BC Neptunas Klaipeda - BC Zalgiris Kaunas

Zalgiris open their domestic campaign in Klaipeda four days before they fly to Belgrade to start the EuroLeague against Crvena Zvezda, and that schedule spot is the whole angle. The champions should win this game. They took the title again last season, the depth gap between these two squads is real, and Neptunas will be without the kind of frontcourt that keeps a Kaunas team honest for forty minutes. But eleven and a half points is a lot to ask of a side playing its first competitive game of the year with a much bigger night already on the calendar. Neptunas finished third last season and they are at home, where visiting teams tend to get a scrappy, physical evening rather than an open one. Early season basketball helps the underdog for simple reasons: rotations are long, new signings are still learning the sets, and coaches pull starters the moment a lead looks comfortable. That is how double digit margins get trimmed in the final five minutes even when the favourite controls the whole game. There is also nothing for Zalgiris to gain by running the score up here. Take the points.