Le Mans vs. Cibona

MATCH PREVIEW

Two Euroleague classic teams in recent years face each other in Group A, as Le Mans welcomes Cibona on Thursday. Le Mans registered an 84-79 road loss at Unicaja in its opener, while Cibona upset Maccabi Electra 81-79 in Zagreb. Cibona has not won its opening two Euroleague games since the 1996-97 season, when it beat Estudiantes and Charleroi to move up to 2-0. Meanwhile, Le Mans only won one Euroleague home game last season - but it was against Cibona, 100-87. Both teams completely renewed their roster for this new Euroleague season. Coach J.D. Jackson, a former Le Mans player, has taken over on the sidelines and entrusted his team to floor general in Brian Chase, with up-and-coming playmaker Antoine Diot as his backup. Chase will have a strong test against Earl Calloway, while Vedran Princ and even combo guard Davor Kus will take turns as Cibona's floor general. Kus will also have the chance to test his scoring skills against Dewarick Spencer. Stopping Spencer, however, will be crucial for Cibona. His matchup against Rawle Marshall, who had an outstanding game against Maccabi, will be one of the keys to this game. Marshall can play at both wing spots and is virtually unguardable in one-on-one situations, so expect Le Mans to use a zone defense, especially if it opts to use a big lineup with David Bluthenthal at small forward. Branimir Longin can also help Cibona with his driving skills and experience. Meanwhile, Bluthenthal is set to offer his unlimited range and outstanding scoring skills.

For Le mans this game is very important because they need to win home games if they want to get into Top-16 phase. Honestly speaking I have understimated them in the beginning of the season in LNB league but that I changed my opinion especially after watching with Unicaja. French team has very deep roster and is very athletic with great offensive power in Spencer, Bluthental, Batista and Chase. At home they are usually playing very confident but line still has some "memory factor" when Le mans lost all home games at home excluding one against Cibona. But let's not forget that they were leading in most of their home games last season however were not able to make a result in the end. This year they have different team and as often happens I expected them to strugle in the begininning of the season but this did not happen. They are winning all their games in French league and showing really good team play.

On other side we have Cibona which is known as poor travelers. This team can't find its rhytmo away from home and I was not impressed with team play in game against Maccabi. Maybe they won it but I did not see a team, only Davor Kus showed his hot hand while others were somewhere on the court. After Maccabi they lost to FMP in Adriatic League away from home and showed bad performance again. It will be hard for shooting team like Cibona to survive in France because Le Mans knows how to defend and is capable of using Cibona defensive weakness.

I don't see big advantage over the line here but I expect Le Mans to win by 8-12 and it is bit higher that handicap set. More fair handicap for this match should be Le Mans (-7). But keep your stake medium ranged because French teams are not very stable and often they are not showing their real capabilities in important matches.

Pick: Le Mans (-4) @ 1.71 Bet365

Comments

Add New Search

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

&lt&lt Previous Page                    Next Page&gt&gt