Six regular-season games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Saturday, January 20
Time: 4:00 PM (12:00 MSK)
Place: Arena.Sever, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Enisey: Krasnoyarsk continues to struggle with consistency. After taking down Tsmoki-Minsk on the road, Enisey lost to the worst team in its Champions League group, Juventus Lithuania. But there is also some positive news. The club signed American sharpshooter Mark Lyons earlier in the week, who Enisey hopes will make a big impact. Lyons won the Israeli league in 2016 and led the league in scoring in 2017.
Kalev: Kalev’s most recent results suggest that we could be in for a shootout on Saturday. Kalev is one of eight teams averaging more than 80 points per game, while Enisey is nearly there (79 ppg). As for defense, both teams are ranked at the bottom of the League. Tallinn has also struggled away from home, posting an 0-6 record this season.
Avtodor Russia – Astana Kazakhstan
Time: 5:00 PM (4:00 MSK)
Place: Kristall Sports Palace, Saratov, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Avtodor: After the game vs. PARMA, head coach Evgeny Pashutin lamented that Avtodor gave away a win. Saratov will try to avoid a similar outcome vs. Astana. Though Avtodor is higher in the standings, it won’t be an easy game. The Russian club went 0-2 vs. Astana last season and hasn’t defeated the Kazakh club since March 2016. The last time these two teams met in Saratov, Leonidas Kaselakis gave Astana a victory in the final seconds with an incredible game-winner.
Astana: The team looked great in its first game under Mikhail Karpenko. Astana was able to smother VEF on defense and inch closer to a spot in the top eight with its third win of the season. Karpenko was critical of his team’s performance on offense, but on defense they were outstanding, giving up only four points in the 4th quarter. Astana will need to be even better vs. Avtodor. While VEF’s primary threat is on the perimeter, Saratov tries to drive the paint and attempts only 20.4 3-pointers per game.
Sunday, January 21
Time: 5:30 PM (3:30 MSK)
Place: Molot Sports Palace, Perm, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
PARMA: Perm is enjoying a solid first half of the season with four wins already under the belt. Surprisingly, only one of the victories has been secured at home in front of the frenzied Perm fans. PARMA would love to reward their loyalty with an upset of Zenit, which is playing its second game in four days. The key to victory will be taking charge from the opening tip. PARMA may not be as lucky playing from behind as in Saratov last week.
Zenit: After a thrilling win over CSKA, Zenit suffered its first setback in the EuroCup Top 16, showing evident signs of fatigue. Big man Drew Gordon’s absence was a big problem vs. Bayern Munich’s imposing frontcourt. Vasily Karasev’s men could run into the same problem vs. PARMA. The home team’s athletic guards could wreak havoc on Zenit’s interior defense if they are able to get into the lane.
Lokomotiv-Kuban Russia – Khimki Russia
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Krasnodar, Russia
TV: Match TV, VTB-League.com
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Two teams with very different playing styles meet in the Game of the Week. Kuban is team-centric with an emphasis on defense. Khimki prefers to let Alexey Shved run the show. Not surprisingly, Krasnodar’s leading scorer, Mardy Collins, averages nearly 10 points per game fewer than Shved (24.5 ppg vs. 13.8 ppg). Nonetheless, Loko has other players who can score. For example, Frank Elegar and Trevor Lacey combined for 39 of Loko’s 69 points in the win over Cedevita in the EuroCup.
Khimki: It appears that Khimki is back on track! Moscow Region snapped a losing streak with a win over Crvena Zvezda as Shved won a EuroLeague round MVP thanks to a 29-point performance. But that was only the start. Two days later, Khimki wiped the floor with Olympiacos, dealing the Greek powerhouse a 28-point defeat. Georgios Bartzokas’s men will be flying high in Krasnodar and the Greek boss would love to steal a much-needed road win vs. his former club.
Time: 5:00 PM (6:00 MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: VTB-League.com
VEF: Riga is last in the League with only one win. The Latvians had a chance to break out of its slump last week, but lost on the road to Astana. VEF’s perimeter-oriented offense was not very crisp, totaling only 53 points. Up next: UNICS Kazan, a team Riga has never beat in VTB United League competition (0-10).
UNICS: The calendar has not been kind to Kazan. They played three hard-fought games in a week, securing wins vs. Limoges and Nizhny Novgorod, before falling to Reggio Emilia in the EuroCup. Priftis noted that fatigue had an impact on the outcome, especially on offense. That could be a concern vs. VEF. If Riga’s shooters get hot, Kazan will have a tough time keeping up on the perimeter.
Monday, January 22
CSKA Russia – Nizhny Novgorod Russia
Time: 7:00 PM (7:00 MSK)
Place: USH CSKA, Moscow, Russia
TV: Match! Nash Sport, VTB-League.com
CSKA: After two consecutive losses in the United League, the Army Men need a winning streak, according to Cory Higgins. CSKA took care of business vs. Efes Anadolu on Wednesday in the EuroLeague, knocking down a club-record 18 of 27 3-pointers. Nizhny may be a bit tougher on the perimeter, after limiting UNICS to a 6-17 performance from beyond the arc, but has struggled to defend teams in the paint. Expect to Nando De Colo and Kyle Hines to pound the ball inside every chance they get, much like Morris Ndour did a week ago.
Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny’s defense is an issue. Now the team faces the best-run offense in the League (90.8 ppg). The visitors will try to compensate by pushing the tempo on offense. On January 18, Nizhny played a tough road game vs. Le Portel France, losing despite a standout performance from Petr Gubanov. As Zoran Lukic admitted, trying to mount a comeback vs. the Frenchmen drained Nizhny physically. That could impact Monday’s game in Moscow.
