Euroleague.net's team of experts have each come up with one forecast heading into Round 2 of the 2024-25 season
Bold predictions, Round 2: Shock results on the cards
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The second week of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is here, so it's time to hear from the Euroleague.net experts on what potential surprises they could see happening in Round 2.
ASVEL to make history against Virtus
By Javier Gancedo
Here is a curious fact for you: LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne has never beaten Virtus Segafredo Bologna in a home game. The French side is currently on a three-game losing streak to the Italian team – home or away – and has recorded two wins from their six games against one another, with both coming on the road (in Round 1 of the 2002-03 season and Round 6 of the 2022-23 campaign).
Well, I think this week will see ASVEL defeat Virtus at the Astroballe and send the home fans happy. Pierric Poupet's men held their own against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Belgrade last week, and I expect the likes of Theo Maledon, Paris Lee and Joffrey Lauvergne to get ASVEL over the line this time around. Guard Nando De Colo could reach the 4,500-point mark in his EuroLeague career with 14 points against Virtus, so it should be a night of celebration for everyone inside the Astroballe, just days after grabbing a big win over AS Monaco in the French League.
Nunn and Napier will light up the scoreboard
by Igor Petrinovic
The top scorer in the opening round of the season was FC Bayern Munich's Shabazz Napier, who led the way as his team beat Real Madrid in the first-ever EuroLeague game at SAP Garden. Napier netted 28 points on the night, three shy of his career high and his third-highest total across three seasons in the competition.
Kendrick Nunn, meanwhile, was Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens's leading scorer in Round 1, pouring in 16 points. Nunn, who earned All-EuroLeague First Team honors last season en route to helping Panathinaikos win the title, has averaged 16.0 points across 36 appearances since making his EuroLeague debut.
When Panathinaikos hosts Bayern on Thursday night, I believe Nunn will make the Greens' first home game since winning the title extra special. I also cannot shake the feeling that Napier will pick up where he left off in Round 1, and perhaps even better it. So, I predict that both men will score at least 25 points.
Partizan parties out in Madrid
by Frankie Sachs
I do not believe too much in institutional memory. So let’s be clear, this pick is not about revenge for the visitors. I certainly do not believe that a Partizan side that includes only one player from the famous 2023 playoff series (Balsa Koprivica played 67 seconds in Game 3), will be motivated by that series. What I do believe is that Coach Zeljko Obradovic is sitting on an insanely deep, talented and hungry team.
On the other hand, Real Madrid, which has struggled so far this season domestically and dropped its first EuroLeague game, should be with without the suspended Facu Campazzo. The Argentinian playmaker led Los Blancos in points and assists (19 and 9) in Round 1. Against Bayern, Real was outscored by 13 points in the 12 and a half minutes during which Campazzo rested. Add it all up and there is a tremendous opportunity for Partizan to win a regular-season game in Madrid for the first time.
Paris to stun Milan at Unipol Forum
by Geoff Gillingham
Call it overconfidence from watching the Paris Basketball documentary on the EuroLeague’s YouTube channel, but there’s something about this Paris team that I really like. I love that the club took a chance on Tiago Splitter, who I think will be an amazing coach in the not-too-distant future, and the team’s guard duo of TJ Shorts and Nadir Hifi are must-watch TV. Add in Maodo Lo, Kevarrius Hayes, Mikael Jantunen and Tyson Ward and you get a team that will give their all on a night in, night out basis.
Paris may have lost in Round 1 to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, but I have an inkling that the side from the French capital can pull off a huge shock and defeat EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on the road in Round 2. Crazy? Maybe. But Paris’s high-tempo, up-and-down game could make things very, very interesting at Unipol Forum. Watch out for a big game from Lo on his first return to Milan, too.