Bamberg - Baskets Bonn
Germany - BBL, Round 33
The duel in Bamberg, against the former Euroleague team, is an ideal opportunity for the leader of the BBL Bundesliga, Baskets Bonn, for a new high-level attacking performance.
It seems that at the moment that the hosts from Franconia are the ideal rivals for Baskets Bonn. The team in first place in the standings is in great form (with an exceptional record of 30-2 this season), and in the last weeks demonstrated a series of exceptional performances. The team with eight consecutive victories in all competitions scored less than 83 points only once in those eight games. Since January 15 and the defeat against the Euroleague team Alba away from home, Baskets Bonn has lost only one match – against Strasbourg in the Eurocup, in an exciting last minute. That defeat turned out to be painless for the German club, which then won the place in next round of the European competition.
In the previous match, played on Tuesday, Baskets Bonn demonstrated its power by winning away at Gottingen 95:60. The duel was already settled in the first half - so the main players are not tired, before the important visit to Bamberg.
Also, it is important to point out that the match has an exceptional competitive significance for Baskets Bonn, which has not yet secured the first place ahead of the playoffs. A serious approach is expected from the favorite, who won six of the previous eight victories since April 5 by double-digit margins.
On the other hand, Bamberg has big problems in defense, both at home and away. Since March 15, the famous club has lost as many as eight matches in ten games played. In the last nine games, six times this team received 94 points, and four times at least 101 points... And offensively, Baskets Bonn is an even more dangerous and better team than the previous rivals that Bamberg played against.
In case of defeat, Bamberg would have practically no chance of winning the place in the playoffs, for the first time in 21 years - but hardly anyone in the basketball public in Germany even believes that Bamberg has any chance in this match. The victory of Baskets Bonn with a large number of scored baskets is the most realistic outcome.
At the beginning of October, Baskets Bonn won against this opponent 84:76, and since then they have significantly improved their form and found the right attacking rhythm. It was also the first game that the leader in the table played this season at home.
The key question for Baskets Bonn is whether forward Jeremy Morgan will be able to recover from a neck injury by the start of the playoffs. But even without him, the team looks powerful, as it showed in previous games.
This season, the leader of the BBL Bundesliga scores an exceptional 89.2 points per match, and that score is significantly since the beginning of the year. Their game depends a lot on playmaker TJ Shorts, who is averaging 18 points and 7.5 assists in the BBL Bundesliga this season. In reality, Bamberg doesn't have the players to stop him.