Two teams dreaming of advancing to the Quarterfinal Playoffs, but needing help from others meet on Wednesday when Aris TT Bank hosts Lietuvos Rytas at the Alexandrio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece. Both Aris and L. Rytas could still climb up to second place in Group E and reach the playoffs, but first need for the undefeated group winner, Tau Ceramica, to defeat Fenerbahce Ulker in Wednesday’s other Group E encounter. If that happens, L. Rytas would finish second if it beats Aris or loses by 5 points or fewer. Aris would need for Fener to lose and to blow out L. Rytas by more than 30 to climb to second place. The biggest impact for L. Rytas could be the return from injury of big man Marijonas Petravicius, who was sidelined for a month with a foot injury. Petravicius will suit up and could see limited action. Both teams have committed many turnovers and are amongst the teams with the most points allowed in the Top 16, however L. Rytas is has proven to be a much better shooting team. Aris will need to dramatically increase its defense – as well as its scoring ability – to have a chance of not only winning, but doing it by enough points to advance. Because of the needed margin, Aris is likely to pull out all the stops, including playing extra aggressive from the start. If L. Rytas can hold its own in the first half, it would likely break Aris’s spirits and win the game, but if Aris can open up a big early margin, the pressure would mount for both teams and anything could happen.