CSKA vs. Crvena Zvezda
Date: 12/18
Time: 6:00 PM CET
Preview
Both CSKA and Crvena Zvezda will look to get back on track Wednesday after seeing winning streaks come to an end their last time out. CSKA had been getting by with top scorer Mike James coming off the bench, but coming off a loss, it certainly would not be a surprise to see him rejoin the starting lineup in Round 14. Red Star has been getting some stellar play from Lorenzo Brown, who has gotten things rolling after a slow start to the season. Both James and Brown figure to lead their teams Wednesday like they usually do, so the game could come down to whose supporting cast helps the most.
Injuries
CSKA Moscow
Will Clyburn - OUT - Knee
11/11 8:25 PM IST - Clyburn underwent surgery Monday to repair the torn ACL in his right knee, John Askounis of Eurohoops.net reports. The operation officially spells an end to Clyburn's season after the 29-year-old injured his knee during CSKA Moscow's Round 4 game in EuroLeague play. Clyburn will return to Moscow to continue his rehab and is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Darrun Hilliard - GTD - Knee
12/17 11:45 PM IST - Hilliard (knee) is questionable for Wednesday's game against Crvena Zvezda, according to CSKA's official website. Hilliard missed last week's game as a result of his injury, but he will have a chance to return to action for the first of his squad's two EuroLeague games this week.
Mikhail Kulagin - OUT - Calf
12/12 3:15 AM IST - Kulagin (calf) will not play Thursday against Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to CSKA's official website. Kulagin has missed nearly two months as a result of his injury, and it remains to be seen when he will be ready to return to action.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
Filip Covic - GTD - Undisclosed
12/12 11:22 PM IST - Covic (undisclosed) will not play Thursday against Baskonia, according to Crvena Zvezda's official Twitter account. Covic was injured in his team's last domestic-league game, and he will not play in Round 13 as a result.
Stratos Perperoglou - OUT - Knee
11/23 9:48 PM IST - Perperoglou underwent surgery on his injured knee and is expected to be out until January, according to eurohoops.net. Perperoglou's knee injury cost him three EuroLeague games and was apparently not showing much improvement, so the team decided to send him under the knife. He is expected to resume practicing around mid-December, but his return timeline means he will not take the court again until 2020.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade Probable Starters
G - Lorenzo Brown
G - Billy Baron
F - Branko Lazic
F - Derrick Brown
C - Ognjen Kuzmic
CSKA Moscow Probable Starters
G - Mike James
G - Daniel Hackett
F - Nikita Kurbanov
F - Johannes Voigtmann
C - Kyle Hines
Top picks:
(Captain) Lorenzo Brown, BEL - Brown scored just 22 total points over his club's first four EuroLeague games, but he has averaged nearly that many points on a per-game basis of late, averaging 20.0 points over his last three contests. He is also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on the season, so he figures to contribute across the board Wednesday.
Mike James, MOS - James came off the bench the last three games, but he still manged to score in double figures in each contest. He has not been as productive in the non-scoring categories as he was last season, but he can still be counted on in the scoring department.
Kyle Hines, MOS - Hines scored in double figures twice in the last three games after doing so just twice over CSKA's first 10 games of the season. CSKA's big men have been inconsistent nearly across the board, so with Hines getting the job done, expect him to play a key role again in Round 14.
Billy Baron, BEL - Baron's scoring totals have varied on almost a week-by-week basis, but he has hit double figures six times through 12 games and is averaging 11.6 ppg -- the second-best mark on his team.
Captaincy options:
Dream11 team:
Grand League combination:
L. Brown, James, Voigtmann, D. Brown
Small League combination:
L. Brown, James, Hines, Strelnieks
