Hamburg – Wolves
Internatonal - Eurocup, Group A, Round 8
21/11/2023 - 19:30 CET
Hamburg has drastically improved its form lately. They have four consecutive wins in the Bundesliga, and last week they secured their first win in the EuroCup by defeating Cedevita Olimpija on the road 83:86. In that game, they led by 28 points at the end of the third quarter but allowed the opponent a significant comeback. It took some time for things to come together for this team. During the summer, they changed almost the entire roster, and when that happens, not everything can look as they envisioned right from the start. Aljami Durham and Will Christmas stand out as two players crucial to their offense, but Mark Hughes and Aleksander Dziewa can also score over 15 points on a good night.
Wolves had an excellent start to the season. This Lithuanian club is a major project that has seen a significant investment in previous two years. They have three wins out of six games in the EuroCup, and in the domestic league, they defeated Zalgiris by 75:64 just 10 days ago, indicating their strong performance. However, compared to that match against Zalgiris, there is a difference now. Their top player, Rasheed Sulaimon, injured his leg in that game and will be out of action for the next four weeks. Sulaimon averages over 20 points per game, and his absence is impossible to compensate for. Even before him, Arturs Zagars tore his ACL, ending his season, and he, along with Sulaimon, was supposed to lead this team. During the weekend, starter Valdas Kariniauskas was also unavailable. He is expected to travel to Germany, but he is not 100% fit. Without Sulaimon and Zagars, Wolves lost at home to Venezia by 77:93 last week, indicating the difference with and without them.
Hamburg and Wolves approach this game in completely different moods. Hamburg is highly motivated to continue their good results. They have no injury issues and are aware that only a win here keeps their chances alive to qualify for the knockout phase of the EuroCup. On the other hand, Wolves, without Sulaimon and Zagars, can hardly expect a victory not only in Germany but also in the upcoming games in this competition. Their rotation is very short, and in the domestic league over the weekend, they had only eight players available. To overcome Hamburg, they will need a lot of luck and for the opponent to miss a lot open shots. Without exceptional defense, their chances are minimal, and it's not easy to maintain it continuously throughout all 40 minutes in a short rotation.