basketball | Friday, November 18, 2022 12:42 PM (Revised at: Friday, November 18, 2022 12:43 PM)

Partizan Belgrade vs Maccabi Tel Aviv Best Bet: Stark Arena to Drown the Pride of Israel

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Basketball Expert

Partizan Belgrade vs Maccabi Tel Aviv Best Bet: Friday, November 18th

The hottest European basketball atmosphere in Stark Arena will be the main weapon for Partizan against arguably the worst road team in the Euroleague. Both teams are coming off losses to favoured sides in Olympiacos (PAR) and Barcelona (MAC).

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Partizan Belgrade vs Maccabi Tel Aviv Preview

Fri, Nov 18th, 19:30 UK Time

Coach Zeljko Obradovic will have an almost full roster for the first time this season. A. Smailagic (PF, C) who is coming off an injury will be fit for tonight, and D. Exum (PG) will be ready as well after a couple of absences due to an ankle injury. The arena has been sold out, and the much-needed push will be given to Partizan by their fans tonight.

When they play on at home, they have been shooting out of this world, accumulating 51% from the field, and 44.1 % from three respectively. Partizan has won 2 and lost one game at home, losing to Milano in a 4th-quarter thriller. Partizan’s main players are in great form, with K. Punter averaging 20.5 points over their last 4 Euroleague games, and J. Nunnally shooting over 50% from three in the same game span.

Maccabi are the most home-favoured team in Europe for years. They have been constantly underperforming on the road for years now. We believe nothing different will happen tonight. Maccabi will be missing R. Sorkin with a muscle sprain injury.

Maccabi are first in the Euroleague in Offensive Rebounds (13,6) and 2nd in Blocks (4.1), but their main weapon is their 2-point shot. They are playing generally close to the paint, in a small space, and scoring 23.5 two-pointers per game which is by far the first in the competition. Their weakness is that they are allowing the most number of defensive rebounds in the whole competition, and we believe that the atmosphere made by home fans will make the home team exploit this weakness even more.

Partizan will have a simple game plan. Stretch the floor and hit their open threes. We believe there is a significant coaching gap in this game as well. Kattash is no match for Zeljko Obradovic. The home team will have to stop L. Brown who is playing out of his mind this year after the Eurobasket, averaging 16.6 points and 6.6 assists per game.