Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's 21st round matches will continue today with Khimki Moscow Region (11-9) welcoming Unicaja Malaga (8-12) for a game with major potential ramifications in the playoffs picture.
The Russian team has been wildly unpredictable in recent weeks, especially at home with its last four games resulting in big wins by 28 and 18 points and blowout losses by 14 and 17 points.
Attempting to exploit that vulnerability is a Unicaja team full of frustration after losing three of its last five games by just 2 points, all with the outcome decided on the game's final play.
Unicaja is the league's second best offensive rebounding team, averaging 12.8 per game, largely thanks to a man who will be on familiar territory: ex-Khimki center James Augustine.
Elsewhere, Brose Bamberg (7-13) will look to give its playoffs ambitions fresh life against a Panathinaikos Superfoods (13-7) team that has been fraying its fans' nerves perhaps more than any other team: no less than 10 of the Greens' games have been settled by 6 points or fewer.
Panathinaikos ranks third in the competition in steals with 6.8 per game, while Brose is a long way last in that category with just 4.7 per game.
The German team, Brose Bamberg, also trails the competition in shots blocked, with just 1.7 rejections per game compared to Panathinaikos's average of 2.9.
In the final match of the day, two teams with serious aspirations of pushing toward the top half close the week with a must-win battle in Vitoria.
Baskonia (9-11) has won once and lost twice on the final buzzer in the last three weeks, while Zvezda (8-12) will have renewed confidence after ending a three-game losing streak with last week's win over Olympiacos.
Baskonia is the league's third best shot blocking team with an average of 3.4 rejections, but Zvezda often seeks success further away from the rim, attempting the third-highest number of 3-point shots in the competition (25.2 per game). Expect maximum intensity in a game with playoff-like significance.
