Euroleague Zalgiris vs Anadolu Efes Spread and Prediction

Two teams sitting on opposite sides of the league table of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball are clashing in the 23^rd round of action, when the Lithuanian champions of Zalgiris Kaunas (13-9) are visiting the Turkish Anadolu Efes (6-16) on Friday, February 23^rd 2018. The game takes place at the Abdi Ipekci Arena in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.

Date/Time:  02-23-2018, 12:30 EDT

Spread: Anadolu Efes -1.5

Total: +158.5

Anadolu Efes are 6-16 so far in the league and are sitting on the last place of the league table. They are 1-4 in their last 5 and in their latest matchup they got defeated by Unicaja on the road with a 79-68 score. Erick McCollum leads the team in scoring with 15.3 ppg, while Zoran Dragic follows 10.6 ppg and 2.7 dimes per game. Bryant Duston adds 10.1 ppg and 5.8 boards, while Vladimir Stimac adds 9.6 ppg and a team-best 6.7 boards per game.

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Zalgiris are 13-9 in the league so far and are sitting on the 6^th place of the league table. They are 1-2 in their last 3 and in their latest matchup they got defeated by Khimki at home with a 74-84 score. Kevin Pangos leads the team in scoring with 12.7 ppg, adding a team-best 6.2 dimes per game. Paulius Jankunas follows with 12.6 ppg and a team-best 5.2 boards per game, while Aaron White adds 9.7 ppg and 4.9 boards per game.

In their previous meeting earlier this season, Zalgiris were victorious at home with a 91-83 score and last year each team managed a road victory (Efes by 6 points and Zalgiris by 13 points). Anadolu have a 4-7 home record this season (tied for worse in the league), while Zalgiris are 5-6 on the road. Zalgiris have both a better offense with 81.8 ppg to Anadolu’s 77.6 and a better defense, allowing 81.5 ppg to Anadolu’s 83. Zalgiris also have a better accuracy from inside the arc with 54.9% to Anadolu’s 49.4% and from behind the arc with 40.8% to Anadolu’s 34.3%. They also dish more assists per game, with 19.5 to Anadolu’s 15, while Efes only grab more rebounds, with 31 to Zalgiris’ 30.1. Efes have been extremely inefficient at home this year so expect Zalgiris to get away with the road victory one way or another. 

Zalgiris vs Anadolu Efes Prediction: Zalgiris Kaunas +1.5 (-114)