Week Five Preview

CSKA's visit to Nizhny Novgorod and UNICS vs. Avtodor in Kazan highlight Week Five of the regular season.

Thursday, October 22

VEF (Latvia) - Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus)
Time: 7:30 PM (7:30 PM MSK)
Place: Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
TV: Riga TV (Latvia), Belarus 5 (Belarus), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

VEF: Riga brought in a new coach and completely overhauled its roster during the offseason. Not surprisingly, the Latvians struggled early, dropping three straight to start the season. The first breakthrough came last week in Volgograd. VEF coach Carlos Frade wore down Krasny Oktyabr with a deep rotation, helping the visitors pull away in crunchtime. We'll see if that strategy works on Thursday against Tsmoki-Minsk.

Tsmoki-Minsk: The Dragons started 2-0, defeating UNICS and Enisey on the road, before dropping a close game to Zenit in Minsk. Another win in Riga would be huge for this young team's confidence. No matter the 1-5 record against VEF in league play: Tsmoki is ready to turn over a new leaf in 2015. 

Astana (Kazakhstan) - Bisons (Finland)
Time: 8:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: SC Velotrek, Astana, Kazakhstan
TV: KAZ Sport (Kazakhstan), Elisa Viihde (Finland), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Astana: Ramunas Butautas's men are 0-2 after losses to UNICS and Loko. On Thursday night, Astana has an excellent chance to get in the win column with Bisons coming to town. The Kazakhs have a deep, talented roster and expect to improve on last season's 13-17 record, making this game an important one.

Bisons: Of course, Bisons would also to love to snap their three-game losing streak. The Finns suffered heartbreak against Kalev and Nizhny Novgorod and must feel like a win is close. Bisons have also had success against Astana, beating the Kazakhs twice last season.

Sunday, October 25

Bisons (Finland) - Lokomotiv (Russia)
Time: 4:00 PM (4:00 PM MSK)
Place: Loimaa Sports Hall, Loimaa, Finland
TV: Elisa Viihde (Finland), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Bisons: It's a quick turnaround for Greg Gibson's men this weekend. After Thursday night's road game in Kazakhstan, Bisons host Lokomotiv-Kuban on Sunday afternoon. Last December, Bisons shocked the league by defeating Lokomotiv at home. The Finns will try to do the same again this weekend.

Lokomotiv-Kuban: The Railwaymen are starting to pick up steam after retooling the roster over the summer. New additions Chris Singleton, Ryan Broekhoff, Kyrylo Fesenko and Victor Claver have all made an impact, while Malcolm Delaney runs an efficient offense and leads the team in minutes played. This is an important test for the Russian club: no one in Krasnodar forgets last season's disappointing loss in Finland.

Nymburk (Czech Republic) - Astana (Kazakhstan)
Time: 4:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: SC Nymburk, Nymburk, Czech Republic
TV: TV Nova Sport (Czech Republic), KAZ Sport (Kazakhstan), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nymburk: Ronen Ginzburg's men are 3-1, Nymburk's best start in the league in years. The Czechs shocked Lokomotiv in Week One and added wins against Kalev and Enisey. Sunday provides an excellent opportunity to improve to 4-1 with Astana making the long trip to the Czech Republic from Kazakhstan.

Astana: The Kazakhs lost to Nymburk twice last season, including a tough 84-82 defeat at home. Nik Caner-Medley scored 21 points in the loss and hopes to get revenge on Sunday. The battle for a playoff spot will be fierce this season and Astana needs to win games like these to be in contention.

Kalev (Estonia) - Vita (Georgia)
Time: 5:00 PM (5:00 PM MSK)
Place: Saku Suurhall, Kalev, Estonia
TV: SA Tallinna Televisioon (Estonia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Kalev: The Estonians got their first win of the season last week and could get back to .500 with a win over Vita. Playing at home, Kalev will definitely be favored against its Georgian opponent.

Vita: Head coach Pavel Googe has said repeatedly that Vita won't be at full strength for another month or two, but the team's progress is already evident. Yes, Vita's defense continues to struggle, but the Pierria Henry-led offense has impressed given how little time the team has had to practice. Tbilisi scored 78 points against Nizhny Novgorod and will try to improve on that number against Kalev.

Khimki (Russia) - Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
Time: 5:30 PM (5:30 PM MSK)
Place: BCMO Sports Complex, Khimki, Russia
TV: VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Khimki: After Monday's rivalry loss to CSKA, Khimki will be motivated to bounce back against Krasny Oktyabr. Over the last two seasons, Khimki is 4-0 against Volgograd and expects to make it 5-0 on Sunday.

Krasny Oktyabr: The Steelmen have lost three in a row, including two heartbreakers. It doesn't get easier this weekend as Krasny Oktyabr plays one of the league's top teams on the road. Volgograd must hope its high-octane offense can challenge a Khimki squad that recently set the league record for assists and 3-pointers in a game.

UNICS (Russia) - Avtodor (Russia)
Time: 6:00 PM (6:00 PM MSK)
Place: Basket Hall, Kazan, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

UNICS: Kazan and Avtodor traded victories last season and finished 6th and 7th, respectively, in the final regular season standings. Playing at home, expect UNICS to be favored on Sunday. After losing to Tsmoki in the season opener, Kazan's offense is humming, led by Keith Langford, who dropped 29 points on Astana last weekend.

Avtodor: Saratov's biggest stars last season--Kyrylo Fesenko and Courtney Fortson--both signed with new clubs during the offseason. Malcolm Armstead is the new alpha dog in Saratov and has already enjoyed success, helping Avtodor to an important win over Nizhny Novgorod.

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) - CSKA (Russia)
Time: 7:15 PM (7:15 PM MSK)
Place: Trade Union Sports Palace, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
TV: NTV+ (Russia), Rossiya 2 (Russia), VTB-League.com
Stats: VTB-League.com preview

Nizhny Novgorod: Ainars Bagatskis's club is off to a 3-1 start, but has yet to play any top contenders. Sunday's showdown with CSKA will change that. Nizhny's last win over CSKA was a year and a half ago. Can an updated roster and red-hot Maxim Grigoryev help Nizhny spring the upset?

CSKA: The Muscovites are 9-1 against Nizhny all-time and coming off an impressive win against Khimki. Will Dimitris Itoudis and Co. underestimate Nizhny on Sunday or will they take care of business on the road?