Real
Real Madrid is struggling this season, and as time goes on, their performance on the court in the EuroLeague tournament has worsened. Not only did their main engine F. Campazzo leave for the NBA, but G. Deck, who had blossomed in Madrid, also joined him, leaving another gap in Real's rotation that has been very difficult to fill. With these players gone and A. Randolph not recovering from injury, Real had to give minutes to F. Reyes, who has played very minimally this season, making it truly challenging to play against the mobile Anadolu Efes team.
Real's main strengths – top-level experience and hurricane-like offense – are not helping in the series against Anadolu Efes: in the first 2 games of the series, Real averages 65.5 points scored and 90.5 points conceded. Probably no one would have said before the series that one of the most prominent EuroLeague organizations of the past decade would be simply swept in the playoffs, but that's exactly how it looks in this series – Anadolu Efes is superior in all statistical categories, and Real just can't find an antidote to such play.
Anadolu Efes
After a tough start to the season, the Istanbul players have looked better with each game, reaching their peak form just before the EuroLeague playoffs. Anadolu Efes clearly enjoys playing and looks hard to stop – plays are executed perfectly, shots are falling, team chemistry also looks great, so it's really hard not to admire the game this team is showing.
There is no doubt that playing in Madrid will be much harder than in Istanbul, but even more optimism comes from the fact that Anadolu Efes has already played and won relatively easily against Real Madrid this season – 108:83. In the second half of the match, Anadolu Efes scored 67 points, which led to such a huge advantage. This match was played just a few weeks ago, so it only further illustrates that Anadolu Efes is a clear favorite going into the match in Madrid.
Prediction
Despite the huge differences between the teams in the first two games of the series, the third meeting of these teams in Madrid should be more competitive. Real will definitely try to put up a fight, as it would be simply unforgivable for an organization of this level to lose the third game in a row in a crushing manner, which would undoubtedly lead to changes within the team (which are likely regardless of how this series ends). Meanwhile, Anadolu Efes is currently showing the most dominant play compared to all EuroLeague playoff teams, and the opponent, weakened throughout the season, seems very favorable for the Efes team. Despite the fact that Real will undoubtedly try to extend the series – Anadolu Efes will be the favorites in this match and, considering the real capabilities of the teams, should be able to close the series.
Anadolu Efes -5.5, 1.9 odds, betsafe
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