Leaders of the CSKA:

Even though this CSKA team is well balanced and every player can surprise on any given day, they still rely on their main guys. One of them is Nando De Colo, who was absent for the last 3 games due to injury and is questionable to start in the game against Barcelona. That will give Barca better chances to fight in Moscow because Nando’s average of 21 points per game is highly missed in Moscow these days. So who are the leaders of CSKA today?

Milos Teodosic. He is averaging 18 points and 8 assists per game. Those numbers are really impressive, but he is even better than that. After Nando De Colo’s injury, Milos stepped up and scored 25, 34, and 31 points against Zalgiris, Baskonia, and Bamberg. He alone carried CSKA to victory against Zalgiris and Brose, and showed that his potential should be transferred to NBA. In my eyes, he is the best player, who is playing in Europe at the moment. The only problem is that Milos is super lazy on the defensive end and Barcelona will make sure to take advantage of it.

Kyle Hines. His statistics are not so impressive and he usually starts the game on the bench, but if someone has ever watched CSKA playing, they will know the importance of Hines. He is one of the most dominant big guys in Euroleague and his defensive game fits perfectly into coach’s schemes.

Corry Higgins and Aaron Jackson. Those two players are always ready to score. They have some good athletic skills compared to rest of Euroleague, and after De Colo’s injury, their role in CSKA’s offense has grown massively. Also, being physically strong, they contribute on the defensive end as well.

Source

PBC CSKA Moscow is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Moscow, Russia. The club, currently owned by Norilsk Nickel, is a member of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague. It is often referred to in the West as "Red Army" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army. CSKA won two titles between 2006 and 2009, in Europe's principal club competition, the EuroLeague, making the final in all four seasons, and has advanced to the EuroLeague Final Four 13 times in the 21st century. In their second most recent EuroLeague championship in 2008, they defeated Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, 77–91, in the final at the Community of Madrid Sports Palace in Madrid.

CSKA lost in the 2007 final 93–91 to Panathinaikos on the Greens' home floor, the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens. In 2008, they won a rematch of the 2006 final against Maccabi 91–77 in Madrid. In 2009, they lost a rematch of the 2007 final against Panathinaikos 73–71 in Berlin. The club competed in 8 consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours from 2003 to 2010, which is an all-time record.

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Barcelona Lassa

The struggle of Barcelona continues. They lost 4 of their last 5 games in Euroleague and dropped to 10th position. That is probably the most upsetting team in Euroleague this year, but things will eventually change as only 1/3 of the season is over. The main problem for this team is still injuries. Barcelona has to trust their young guys and, even though, they are surprisingly good, it is not enough on so many occasions.

Navarro only played one game, Holmes missed half of the games, and Pau Ribas is also watching his team dressed in suit and tie. However, newly signed Alex Renfroe is already contributing well and Justin Doellman is already healthy. On top of that, fans are expecting the rest of the leaders to come back on the pitch soon. So, the best way to start a new, victorious run would be in Moscow, against Euroleague’s leaders CSKA.

Leaders of Barcelona Lassa:

Many of the leaders are still injured. That sucks, but nobody really cares and Barca will have to play against CSKA with what they have. In my opinion, even though, any player can be a leader on a given day, we have to pay attention to 2 main guys.

Tyrese Rice is the leader of Barcelona, hands down. His 16 points per game are almost twice as much as anyone else in the team. Tyrese is also leading the team in assists made. I would say that his ISO game is one of the best in all of Europe, his fast movement is basically impossible to defend, and he can shoot (even though, Tyrese is still struggling from 3 point line). Also, Tyrese will have a lot of space as his direct opponent Milos Teodosic is not the most hard-working guy when it comes to defending. If I would bet on something, I would bet that Tyrese will score more points than his average.

Ante Tomic. Center from Croatia is not playing his best basketball yet, but anyone who is into this sport will know what Tomic is capable of. He is aggressive, has a good arsenal of moves, and is always causing problems against teams with a weak defense in the paint. His 8 points and 5 rebounds per game do not do justice. I bet that Tomic will have much better numbers by the end of the season.

Justing Doellman. For today, he will be the main PF of Barcelona and his form will influence this upcoming game a lot. His stats are not even worth looking at because Doellman is coming into this game after an injury and will not be perfectly fit yet. However, he and Ante Tomic are still the best choice from big guys for this given day, and I think that Doellman will be really valuable against strong CSKA athletes.

Source

FC Barcelona Lassa is a Spanish professional basketball club. It is part of the FC Barcelona sports club and was founded on 24 August 1926 which makes it the oldest club in Liga ACB. The club competes in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. It has won seven of the last thirteen ACB championships and in 2003, completed a Liga ACB, Copa del Rey and EuroLeague treble. FC Barcelona Bàsquet has played in seven EuroLeague finals, with the last being their 2010 win.

The team plays its home games at Palau Blaugrana, which was opened on 23 October 1971. They share the facilities with the roller hockey, futsal and handball teams.

Well-known players that have played with the team have included: Pau Gasol, Rony Seikaly, Marc Gasol, Anderson Varejão, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jaka Lakovič, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Dejan Bodiroga, Gianluca Basile, Ricky Rubio, Juan Antonio San Epifanio "Epi", Sasha Djordjevic, and Tony Massenburg.