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The most important duel of the season in the Betsafe-LKL Championship is approaching so far. On Sunday, the eyes of basketball fans will be focused on the first match of this season between Vilnius “Rytas” and Kaunas “Žalgiris”, against which, as usual, fans are divided in two and have more questions than answers .
In the current season, both Rytas and Žalgiris are marching with a victorious pace. The capital club, led by Donald Kairis, won all six games and Martin Schiller’s students won four of the five games played. These are the first and second place teams on the tournament table, respectively.
Before the start of the season, a great number of basketball experts and critics believed that the “Rytas”, which had been revamped as needed, would finally be able to “bite” the eternal rivals. Now, this will be a great opportunity for fans to see how close the predictions were to reality.
And what do this season’s Betsafe-LKL commentators think about the upcoming battle of the Lithuanian basketball chains?
LKL.lt asked two commenters, Linas Kunigėlis and Karolis Tiškevičius, the same questions. Interestingly, these sportscasters differed on the issue of the match winner.
L. Kunigėlis considers “Žalgiris” a favorite slacker in this match, and K. Tiškevičius sees the victory of “Rytas” in the first derby.
What intrigues you most personally before this match?
L. Priest: The intrigue is above all that this is the first control. There was no chance to see what these teams could do with each other. They both play on different fronts, in different leagues, Rytas has yet to play in Europe. I would call the intrigue this way: I wonder if both teams are equally capable of creating an intrigue.
K. Tiškevičius: Andrew Goudelock. I wonder how this man will get involved in playing against a top-tier Euroleague team. I guess this is a match where we will see A. Goudelock even better, because he should look forward to this level of fighting and he should want to show everyone how good he can really be at that level.
Both teams demonstrate impressive attack early in the season. And which one is better defended?
L. Priest: I would not distinguish who defends better. Mr Schiller’s team knows how to defend well, we have seen it in the Euroleague. D. Kairis’s team has already proven that it can defend well. I’d say it’s a 50:50 ratio, and now is going to be a great opportunity to be sure.
K. Tiškevičius: There are no languages, “Žalgiris”. The fact that Žalgiris has better players on defense. If we compare all the players, Kaunas still has an advantage.
The two best “Rytas” players and the two best “Žalgiris” players are …?
L. Kunigėlis: “Tomorrow”: Demetrius Jackson and Arnas Butkevičius. But I would certainly add Mr. Goudelock. Žalgiris: Joffrey Lauvergne and Marius Grigonis.
K. Tiškevičius: “Tomorrow”: A. Goudelockas and A. Butkevičius. Žalgiris: J. Lauvergne and Lukas Lekavičius.
Who on Morning’s team can stop Mr. Lauvergne?
L. Kunigėlis: First of all, it is very interesting if the new Ryto purchase will be able to join. If Lauvergne has to play Chris McCollough, the grandson will likely have an advantage. When you play against Rokas Gusti, at least in terms of physique, the Morning Center should not give up. But a lot will depend on how much J. Lauvergne will have to work on defense; the more Rytas plays through him, the harder it will be for him to attack. One of the recipes is to force the Frenchman to do a lot of defense himself.
K. Tiškevičius: “Rytas” can pause with the right help. One by one, I think, hard. But team defense can fix things.
How important is it that Žalgiris is already playing in the Euroleague and Rytas hasn’t started the season in Europe yet?
L. Kunigėlis: In this place “Žalgiris” will have an advantage. Of course, the matches between Rytas and Betsafe-LKL were not easy, but Žalgiris has already managed to verify with high-level competitors, so preparation for a real fight is probably better.
K. Tiškevičius: The most important emotional charge will be in this match. Much more important than all previous matches, by wins and losses. Both teams can play at a high level, so excitement will be paramount here. I don’t think Rytas is lacking in experience.
Who will be the most productive player in this match?
L. Kunigėlis: Not necessarily the most productive player is the best player of the match. I would say that it is not the leader who can shoot, but the baseline player.
K. Tiškevičius: A. Goudelockas.
Who will win the match and by what difference?
L. Kunigėlis: Four wins for “Žalgiris” in the Euroleague can mean that this team has an advantage, which can determine the match. But it should be mentioned here that the team that wins this match is not necessarily a better team at the same time.
K. Tiškevičius: “Tomorrow” +8.
What did the start of this season Betsafe-LKL show in general?
L. Priest: The season is fully in line with the predictions and comments that preceded it. Very interesting tournament, without a doubt. I’m kind of sorry that Klaipeda’s “Neptune” skips a lot. This is happening naturally, but it’s a bit unfortunate for Klaipėda, whose fans will need a lot of patience. Together, “Žalgiris” and “Rytas” already prove that they will be the two strongest teams, but I would definitely not write “Lietkabelis” and “Juventus”. There are also strong teams in the middle of the tournament, like Cbet or Nevėžis, who are forcing the strongest teams to fight until the last quarter.
K. Tiškevičius: One of the most difficult to predict the beginning of the season. We have seen many victories from the outsider from the match against the favorite, “Žalgiris” stumbled very early, as Prienai “Cbet” and Kėdainiai “Nevėžis” had many unexpected victories, and “Lietkabelis” suffered unexpected failures. So far very fun season.
The confrontation between “Rytas” and “Žalgiris” in Vilnius will begin on Sunday at 5 pm. The game will be broadcast live on BTV TV.
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