Paris Basketball vs Anadolu Efes Istanbul Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Round 10

Paris Basketball walk into Istanbul on Thursday with the league's top scorer healthy again and two road wins in their pocket, and they run into the strangest team in the competition. Anadolu Efes held the league leaders to 68 points in this building last week, two nights after giving up 118. Which version shows up decides everything about this one.

The Matchup

Start with the visitors, because their season turned on one ankle. Nadir Hifi is available for Paris, and the last week shows what that means.

He missed three EuroLeague games with the ankle injury he picked up in October, came back at Dubai in Round 8 and scored 20 points, with 12 of them in the final five minutes to close a 99-93 win, then scored 26 against Maccabi Tel Aviv in a 99-94 win two nights later. He leads the league in scoring at 21.2 points per game, and Paris have won both EuroLeague games since he returned after losing four straight without him for most of that stretch.

He does not do it alone, and that matters against a defense that loads up on one man. Tyson Etienne averages 15.0 points per game and shoots 40.6 percent from three, and Sebastian Herrera adds 9.8 points a night at the same 40.6 percent clip from deep.

Paris score 88.3 points per game and play at the fastest pace in the league, so the ball keeps moving until somebody is open. The cost is at the other end, where Paris allow 92.9 points per game, the worst mark in the competition. They do not win games by stopping anyone. They win them by making the other team play at their speed.

Efes are the other extreme, and their last two EuroLeague games sit at opposite ends of it. On October 28 they lost 118-88 at Hapoel Tel Aviv, giving up the highest score any team has managed this season.

Two nights later, back in this building, they beat league leaders Panathinaikos 83-68, holding them to their lowest scoring game of the season, and Cameron Payne took the fourth quarter over after Panathinaikos cut it to one point. A team that can do both of those things in one week is a hard favorite to trust at a real number.

Key Factors

The absences are heavier on the home side, even if Efes have learned to live with them. Mike James is out for Efes. He tore his Achilles tendon in Round 3 and is expected to miss seven to nine months. Isaia Cordinier is out and remains sidelined following surgery in May.

PJ Dozier is out with a back injury and has not played since Round 7. Payne has covered the James loss better than anyone expected, averaging 15.0 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from three, and he finished the Panathinaikos win with 14 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. Dario Saric added 11 points and 12 rebounds in that game, so the Efes core that Paris will face is settled, just thinner than the one this roster was built around.

Paris have their own holes, and they sit in the guard room behind Hifi. Jared Rhoden is doubtful to play on Thursday. He missed Round 9 and did not play in the French League this past weekend, and no report has cleared him since. He averages 13.1 points per game, so his absence shortens the rotation Hifi and Etienne have to carry.

Keep an eye on whether Jared Rhoden plays before placing a bet. Daulton Hommes is doubtful after a head injury in Round 8 cost him Round 9 and the French League game that followed, and TJ Warren is doubtful, having last played in Round 5. Frank Ntilikina and Tyson Etienne both returned in Round 9, which at least gives Paris their full starting backcourt.

The schedule is the strongest card Efes hold. Paris played two overtime games in the French League, beating Chalon 116-112 on Sunday and losing 94-90 at Cholet on Tuesday, roughly 47 hours before this tip, with a flight to Istanbul in between. Efes played at home on Monday, beat Petkim Spor 87-77, and have not traveled since.

Fresh legs at home is a real edge. What pushes back is this fixture itself: Paris have won three of the four meetings between these teams, including both of their previous trips to Istanbul, 93-84 in November 2024 and 84-79 in January 2026. The building has not bothered them yet.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.