Two different shapes here. In Korea, two struggling sides meet and shooting quality and rebounding decide it. In Japan, the league leader hosts a rebuilt side that has only just started winning.
Mobis against LG: both teams are 2-4 and near the bottom. Mobis has the better shooting base, around 48 percent from the field against 44 for LG, and it has outscored LG per quarter in each of the four quarters over its recent games. LG lives on volume threes, a number that tends to cool, and it has lost four of its last five while conceding 85 or more in four of them. The only meeting this season went to Mobis by a point. The hinge is LG's centre Marei, who wins the glass if he plays, and his status is unknown. The head-to-head record favours LG but it comes from earlier rosters. I'm siding with Mobis to win at home.
Alvark against Ibaraki: Alvark is first, 8-1, and has won six straight without Olbrich, so his absence is already built into the form. Its pressure defence held opponents to 74 or less in seven of its last nine regulation games, and it is unbeaten in the series. Ibaraki has won its last two under a new coach, but over Osaka and Brave Thunders, and Alvark beat both of those by wide margins. I expect Alvark to lead by halftime and control the pace. That's why I'm on Alvark to win.
The two are combined because each stands on its own read.
