Europe's top-tier international club level basketball tournament the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's first half will end today after the round 15 games. Anadolu Efes will meet German club Brose Bamberg at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul today. Efes (3-11) will look for a first win under Coach Ergin Ataman against a Brose team (6-8) eager to get back on track and towards the top half of the standings after two straight defeats. Brose has not won on the road since Round Five, while Efes has lost four straight games. The German champion has claimed fewer rebounds than any other team (30.0 per game), so the ability of Bryant Dunston and Vladimir Stimac to dominate the paint could be crucial for Efes. The Turkish side could enhance its chances of winning by improving its long-range shooting accuracy. It is ranked 15th in three-point conversion rate (31.7 percent).
Elsewhere, CSKA (11-3) will attempt to maintain its place atop of the standings with a tough trip to face Baskonia (7-7).
Baskonia has gone 7-3 since the arrival of Coach Pedro Martinez. It promises to be an exciting shootout, with CSKA leading the league in scoring (88.3 points per game) and Baskonia not far behind (81.3 points per game).
In fact, these two are the most accurate two-point shooting teams in the competition, with Baskonia's conversion rate of 55.7 percent only bettered by CSKA's 56.2 percent. And the home team's ball-sharing mentality is reflected in its average of 20.1 assists per game, second-best in the league.
Meanwhile, two teams aiming to reverse recent fortunes meet in the fashion capital, with Milan (4-10) having lost five of its last six, while Zvezda (5-9) dropped both games last week. Despite its record, Milan has been extremely competitive this season, with its last eight games all being decided by single-digit margins.
With leading scorer Andrew Goudelock coming back to full speed after injury, Zvezda will have to significantly improve its recent offensive output after scoring just 56 and 63 points in last week's losses. Zvezda also needs to better protect its basket. It ranks last in the league in defensive rebounds (19.4 per game).