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Real Madrid v Chorale Roanne
Two teams looking to bounce back from difficult Week 5 defeats clash in the Spanish capital on Thursday when Real Madrid hosts Chorale Roanne. The Spanish champion lost its first Euroleague game of the season at arch rival AXA FC Barcelona, while the French champion allowed a Euroleague record 123 points in a 50-point home loss to Panathinaikos. The loss was Roanne's fourth in a row as the optimism that surrounded the club following a season-opening road win at Brose Baskets at the buzzer is beginning to fade.
The two teams not only have polar opposite records, but also completely different styles. Madrid is one of the league's top defensive teams: It's 68.2 points allowed per game is second best this season. On the other hand, Roanne features league-leading scorer Marc Salyers and loves to run. Head coach Jean-Denys Choulet's charges also lead the league in offensive rebounds. Because of the different styles of play, the backcourts will have the utmost importance in this encounter, as Madrid's deep guard rotation of Louis Bullock, Raul Lopez and Kerem Tunceri, among others, tries to wear down Roanne's Marc-Antoine Pellin, Brion Rush and Laurent Cazalon. It will be interesting to see how Madrid looks to handle Salyers, as its top power forward, Felipe Reyes, may lack the mobility needed. That makes Axel Hervelle or perhaps even Alex Mumbru more likely candidates.
On the other hand, Roanne will have its hands full at the other end, where Pape Badiane, the co-league-leader in blocked shots, will test his defensive skills against Lazaros Papadopolous. Both teams feature complete players who love to let it fly from downtown at the small forward, with Charles Smith suiting up for Madrid against Roanne's Adam Hess. The assistance that each of these players lends his respective back and frontcourts could have a major impact on the game. Madrid is surely the favorite for this game – especially at home. However when Salyers, Rush and co. get hot, Roanne has the skills to challenge for an upset. The big question will be if Pellin and his backourt mates can crack the Madrid defense and force their own style of play. If so, look for a thrilling game in Spain. On the other hand, if Madrid can control the pace and slow down Roanne's scorers, it could be a long night for the visitors.
Betting overview
Real is a team which can play both low and high tempo games. They already proved this season that they don't fear play offensive basketball because their know that their offensive skills are quite good. Take a look at their results against offensive-minded team in ACB league:
Casademont Girona vs Real Madrid Teka 83:94
Real Madrid Teka vs C.B. Granada 95:72
Estudiantes vs Real Madrid Teka 77:88
Estudiantes vs Real Madrid Teka 77:88
There is no need to talk how Choralle Roanne is playing because their results and average total talks itself. Plaza confirmed in his interview to Euroleague.net that probably Real will accept Roanne style and that means that we can expect offensive minded fast tempo game in Madrid today. Real Madrid average numbers are not correct because they mostly played against low tempo teams in Euroleague so far and if they would play against such teams are Roanne during all season their average total according to my calculations would be around 163.5 points.
Looking into this game I think that 161.5 pts is looking correctly from statistical point of view but I expect both teams to play faster than usually happens in Real games and this will cause this game going over 160 points. My own total line for this game is around 164.5 (77.5-87). But this picks is only for medium-low stake because of my poor form recently and Real Madrid defense which can defend under 75 points when needed. Prediction: Real Madrid 88 - 76 Chorale Roanne
Pick: Over 161.5 @ 1.92 PinnacleSports New articles on this topic:
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