Streaking CSKA Faces Road Test In Nymburk

Nymburk hosts CSKA in Sunday's Game of the Week.

Who:
CSKA, 2014-15 VTB United League champions
vs.
Nymburk, 2014-15 Czech champions, 2014-15 Czech Cup champions

Where:
Kralovka (capacity 3,000), Prague, Czech Republic

When:
6:00 PM (8:00 PM MSK), December 20, 2015

TV:
NTV+, Match TV, United League TV

Face to Face
Nymburk and CSKA have met seven times in the VTB United League. The Czechs lone win came during the team's debut 2011-12 season, a shocking 19-point victory at home. Overall, the Army Men enjoy a 6-1 record against Nymburk, including a win less than a month ago in Moscow. Though Nymburk is off to a strong start this season, Ronen Ginzburg's club struggled in that game, losing to CSKA by 51 points, 119-68.

Looking Back

Intrigue
In Nymburk's defense, the team was missing several key players for the game in Moscow and couldn't match CSKA's depth. Now the team is healthy again and coming off a convincing win 119-59 win over Vita. Nymburk also knocked off Ventspils in the FIBA Europe Cup on Wednesday.

The Czechs are 8-4 entering Sunday's game, 5th in the standings. Nymburk has yet to lose at home, posting a perfect 6-0 record.

The Army Men, meanwhile, are playing just two days after a road game in Spain against Unicaja (the longest flight of the season thus far for the Red-Blues). CSKA will have little time to recover and prepare for Nymburk, but will still be heavily favored on the road.

Question
Can Nymburk keep the game close against CSKA this time around?

"We played poorly. I hope that when CSKA comes to visit our arena in the Czech Republic in December, we'll play a different brand of basketball," - noted Ronen Ginzburg following November's loss to CSKA in Moscow.

CSKA scored 119 points against Nymburk, winning by 51 points. The reigning champs have been ruthless this season, winning by an average of 23.3 points per game in the team's 10 victories. Nonetheless, Nymburk hopes to back up Ginzburg's comments and make this a close game. Given the team's success at home, the support of the fans, a healthy roster and three days to prepare, Nymburk could very well make life difficult for the Army Men on the road.

Duel
Maxime De Zeeuw (Nymburk) vs. Andrey Vorontsevich (CSKA).

Vorontsevich was extremely effective when these two teams met in November. The Russian big man scored 16 points in 13 minutes on 6-8 shooting to lead his time in scoring. But he faces a tougher matchup on Sunday: Nymburk's Maxime De Zeeuw missed the game in Moscow, but is healthy for tomorrow's showdown. In addition to guarding Vorontsevich, De Zeeuw will be expected to help on the glass (the Lions were outrebounded 50-25 in the loss to CSKA), stretch the defense with his outside shot and steady Nymburk's defense.

Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
- We're playing Nymburk for the second time in less than a month. We played well against this team in November, but they were missing three key players for that game. Nymburk has been much better this season. The team is athletic, quick and can score. In order to win, we need to match their energy. I liked how our team reacted in the second half in Malaga. We played good defense, rebounded and didn't give up transition points. We need to play like that now, especially since it will be our second game in three days.

Nymburk head coach Ronen Ginzburg:
- CSKA is the best team in Europe right now. I hope the Army Men will bring their whole roster. It's an excellent opportunity for the Czech fans to see VTB United League stars in action. I hope no one misses such a big game in the Czech Republic. We need incredible support from the fans to counter CSKA. Every player on their team poses a threat on the court. I hope the game will go differently than our recent meeting in Moscow, when we were missing three of our starters because of injuries.

Prediction
- I expect CSKA to win comfortably, though I would love to see the reverse happen, - notes legendary Czech center and current VTB United League representative to the Euroleague and FIBA, Jiri Zidek. - Anyone on CSKA's roster could take over the game. The Army Men have a very deep, star-studded roster. At the same time, I expect Nando De Colo to play well. Nymburk needs to shut down De Colo and Teodosic on defense and counter the athletic duo of Vorontsevich and Hines. The Czech Lions can keep it close if they shoot a high percentage from the perimeter and control the tempo.