Anadolu Efes vs Panathinaikos

At the moment Anadolu Efes has 7-7 record in the EuroLeague, but they are one of the most fragile home teams in the competition, they won only 2 out of 6 games that were played on their court. This clash against Panathinaikos occurs at a very wrong time for this team. But they have a task of how to overcome an inconsistent Panathinaikos team that has also been struggling in the recent games.

The roster has been constantly changing throughout the season, they do not have Shane Larkin on the court because of the injury. They have only Rodrigue Beaubois and Elijah Bryant from their championship-winning group. As for young players Jordan Nwora has displayed some promising hints but Stanley Johnson turned out to be quite a letdown and hardly gets any playing time.

Another signing of the season is Vincent Poirier who is yet to deliver for the team and should get his moment against the fellow nationalists on Panathinaikos. Anadolu Efes continues to struggle on defence, although it has been much better on the other side of the playing court and has the second-best field goal percentage only to that of Panathinaikos. There is some hope in the possible return of Shane Larkin But getting him back into the fold will take time.

In the case of Panathinaikos the expectations were even higher after their disappointing game against Partizan in the EuroLeague. However, even in their domestic league, they do not seem to perform well a team; instead, they operate with individual players’ flair. After the game with Partizan, head coach Ergin Ataman gave statement and he was not satisfied from his team effort and commitment.

In many ways, Panathinaikos tactical approach seems weaker than last season, despite having a stronger squad on paper. New foundational players such as Lorenzo Brown and Cedi Osman, who should be major contributors, seem to be lost and fail to be as effective as they should be due to seemingly unideal positions. Juancho Hernangimeo usually spends more time on the bench compared to last season; however, Dinos Mitoglou was one of the main players in KZ then.

Positively, Kendrick Nunn and Mathias Lessort have maintained their position as the EuroLeague's top players by performing admirably on a regular basis. In terms of statistics, Panathinaikos leads the league in field goals and is quite successful from beyond the arc. They should be advantageous because they are the second-best rebounding club. Their six losses, though, suggest deeper problems, especially on defense. The squad has not yet reached its full potential on the defensive end of the court, despite having competent defenders on the roster.

Panathinaikos must approach this game with all of their might and focus if they hope to win. Limiting Anadolu Efes's shooting from the perimeter and managing the glass will be essential.

With respectable performances this season, Efes is still vying for a postseason berth. The squad has only won seven of its 14 games, which is hardly what their supporters had hoped for.

Things are also not going well in the Turkish Super League. They are currently only in third place after losing to their primary rivals, Fenerbahçe and Tofaş, recently.

Conversely, Panathinaikos is going through a reconstruction. Even though some of the club's leaders have performed well, the squad has been erratic, especially while playing away.

It will be difficult to defend their EuroLeague crown because the Greeks are not quite as good as they were the previous season. Although they still need to contend for a postseason berth, Panathinaikos is thought to handle this challenge with ease.

The last game, which was played away from home, saw Anadolu Efes lose. Zalgiris Kaunas won by a score of 85–72.

The last time Panathinaikos played, they lost. They were defeated by Partizan 91-73 while traveling.

The last time these teams faced off, Panathinaikos prevailed. The victory over Efes was recorded at 83-76. Efes has won six of the last ten head-to-head matches.