Zalgiris vs Lietkabelis: Analysis and Prediction – Zalgiris will host Lietkabelis in the Lithuanian League semifinals game 3.
Zalgiris vs Lietkabelis Odds
Zalgiris Team News
In the previous game, Zalgiris beat Lietkabelis 90:89 away and they are now one step away from reaching the final. Keenan Evans with 27 points and Laurynas Birutis and Lukas Lekavicius with 14 points were the most effective in that game for the team playing in the EuroLeague.
Zalgiris played a weaker first part of the season, so Kazys Maksvytis had to be replaced by Andrea Trinchieri. Since that moment, the Lithuanian team has been getting better and better, and the general impression is that they would have made it to the play-in of the EuroLeague, if there had been a change of coach earlier. They are now on a run of five consecutive wins and the last one over Lietkabelis seems to have been crucial in the fight for the final. It was not easy for Zalgiris against the team of Nenad Canak, and only in an uncertain ending did they manage to make a difference, so now they will have the opportunity to confirm their placement in the next phase in front of their fans. What was crucial in the previous game was the number of turnovers. While Zalgiris was on the number of 10, Lietkabelis lost 17 and in the final balance of forces, it allowed Andrea Trinchieri’s team to send more shots to the basket, and therefore to score more points. The details decided that duel and now Zalgiris is waiting for the next one with great confidence.
Zalgiris will have to be better in the third game of the semifinals, primarily because Lietkabelis was better in almost every parameter in the previous clash, except for turnovers. That’s not the way Zalgiris should go if they want to win.
Lietkabelis Team News
Lietkabelis lost in the previous match against Zalgiris, thus putting himself in a very unfavorable situation, that they have to look for an extension of the series on the away court, and for the next stage he will need two wins away. The most effective in the Game 2 were Gediminas Orelik and Deividas Sirvydis with 19 points each.
Lietkabelis didn’t have a good season until now, until they reached the playoffs, in which they still showed his best, which they had in previous years. Nenad Canak’s team was not strong enough in the season so far, but all that changed in the quarterfinal series, when they eliminated the favored Juventus with a win on the away court. They were close to winning the decisive duel in this series as well and tying the game at 1-1, but they missed it very little. Details decided not to, despite Lietkabelis being better than Zalgiris in the last game. They made 11 three-pointers from 21 attempts, compared to 11/31 of their rivals, they shot more free throws – 26/32, compared to 19/20 and had more rebounds – 31 compared to 23. And all that was not enough to outplay Zalgiris, so they now they find themselves in an almost impossible situation, against a team that will be extremely motivated to confirm the win away.
What Lietkabelis should reduce is the number of turnovers, because it is unacceptable to have 17 of them, when Zalgiris has 10, especially on their court. If they repeat the game from the previous game and at the same time reduce the number of turnovers, they will have a chance.
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Zalgiris vs Lietkabelis H2H
They played six times this season and Zalgiris won each time. They currently lead the series 2-0.
Absences and Injuries
Arnas Butkevicius will skip the home match, and Paulius Valinskas, Nikola Popovic and Stefan Bircevic will probably not play for the visitors.
Zalgiris vs Lietkabelis Prediction
There is no doubt that Zalgiris are the favourites, mostly because of the way they won the last game, which gave them extra confidence for the upcoming clashes, while lowering the morale of Lietkabelis. Therefore, our suggestion is that the home team will win by a margin higher than the offered spread and will easily advance to the next stage.
Tip-off Time: Sunday, 26.05.2024, 16:20 CET
Prediction: Zalgiris -12.5
Odds: 1.76
Sportsbook: 22Bet
*Odds are active at the time the article is published
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