Anadolu Efes at Kirolbet Baskonia
Date: 12/6
Time: 9:00 PM CET
Game Preview
The final game of Round 12 will feature a red-hot Efes squad and a Baskonia club that has been stingy on its home court this season. Efes dropped its season opener to Barcelona, but they have lost just once since and will remain alone in first place heading to Round 13 should they pick up the win Friday. That will not be an easy task though, as they square off against a Baskonia club whose only home loss in five games this season was a loss to a Maccabi team that leads the EuroLeague in point differential. The game will feature two of the top scorers in the league, as Efes will be led by Shane Larkin -- who scored a EuroLeague-record 49 points his last time out and leads all players in scoring -- while Baskonia leans on Tornike Shengelia, who has scored in double figures in every game this season.
Injuries
Kirolbet Baskonia
Patricio Garino - OUT - Knee
11/24 12:28 AM IST - Garino has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee. Garino left Friday's game and was sent to the hospital. It's been determined that he tore his ACL and that surgery is needed.
Jayson Granger - OUT - Achilles
10/1 3:36 AM IST - Granger will miss six months with a torn Achilles tendon, according to euroleague.net. Granger was injured in Baskonia's Spanish League opener, and will face a lengthy recover period after undergoing surgery. Assuming his recovery goes as planned, he should be able to rejoin Baskonia at some point during the second half of their season.
Luca Vildoza - GTD - Shoulder
12/3 11:52 PM IST - Vildoza (shoulder) is not expected to play Friday against Efes, according to eurohoops.net. Vildoza has not been ruled out for Round 12 just yet, but he is still undergoing tests on his injured shoulder, and it appears he is dealing with an injury that could prevent him from playing in Round 12 as well as in future games.
Anadolu Efes
Bryant Dunston - OUT - Arm
11/27 8:00 PM IST - Anadolu Efes chief executive Ergin Ataman said Wednesday that Dunston (arms) is continuing to receive treatment in Germany and is following a "two-to-three-week" recovery process, Dilara Durmus of TrendBasket.com reports. That timeline likely means that the big man won't be ready to play again until around mid-December, barring any further setbacks in his recovery. Before getting hurt, Dunston played in seven EuroLeague contests (five starts), averaging 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game.
Adrien Moerman - OUT - Achilles
11/6 8:41 PM IST - Anadolu Efes general manager Alper Yilmaz said Wednesday that Moerman (Achilles) is expected to make his season debut in mid-December, Eurohoops.net reports. After Moerman underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon in August, doctors estimated that he would be sidelined around 12-to-14 weeks due to the injury. Based on Yilmaz's comments, Moerman appears to be trending toward the lengthier end of that timeline, but the Frenchman reportedly hasn't suffered any major setbacks in his recovery. Instead, Anadolu Efes is likely just exercising caution with one of its core players coming off a significant injury. Moerman averaged 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the club a season ago.
Anadolu Efes Probable Starters
G - Vasilije Micic
G - Shane Larkin
F - James Anderson
F - Chris Singleton
C - Tibor Pleiss
Kirolbet Baskonia Probable Starters
G - Pierria Henry
G - Nik Stauskas
F - Shavon Shields
C - Youssoupha Fall
Top Dream11.com Picks
Shane Larkin, ANA: It will be tough for Larkin to match his historic Round 11 output, but there's no reason to believe he won't have another outstanding game: He has averaged a whopping 26.5 points per game since Round 6 and has been efficient in all phases, shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 50.8 percent from behind the three-point line and 87.1 percent at the free-throw line this season.
Tornike Shengelia, KB: Shengelia has been a key player for Baskonia, but never more than this season, as he is scoring 5.0 more points per game than he averaged in any other season. A major factor in Shengelia's success has been the addition of the three-point shot to his arsenal -- he has already made a career-high 18 shots from long range this season.
Vasilije Micic, BCK: Micic has not generated the buzz Larkin or Shengelia have of late, but he has been a steady force this season as well, averaging three more points per game than he put up during the previous campaign while sitting second in the league in both assists and steals.
Captaincy Options
Grand League Combination
Larkin, Micic, Stauskas
Small League Combination
Larkin, Shengelia, Pleiss
