As Round 29 of the Turkish Airlines (THY) EuroLeague starts today with a number of teams are fighting for the last playoff spot, already guaranteed Fenerbahçe travels to Moscow while Efes and Barcelona, the bottom two, will look to end their seasons on a high note
THY EuroLeague's Round 29 kicks off with a bang as reigning champion Fenerbahçe Doğuş travels to face Khimki Moscow Region.
Khimki (16-12) needs a victory to maintain its bid for home-court advantage in the playoffs against visiting Fenerbahçe (20-8), which has already secured that status and is now gunning for a second-place finish.
Fenerbahçe ranks second in the league in 3-point shooting conversion (42.5 percent) but will face a challenge in that category as Alexey Shved attempts to further extend his record for triples in a season.
Fenerbahçe is aiming for a fourth consecutive road win and will lean upon the best defense in the competition, allowing an average of just 73.6 points per game.
Another Turkish team Anadolu Efes (6-22) will host FC Barcelona Lassa (9-19). Both teams are at the bottom of the standings and will seek a boost in morale. Efes has lost seven consecutive games but allowed at least 81 points in each of its last four meetings.
Coach Ataman's team also has the next-to-worst true shooting percentage in the competition, making just 46.5 percent of its attempts, while Barcelona has the league's fourth-best 2-point shooting conversion ratio at 54.8 percent.
But Barca is one of the weakest offensive rebounding units in the league, averaging 9.3 per game compared to Efes's tally of 11.9.
Elsewhere, Brose Bamberg meets AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan. Brose (11-17) will seek to extend its excellent form in Bamberg by gaining a sixth consecutive home win with Milan's (9-19) visit.
The German champion has averaged an impressive 91 points during its five-game winning streak in Freak City, so Milan - which is on a three-game losing run - will probably have to deliver a strong scoring night to compete.
These are the 14th- and 15th-ranked rebounding teams in the league (31.6 rebounds per game for Brose and 31.5 for Milan), so there could be a significant edge for whichever team is able to dominate that aspect.
And finally, Baskonia Vitoria will host Maccabi FOX. A huge showdown in Vitoria could see Baskonia (15-13) seal the final playoff berth with a win, while Maccabi (13-15) knows its hopes can only be kept alive with a road triumph.
The Spanish team is in fantastic form with five consecutive victories through an extremely consistent offense, which has produced 87, 81, 84, 103 and 86 points along the way.
Maccabi, on the other hand, has lost its last three games and five out of six and will need to guard the perimeter well against Baskonia's dangerous 3-point shooters, who have made the league's third-highest number of triples (9.8 per game).