Betdistrict.com
The Euroleague Final 4 will kick off Friday in Belgrade, with CSKA Moscow set to take Real Madrid in the second semifinal late in the evening.
CSKA has been the best team in the Euroleague reagular season, claiming the top seed with a record of 24 wins and 6 losses. They went on to win their quarterfinal series against Khimki 3-1, but CSKA faced a much tougher task than expected. The Russians were big favorites and some expected them to win the series easily – instead, there were 4 grueling games, which were decided by 1, 3, 5 and 6 points respectively. One of the reasons was that CSKA was facing a small injury crisis, with their top men De Colo and Hines playing just one match between them in the entire series.
Real Madrid finished the regular seaoson as the 5th seed, and they would have been higher if they hadn`t had an injury crisis of their own early in the competition. The early injury crisis however allowed the teen phenom Luka Doncic to emerge as a leader and as a superstar, and that will be important for Real in this final 4. As Real got healthier, they started to look like the top class team they are, and they went on to defeat the strong Panathinaikos 3-1 in the quarterfinals, despite not having home court advantage.
Bet on CSKA vs. Real Madrid and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Team news: CSKA will get back Hines and De Colo, but it`s unclear if they will be at 100% percent after missing the last matches in the Euroleague. They played just one match after their long layoff, last week in the VTB Cup. Real Madrid will continue to miss Kuzmic (out since October), but they are now healthier than they have been all season.
This should be a high level clash, with both teams being very strong and having top level talent, including former NBA players (12 of them combined), or future NBA superstars like the 19 year old wonderkid Luka Doncic (Real Madrid) – the potential No.1 pick in this summer`s NBA draft, and the likely regular season MVP in this Euroleague season.
The big battle will be in the backcourt, with probably the best two pairs of guards in the Euroleague set to meet. Sergio Rodriguez and Nando De Colo (CSKA) will fight it out with Sergio Lull and Luka Doncic (Real Madrid), and you have to feel that Real has a slight edge here due to Doncic’s transcendent talent and De Colo’s questionable fitness.
This one looks very evenly matched on paper, but you have to give Real Madrid the edge considering the questionable fitness of Hines and De Colo for CSKA, and also looking at how solid Real Madrid was in the quarterfinals against the mighty Panathinaikos. Los Blancos are healthy and in top form, while CSKA seems a bit shaky having struggled against Khimki, and now needing to quickly re-integrate De Colo and Hines – who might not be at 100%.
It should be a tight battle with Real Madrid as a slight favorite, and considering how close CSKA’s recent matches have been, the plus handicap on Real has good value. My tip is Real Madrid to cover the +4 (asian) handicap. Prediction: CSKA Moscow – Real Madrid 85 – 90.
Pick: Real Madrid +4
Odds: 1.95 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.60
Event date: 18 May
