The two teams face off in Kaunas in Round 20's Rivalry Series game
Real Madrid faces Zalgiris in friendly territory
Game Preview
3 Mins read
Friday night pits two teams – Zalgiris Kaunas and Real Madrid – against each other with the same 10-9 record, but they come into this Rivalry Series game but in very different circumstances.
Los Blancos are riding the wave of a four-game winning streak and after this Round 20 showdown, they play their next three game in the Spanish capital. Zalgiris, meanwhile, had a strong start to the season having won six of its first seven games, but is now on a three-game losing streak.
The game comes at a pivotal time for both teams and getting the tiebreaker could have a big impact in the standings at the end of the regular season. In Round 15, Zalgiris upset Real 83-92 at Movistar Arena behind 21 points from Lonnie Walker, all of them coming in an outstanding first half in which he helped his team get a 38-54 lead. Zalgiris had six players score in double digits and the team buried 15-of-29 three-pointers.
That was Real's last loss in the competition, and that night saw coach Chus Mateo's team hit just 8-of-26 triples (30.8% 3FG) while finishing the contest with 16 assists and 14 turnovers. It was a wake-up call for Real, which has taken a better care of the ball since that day, leading to a higher three-point shooting percentage.
In its last four wins, Madrid totaled 74 assists (18.5 apg.) while its opponents combined for 58 (14.5 apg.). Los Blancos also outrebounded each and every opponent in that stretch, grabbing 157 boards (39.3 rpg.) and allowing just 124 (31.0 rpg.). Being solid under the boards has made the difference in the last four games.
In the opening 16 fixtures, Zalgiris averaged more two-point shots (33.7) than three-point attempts (28.4). Things have changed in the last three games, with Zalgiris pulling the trigger from downtown way more often than before. Coach Andrea Trinchieri's team took 34.3 three-point attempts on average, and just 25.0 shots inside the arc.
Zalgiris has taken worse care of the ball, too, averaging 4.7 assists and 18.0 turnovers in the last three games, compared to 6.8 steals and 11.9 turnovers in the opening 16 showdowns.
Real comes to one of its favorite courts, Zalgirio Arena, where it won its 11th Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title in 2023 after Sergio Llull buried a shot late in the championship game which allowed Los Blancos to beat Olympiacos Piraeus 78-79. Llull returns to Kaunas not just as a three-time champion, but as the competition's all-time leader in game appearances (426), minutes played (9,410) and three-pointers made.
In general, Real has been rock-solid in Kaunas this century. Other than its two victories at the 2023 Final Four, Real has an 11-4 road record at Zalgiris’s home. Last season, Coach Mateo’s men edged Zalgiris 62-64 on a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper by Gaby Deck, who will miss this week’s Rivalry Series game due to injury.
This contest gives EuroLeague fans the chance to see two of the best point guards in the competition go against each other. Despite his team's struggles, Zalgiris playmaker Sylvain Francisco has been spectacular of late, averaging 18.0 points, 3.5 assists and a PIR of 20.2 in the last six games. Facu Campazzo had a PIR of 7 in his team's Round 15 loss against Zalgiris, which is just one of two single-digit PIR games for him this season, so he has probably marked this showdown in red. Since then, Campazzo has averaged 13.3 points, 6.0 assists and a PIR of 21.0.
There is more to this game than a stellar matchup. Two of the four players to earn EuroLeague Best Defender honors more than once, Walter Tavares of Real and Bryant Dunston of Zalgiris, are going up against each other. Dimitris Diamantidis and Kyle Hines are the other two players in this exclusive list.
At Movistar Arena in mid-December, Brady Manek had a season-high 13 points against Real and Alen Smailagic had 12, one shy of his best mark in the present campaign. Their matchup against Eli Ndiaye and Usman Garuba should be one to follow. Without Deck, Mario Hezonja is set to see playing time at power forward, too.
Of course, Zalgiris relies on its home-court advantage to be a big factor in this game. Zalgiris has lost three of its last four home games against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Olympiacos Piraeus. Real won its last four games by double digits and arrives in Lithuania in its best form of the season, so a big push will be required from Zalgiris fans.
Expect nothing but a heavy basketball atmosphere and an outstanding basketball game, the kind only the EuroLeague can offer this early in 2025. Tune in on Friday, January 10 at 19:00 CET and enjoy the show!