Crucial clash between Zalgiris and Zvezda
Zalgiris Kaunas will host Crvena Zvezda on Friday evening in the Zalgirio Arena in a game that counts for Round 21 of the current EuroLeague season. It will be a crucial game for both teams as they are direct competitors in the race for a playoff spot. Both teams have an 11-9 record, which makes them share the 9th-10th place, the last spots for the play-in.
Both teams lost in the last round on Tuesday, and those losses ended a three-game winning streak in both cases. The Lithuanian team was defeated in a very close game in Bologna, where Tomas Masiulis’s team made a strong comeback in the second half after being down by double digits. Still, in the end, Virtus won the game 83-79. Meanwhile, Zvezda lost at home against Valencia, one of the hottest and most surprising teams in the EuroLeague. It was a very high-scoring game from the beginning, and Valencia didn’t give the Serbian team any chance to win, leading by double digits most of the game as the encounter ended with a 106-89 win for the visitors.
Statistically, Zalgiris and Zvezda are close in most categories. They both average 86 points scored per game, their assist (19 / game) and rebounding (36 / game) numbers are also very similar. Zalgiris leads the EuroLeague in three-point percentage, and Zvezda leads the league in turnovers, so these are two categories where the home team has an advantage.
Individually, Jordan Nwora is the leading scorer for the Serbian team with 17.8 points per game, while he is their second-best rebounder with 4.7 rebounds/game.
For Zalgiris, Sylvain Francisco is undeniably the star of the team this season. The French guard has 15.8 points per game and 7 assists per game, leading the Greens in both categories. He struggled in the last three games, scoring just 26 points in total, but he remains an exceptional player who could be in the MVP conversation if Zalgiris finishes the regular season in a strong position.
Imre Halasz
Photo credit: https://www.lrt.lt/
