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Which defense will give in first?

Efes and Olympiacos might as well have the top defenses in Europe and both coaches are famous for always putting special attention on that segment of the game, which could see this turn into a great battle for each point

A string of defeats to CSKA, Telekom, and Novgorod were enough for alarm to go of at the Turkish team. Coach Dusan Ivkovic found himself under a great deal of pressure for the first time in the season and judging by what happened next, his players responded very well by playing a very good game against the tricky Gaziantep. It was an easy win by 10 points that got Efes back on the winning track even though Ivkovic didn't use Draper and Saric. Milko Bjelica (16p, 6r) got Saric's minutes, while Stratos Perperoglou (13p, 7r), who has been Efes' best player lately, did another great game. This game will be particularly special for him since he joined Efes from Olympiacos.

- We lost three games in the last 6 days and the one against Gaziantep was very important. The toughest defeat was the one to Novgorod and that is why we prepared for Gaziantep very well. We opened on a 0-7 run, had ups and down but knew how to get back. We need to be very well prepared for Olympiacos mentally - coach Ivkovic said

The decision to not give Saric any time on the floor was a bit strange, but he could have just been resting him after using him a lot the previous games. Draper's zero minutes are no surprise since he's no longer Ivkovic choice for Beko League after Huertel's joining. Both will almost definitely be on the team today.

- Olympiacos are a very well-balanced team. They have four wins and a Top 16 win over Fenerbahce in Istanbul. They're a very good team. Our defensive and offensive ends have to be much better. We can't allow them to score easily and we need to stay in control - Ivkovic said. He won the Euroleague title while being in charge at Olympiacos.

- This is a very important game for us and we expect it to be very tough. They are very good individually and play well as a team. They're playing pick'n'roll very well and we need to focus on that. They might be tough to beat but I absolutely want this win - Nenad Krstic said. he finished the Ganziatep game with 10 points and 7 rebounds in 15 minutes on the floor.

Olympiacos survived Laboral last week after making a comeback in the game that was dominated by the Spanish team for the first 20 minutes. That left Olympiacos undefeated in Top 16 and allowed them to be more relaxed about the game to come. Remaining Top 16 competition, except for CSKA, has at least two defeats and Olympiacos seems to be on the path of grabbing one of the top two spots n the group, which would give them home court advantage in quarter finals. 

The Greek championship wining streak was extended too, even though the away games with Apollon know to be tough. But Olympiacos were tough in defense from the start, limiting the opponents to only 24 points in the first half and controlled the rest of the match quite easily despite not being as good on the defensive end. They managed to stop Apollon's greatest weapon - their frontcourt completely (8-for-34). Lojeski lead Olympiacos' offense with team-high 13 points. Sferopoulos used all of his players equally so that no one spent more than 23 minutes on the floor.

- It was an important win for us against a very good team in the tough away game. We were ready for it to be tough and kept our level of concentration high. We managed to take a substantial lead and had it until the end - Sferopoulos said.

Olympiacos are still undefeated in 2015, not having conceded more than 68 points in any of the seven games. Their defensive end is only getting better and Sferopoulos clearly managed to enforce all of his ideas. Defense is what Olympiacos base their game around. Everything starts with it and good defensive end gives confidence to the other side of the floor. Given the game style of the Turkish team, this could turn into a great battle for each point. Olympiacos are still without Agravanis and Papapetrou and despite having some health struggles, Dunston and Lafayette traveled to Istanbul with the rest of the team. Whether they'll play or not will be decided just before the game.

- Injuries are part of doing this and you get used to them. We proved that we can overcome any problem - Sfropoulous said and added:

- We are playing a very tough team at their arena. They are lead by one of the top European coaches and we expect a very tough game. We won't be fooled by their performance against Nizhny, we know how great their potential is. Every team can have a bad day, Efes are a respectable opponent and we need to be very careful. Since their playing home, I think they are under pressure.

The margin might seem low at first but considering what is expected today, I think it's still too high. Efes and Olympiacos are among top defenses in Europe, with very high-quality individuals and coaches who put a lot of emphasis on the defensive end. Efes are on a two-game losing run in Euroleague and lost last week's game in Novgorod, in which the defense didn't work at all. They are 2-2 and another defeat would put them in a very tough situation ahead of the away game in Milan and the derby match with Fenerbahce. Olympiacos are, on the other hand, on a 4-0 record and don't plan to end the run. They have not conceded over 68 goals in 2015, with he away games being particularly dependent on defense, just like the road game with Apollon last Monday.
Statistically, this margin is set right, but they met more offense-oriented teams that boost the averages. I expect this game to be like those between Olympiacos and Zvezda that ended at around 130 points. I don't think either team will go over 70 points and I think the margin is a few points too high.