The race for the postseason is heating up with each passing week
Round 24 at a glance: Into the final third of the season!
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Round 24 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague offers a thrilling set of games, culminating with one of the world’s most passionate derbies on Friday night. This is what we can look forward to...
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. FC Bayern Munich (19:00 CET)
Inconsistent Zalgiris (11-12) will look to revive its playoff hopes by prevailing in a visit from a Bayern team (13-10) aiming to collect back-to-back road wins following its Round 23 success at ALBA. After failing to score a single field goal in the fourth quarter of last week’s capitulation to Panathinaikos, the home team will look to quickly regain confidence by making a strong start. Bayern’s attack will be spearheaded by Round 23 MVP Carsen Edwards, who faces an intriguing backcourt tussle with his former Bayern teammate Sylvain Francisco. Edwards won the scoring duel between the pair 24-20 in Round 8, helping his team edge a 77-74 decision, so Zalgiris will be targeting a winning margin of at least 4 points to claim the head-to-head advantage.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. ALBA Berlin (20:05 CET)
Maccabi (6-17) will look to win two consecutive games for the first time all season with a visit from rock-bottom but still competitive ALBA (3-20). The Israeli champion boosted its confidence with a solid success over Zvezda last week and will hope that veteran leader John DiBartolomeo can deliver another big night after netting 15 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting in that game. Maccabi can certainly count on creativity from its backcourt, with league-leading assister Tamir Blatt (7.4 assists per game) and Rokas Jokubaitis (12.2 points and 5.3 assists per night) both in good form. ALBA also possesses plenty of backcourt talent, with Matteo Spagnolo (10.4 ppg.), Gabriele Procida (10.4) and Martin Hermannsson (10.7) all averaging in double digits scoring, so it should be a fast-moving and entertaining spectacle.
Paris Basketball vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:30 CET)
The French derby will see two ambitious teams meet for a crucial showdown when Paris (13-9) welcomes ASVEL (11-12). The visiting team will draw plenty of confidence from last week’s solid victory over Barcelona, which saw Theo Maledon (22.8 average PIR, third best in the league) again excel with 18 points and 9 assists. The hosts will counter him with its own MVP candidate, TJ Shorts, who has maintained his consistency despite his team’s recent troubles and ranks just behind Maledon with an average PIR of 22.4. ASVEL also has the incentive of trying to lock down the head-to-head advantage after triumphing 98-93 in the Round 15 meeting between the teams, partly thanks to Neal Sako’s dominance of the paint, netting 14 points without a miss from the field plus 7 rebounds.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (20:30 CET)
Injury-hit Milan (12-11) will hope to welcome back reinforcements for a testing visit from reigning champ Panathinaikos (14-9), which needs a win to maintain its position in the top four. The Greens will hope for more inside dominance from Wenyen Gabriel after his breakout performance in last week’s sensational comeback triumph over Zalgiris, pairing 15 points with 8 blocks, and Milan needs center Freddy Gillespie to add more scoring after only managing 2 points along with 10 rebounds in last week’s heavy loss at Efes. Shooting star Neno Dimitrijevic also needs to emerge from a slump after only averaging 4.7 points over the last three games, especially with Greens’ guard Kendrick Nunn fully recovered from his own dip in form after scoring 26 against Zalgiris last time out.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. FC Barcelona (20:30 CET)
Expect maximum intensity from an all-Spanish showdown as Baskonia (9-14) looks to boost its fading playoff ambitions against an equally hungry Barcelona (13-10). The visiting team – led by former Baskonia coach Joan Penarroya – needs to bounce back from last week’s loss at ASVEL, where the Blaugrana’s occasional tendency to lapse into leaky defense again resurfaced with 100 points conceded. A key battle will take place at power forward between Chima Moneke and Jabari Parker: the Baskonia star continued his great season with a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards in last week’s heartbreaking last-second loss at Real, while Parker again demonstrated his shooting power with 18 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting in the loss at ASVEL. Barca also needs to contain Nikos Rogkavopoulos, who has two double-doubles in his last four games.
Friday, January 31, 2025
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Virtus Segafredo Bologna (18:30 CET)
Fenerbahce (15-7) will hunt a sixth straight victory with a visit from a Virtus team (7-16) whose playoff chances are looking increasingly slender. The Italian team couldn’t withstand a late push from Monaco at home last week, conceding 30 fourth-quarter points, and will need to compete for the full 40 minutes against a Fener team coming off a strong road win at Olympiacos. Virtus will offer a long-range scoring threat through Alessandro Pajola, who has struck from long-range in 10 consecutive games. The hosts will hope that recent signing Errick McCollom will continue to settle well into the backcourt, after offering a solid 12 points in Piraeus, while the return to fitness of Arturs Zagars has also added depth to Saras Jasikevicius’s previous threadbare guard options.
AS Monaco vs. Real Madrid (19:00 CET)
After ending a three-game losing run by making an impressive comeback against Virtus last week, Monaco (14-9) will look to protect its position in the top four with a visit from direct rival Real (13-10). An undoubted highlight will be a personal battle between two of the league’s most talented guards, with Mike James and Facu Campazzo both heading into the showdown in strong form. James netted 24 points – his highest total of the season – to inspire the turnaround at Virtus, while Campazzo combined 22 points with 6 assists to lead his team to a victory over Baskonia that was secured by Mario Hezonja’s dramatic buzzer-beating game-winner. Real coach Chus Mateo could bolster his roster by giving debuts to new signings Bruno Fernando and Dennis Smith.
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:15 CET)
After having a seven-game winning run snapped by last week’s home loss to Fenerbahce, league leader Olympiacos (16-7) will look to start another streak with a visit from Efes (11-12). The Turkish team arrives with confidence renewed after ending its own losing run by thrashing Milan and will hope that sharpshooter Rodrigue Beaubois can stay hot after pouring in 18 points, his best tally in 11 games. Another plus was a return to form by power forward Rolands Smits with his best PIR of the season (17), and this week he faces the biggest possible test with a matchup against Sasha Vezenkov. Reds coach Georgios Bartzokas will want his team to recover its defensive toughness, after struggling to stop Fener’s rhythm last week in the absence of Thomas Walkup.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (20:30 CET)
With both Partizan (12-11) and Zvezda (13-10) determined to boost their push for the playoffs and currently separated by just one win, the latest edition of the Belgrade derby promises to be more exciting and tense than ever. Partizan arrives in better form with three straight victories, while Zvezda has slipped down the standings with two losses out of three. Zeljko Obradovic’s men took a 77-89 victory when the teams met in Round 11 behind 21 points from Carlik Jones. He faces an exciting backcourt matchup with fit-again Zvezda veteran Milos Teodosic, who announced his full recovery from injury with 15 points and 5 assists in last week’s loss to Maccabi. Partizan will look to limit Zvezda’s shooters like Isaiah Canaan (10.4 points per game) through its excellent perimeter defense, having allowed opponents to convert just 32.7% of three-pointers so far – second-best in the league.