Zalgiris vs ASVEL

In the current season the team demonstrated high results and largely reflects in the position which Zalgiris occupies on the EuroLeague table. Lithuania has the current record of 10/6 and stands in the third place of the four participating teams. At present, Zalgiris have a winning run of three games and in their latest match, on the road to Alba Berlin they emerged winner with 86-66.

The most important lesson of the season for Zalgiris is the fact that Andrea Trinchieri is doing a great job, getting the most out of the very decent, but not very deep squad. Looking at the failures, there are some games Zalgiris wishes they could get back, especially after losing some games in the dying minutes. These are their road defeat to Partizan, home defeat to Baskonia in Kaunas after a great fight, and road defeats to Bayern and Paris.

Lonnie Walker has become the most productive team member this season, a player who joined the team from the NBA and played for the first time in the 8th round, for which he scored 16.4 points on average. Essential for Zalgiris’ attack is forward Sylvain Francisco scoring an average of 12.3 points per game while, despite almost 127 possessions, he shoots under 30% from distance right now. If he can center power on this area, he could be an excellent partner of Walker. There were higher expectations from the Ignas Brazdeikis, whose role this season has been somewhat erratic and inconsistent, changing from one game to another.

By winning this game, during which, as history shows, radically different teams can clash, Zalgiris would gain an extremely important victory; therefore, one can only imagine that the team must approach this match with maximum concentration, without making a mistake at the preparatory stage, which stems from underestimating the opponent. If they can make the pace tediously slow and manage to put brakes on Theo Maledon, who has been the play-maker in chief this season for Asvel, the Lithuanian side will be on the cusp of the victory, especially given Asvel’s ‘traveling sickness’ that has bedeviled the team on the highway.

With a strong 7-9 record and a share of 12th place in the EuroLeague standings, Asvel has looked decent thus far this season. They surprised everyone by defeating Partizan 82-79 on the road in the opening game of this double week.

This season, the French squad has been one of the EuroLeague's most welcome shocks. It's obvious that a game against Asvel is no longer a simple chore for anyone, unlike in past seasons, and coach Pierric Poupet is doing a fantastic job. Asvel would have been happy to accept a 7-9 record after 16 games at the beginning of the season.

This season, they have also won some significant games, including ones against Partizan, Real Madrid, Anadolu, and Zvezda. The primary problem for this club is the notable disparity in the caliber of performance they display when playing at home as opposed to away.

They had an outstanding six victories and two loses in Lyon, and their victory over Partizan in Round 16 was their first road win of the year. Maledon, the NBA returnee, has been Asvel's top player this season. He adjusted fast and has been playing brilliantly from the beginning. With 18.8 points per game, 4.8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds, he is now the fourth-highest scorer in the entire EuroLeague. His influence on Asvel's game is evident.

Unexpectedly, the seasoned French team of Joffrey Lauvergne and Nando De Colo has also been doing well. With 11.7 points per game, Lauvergne is the club's second-leading scorer. De Colo is directly behind him with 10.8 points, but he leads the team in assists with 4.9 per game. As of right now, Asvel's offensive is seventh in the EuroLeague with 114.8 points per 100 possessions, while its defense ranks sixth with 118 points per 100 possessions.

Asvel will need to at least duplicate their performance against Partizan in order to win this match. They were dominant on the boards and had good three-point shooting in that contest.