Valencia Basket with a better chance now vs. Real Madrid

Hard to bet now on Valencia Basket against Real Madrid after they were eliminated last week in the Spanish Cup by Los Blancos. But I think that the context is very different now and Valencia can have a better opportunity to steal the win because:

• Real Madrid has recently lost also Rudy Fernandez. He is not the impressive player that once was but his missing will affect even more the rotation and deepens the crisis of the squad. Real Madrid is not the team that was 2 years ago. Not only because many players are missing, like Campazzo, Randolph, Taylor but also because the roster is getting older. Felipe Reyes will be 41 years in a month, Jaycee Caroll 37, Rudy Fernandez 36 and so on.
• On the other side, Valencia Basket will have at disposal two important players that missed the Cup games: Joan Sastre Moro and Fernando San Emeterio. Why did their absence mean so much in the Cup? Because Valencia Basket had to play with 4 Spanish players and Pradilla and Puerto cannot face great teams. I am sure that if Sastre and San Emeterio would have been there, Valencia Basket would have eliminated Real Madrid from the Cup.
• Last but not least, the Euroleague is a different competition than the Spanish Cup. Valencia Basket has a historical opportunity to advance in the Euroleague playoffs but for this to happen they need al the victories they can grab now in the last rounds of the regular season. I trust them to fight like hell against the visitors on Friday.

Image: EuroLeague