A week of time is what Olimpia was able to use to exorcise the memory of the last <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/acb-liga-endesa-covid-19-causes-the-basketball-jam-of-the-century-52-games-postponed/” title=”ACB Liga Endesa: Covid-19 causes the basketball jam of the century: 52 games postponed”>EuroLeague match, the painful defeat against Zalgiris which came at the end of a match well interpreted, well played and dominated for 27 minutes. We start again from there, from that level of intensity, quality of execution and performance, as well as last Sunday’s success in Scafati, to face one of the great dominators of European basketball in recent years. Anadolu Efes played in the Final Four in 2019, 2021 and 2022, with three finals and two victories. Often in the past he has crossed paths with that of Olimpia: it happened in 1996 in the Korac Cup, it happened again in the EuroLeague playoffs in 2022 and there have been many exciting and even daring challenges in many moments. Between Olimpia and Efes there are rarely banal matches, even in a moment of renewal for both teams.
Compared to the “back-to-back” team, Efes, in addition to losing Coach Ergin Ataman, had to give up Chris Singleton, Kruno Simon, Bryant Dunston, Tibor Pleiss and Vasa Micic. However, very high caliber elements such as Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois and Elijah Bryant remain active. In the summer, Efes was the protagonist on the market by taking two veterans such as Stanley Johnson and Jordan Nwora directly from the NBA and snatching center Vincent Poirier from Real Madrid. At the moment it is 2-2 but they have played all close matches: they prevailed in Bologna and beat Olympiacos at home; they lost the derby with Fenerbahce in the last possessions and at the very end they succumbed to Maccabi Tel Aviv. They are currently the best team in the EuroLeague in two-point shooting and the second in defending two-point shots thanks also to the physicality of their big men.
Olimpia will still not have Josh Nebo and Ousmane Diop, heavy absences because they affect, among other things, the same sector. Conversely, after Scafati’s stoppage, Zach LeDay will be available again, who in the EuroLeague has so far been the most consistent player with 13.2 points on average, all four games finished in double figures, playing both as a power forward and as a center as will presumably be necessary May it also happen on Thursday.
NOTE – Olimpia Milano-Anadolu Efes will be played on Thursday 24 October at 8.30pm at the Unipol Forum. Click here to purchase tickets.
THE REFEREES – Sreten Radovic (Serbia), Sergio Silva (Portugal), Thomas Bissuel (France).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “Efes is a team of great offensive talent and experience, with many players who have been together for years first with Coach Ataman and now with Coach Mijatovic who is working on that same path. For us it is a match to be faced calmly, which we will have to build possession after possession with defensive attention and the search for the best possible shot in attack. To achieve this we will all have to play calmly, especially in difficult moments.”
ZACH LEDAY – “Each fan base has its own culture and supports you in its own way: it’s up to us on the pitch to transmit energy to the stands. We will have to do it tomorrow with Efes, because I know that when we succeed our public responds and helps us overcome the difficulties. For us it would be important above all because we are a team with many young people and it is the duty of us more experienced elements to help them.”
ANADOLU EFES OUTLOOK – The starting quintet of Anadolu Efes is not normally the same one that finishes the matches. Coach Dejan Mijatovic almost always uses Shane Larkin, the team’s symbolic player, and Rodrigue Beaubois himself from the bench, while the guards who start the game are Darius Thompson (8.5 points and 3.8 assists on average) and Elijah Bryant (12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game). At small forward the starter is now Jordan Nwora who boasts 206 appearances in the NBA with 7.6 points on average between Milwaukee, Indiana and Toronto and is in his first European experience. Nwora is scoring 10.2 points per game with 4.2 rebounds and shooting 63.2% from two. Larkin, who with 24.2 minutes of use is still the second most used player, is producing 13.2 points and 5.2 assists per game (63.2% from two); Beaubois scores 8.0 points per game but shoots 69.2% from two and 44.4% from three. Another former NBA player, in the small forward position, is Stanley Johnson, who spent seven years between Detroit, Toronto, Lakers and San Antonio for 449 appearances on the pitch but none in the past season, spent in the G-League. Currently, he is averaging under 11 minutes of play (2.0 points, 2.7 rebounds). At power forward, the initial choice is always Ercan Osmani (4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds), but the Latvian Rolands Smits, EuroLeague veteran, former Barcelona and Zalgiris, has similar playing time to him, averaging 4.2 points, a fearsome three-point shooter . Another option is Derek Willis (4.0 points per game, 60.0% from two), seen in Italy in Brindisi and Venice. In the center role, the solutions are Vincent Poirier (9.0 points per game, 78.2% two-pointers), a veteran who won the EuroLeague at Real Madrid, and Dan Oturu (12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds per game, 73.7% two-pointers) , absent in the last match due to a physical problem.
I PRECEDENTI VS. ANADOLU EFES – Olimpia has played Efes 40 times in the EuroLeague since 2005/06 with a 14-26 record which includes 1-3 in the 2021/22 season playoffs. There was no shortage of daring episodes. In the 2013/14 season, Milan won 77-73 with a sensational comeback in the last quarter, 26-11 with 22 points from Keith Langford. In the first match of the 2018/19 season, Olimpia won 81-80 with a triple from Mike James almost at the end. Four years ago, Olimpia won the first leg in Istanbul 72-69 with 18 points from Kevin Punter, after a very strange trend: a second period of 26-11 gave them a 15 point advantage, but Efes responded with a 21-6 in the third period only to succumb again in the final. Three years ago, Olimpia won in Milan 75-71 with 16 points from Malcolm Delaney, then repeated it in Istanbul 83-77 with a 47-26 score in the second half. In the 2022 playoffs, they won 73-66 Game 2 after losing Melli in Game 1, Delaney and Rodriguez during Game 2, with 21 points from Shavon Shields. Among the precedents also included in the 2013/14 season was the victory of Efes by one in Istanbul with a triple from 25 meters at the end by Zoran Planinic. The overall record is 27-15 for Efes and includes the 1996 Korac Cup.
GAME NOTES – Shavon Shields has scored at least 10 points in 10 of his last 11 EuroLeague games. Furthermore, he has stolen at least one ball in 15 of his last 16 games played. Shields is also 34 points away from 2,000 for his career and is 15 two-point baskets away from 500 for his career. Nikola Mirotic has made at least one triple in 11 of his last 12 games played and is 20 triples away from 400 for his career. Zach LeDay has scored at least 10 points in eight of his last nine games and has made at least one 3-pointer in five of his last six games. Finally, he is five two-point baskets away from 500 in his career.
