecting anything suspicious.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Anadolu Efes has been a huge disappointment in the Euroleague despite a big investment in the off season while coach Ivkovic seems past his best.
- While Anadolu Efes still has some mathematical chances to steal a playoff spot, these are only theoretical as an improbable combination of results would be required for them to qualify. Therefore both Malaga and Anadolu Efes are practically eliminated.
- Malaga's season hasn't been inspiring either but a big injury crisis played a significant role. Results have been better lately though as they are coming from an astounding win against Laboral Kutxa in La Liga while Markovic could get some minutes tonight after 3 months.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- Olympiakos are still without injured key players Young and Lojeski while Real Madrid are now at full strength after the return of Fernandez.
- Olympiakos are conceding 75 points per game in the Top 16 compared to just 69 points per game in the regular season. This defensive vulnerability has been the main culprit for their troubles in the second phase and will be further tested by Real Madrid's top offensive efficiency rating.

Tip Preview:
Key facts for the game:
- The Utah Jazz have won 6 of their last 7 games climbing to 8th place in the Western Conference.
- Hayward is recovered for the Jazz after injury kept him out for a couple of games.
- Shelvin Mack is on fire lately averaging approximately 15 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds while shooting at 50% from the field in the last 5 matches.