Friday night lights are shining in Milan. Olimpia faces Barcelona (tip-off at 20:45) on March 19 from its amazing second-place in the EuroLeague standings, behind FC Barcelona who is leading and at this time it is the only team to have already clinched a playoff berth. With a two-game lead, Barcelona’s first place looks safe (they won the first meeting by 16, too), but Olimpia is looking to clinch its first European playoff berth since 2014 as well as another historic win. Up to now, Milan has managed to beat all the teams it has faced at least once, but it is true that the schedule now offers four consecutive games against teams that Olimpia has not defeated, Barcelona included. After Friday’s game, Olimpia is expected to play three consecutive road games before wrapping up the regular season at home with Efes. Olimpia is third in points per game, but the difference with Barcelona is just less than one point per game; it is first in the three-point shooting, but Barcelona is third overall, shooting around 41 percent. Where the two teams are different is that Olimpia is in the turnover department. Olimpia turns the ball over less than everybody else, while Barcelona turns it over more than any other team. But its defense is statistically the best: Barcelona is first for the lowest number of points allowed, grants the lowest two-point shooting percentage, 48.16 percent, and is second in defending the three-point shot. Finally, the second and third-best ever in EuroLeague in assists (Nick Calathes and Sergio Rodriguez) are facing each other, and so the first and second-best three-point shooters of the season (Kyle Kuric and Gigi Datome). Finally, both teams are 10-2 in the second half of the regular season.
COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “We face the best team in the league so far, they are deservedly in the top stop. Overcoming their full-court aggressiveness and their switching defense will be a crucial part of our game, offensively; protecting the paint and at the same time keep their shooters in check will be the key, defensively. But we are glad to have the opportunity to challenge such a great team while being so close to them.”
KEVIN PUNTER – “It’s an important EuroLeague game, but every game at this point is important. The number one team is coming to town, and we will stick to doing what we need to do, do our part and play the game going for the win as we do in every game.”
FC BARCELONA – They have won nine road games, just like Olimpia, including their last six games. The last road defeat for Barcelona was in Munich. Point guard Nick Calathes (6.9 assists on average) scores far less than in his last three years at Panathinaikos, but his 34.8 percent from three-point range is the highest value of his career. Guard Cory Higgins is the second-best scorer on the team (12.7 ppg) and is 86-for-91 from the line. Alex Abrines, who usually starts, is shooting 45.5 percent from three and is 25-for-27 from the line. Nikola Mirotic, the power forward, is an MVP candidate of the competition: first in the rating, he averages 16.1 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, and he is shooting 64.9 percent from two and 43.7 percent from three. The center is Brandon Davies, 11.7 points on average, 58.5 percent from two, although Pierre Oriola starts more frequently (6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds per game). Leandro Bolmaro, an Argentine who has been drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by Minnesota, and Leo Westermann, who was playing for Fenerbahce during the current season, are the other point-men. Kyle Kuric shoots over 60 percent from three and Sergi Martinez is another option at the guard. At the small forward spot they have the Hungarian veteran Adam Hanga. Among the bigs there are also the Latvian Roland Smits (65.5 percent from two, 43.2 percent from three) and Victor Claver, who returned from a long injury, as well as Artem Pustovy. Pau Gasol has been registered, but not yet used.
THE REFEREES – Ilija Belosevic (Serbia), Damir Javor (Slovenia), Tomislav Hordov (Croatia).
HISTORY LESSON – In the previous 21 games, Barcelona leads 12-9, 9-6 in the EuroLeague era. In 2014 Olimpia prevailed with a resounding 91-63 inspired by Alessandro Gentile’s 24 points, a career record in the EuroLeague for him, and inflicted to Barcelona the worst European defeat since 2007. Three years ago, Olimpia won both games, the first at home 78-74 with 19 points from Jordan Theodore and the second on the road 83-81 with a decisive field goal made by Dairis Bertans. Andrew Goudelock scored 20 points. Last year, Olimpia with a sensational 31-12 fourth quarter beat Barcelona 93-80, with 17 points and seven assists from Rodriguez, 16 points and eight rebounds from Micov. In the return game, Barcelona won 84-80 with 26 points and nine assists by Malcolm Delaney who was playing for the Blaugrana team. This year, Barcelona won 87-71 at home, coming back in the fourth quarter.
THE BARCELONA CONNECTION – Malcolm Delaney played for Barcelona last year, with 26 EuroLeague’s appearances and 266 points scored. Cory Higgins won the EuroLeague with Sergio Rodriguez and Kyle Hines at CSKA Moscow in 2019. Nikola Mirotic played with Sergio Rodriguez at Real Madrid. During the 2010/11 season both were coached by Ettore Messina. Barcelona coach Sarunas Jasikevicius coached Zach LeDay last season at Zalgiris Kaunas.
SPECIAL KEVIN – Kevin Punter improved during the Olympiacos game his records of points (27), rating (33), minutes on the court (33) and assists (five). Then, in Moscow he improved again his career-high by scoring 32 points. Punter has scored in double figures in 20 of 24 games and has made at least one three in eight of the last nine games. The 32 points represent the third all-time performance of a Olimpia player in the EuroLeague after Samardo Samuels’ 36 in Nizhny Novgorod in 2015 and Mike James’ 35 in Madrid in 2019. They tied Luca Vitali’s 32 in 2008 in Athens (against Panionios). Punter is averaging 15.0 points per game, 9th-best overall.
KP FOR MVP – In the EuroLeague Round 29, Kevin Punter was named the MVP (along Peyton Siva from Alba Berlin). He is the ninth Olimpia player to win the round’s MVP. Before him there were Mike Hall (2008/09), Omar Cook (2011/12), Curtis Jerrells (2013/14), Samardo Samuels and Alessandro Gentile (2014/15) and – with the current format – Jamel McLean in 2015/16 after a game against Efes; Ricky Hickman in 2016/17 after a game against Maccabi; Mike James in 2018/19 after a game against Olympiacos.
THE SHIELDS STREAK – Shavon Shields rides a streak of seven consecutive games in double figures. In these seven games, in which he scored a minimum of 11 points (vs Maccabi) and a maximum of 23 (in Kaunas), he averaged 16.0 points per game, went 35/51 from two-point distance (68.6 percent), 11/23 from three-point range (47.8 percent), and 9/11 from the line (81.8 percent). He also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game.
NOTES – Gigi Datome is second behind only Kyle Kuric (Barcelona) in three-point shooting at 57.3 percent. Zach LeDay is sixth at 48.8 percent. Shavon Shields is eighth at 48.1 percent. Shields has made at least one three in 17 of the last 18 games played. Olimpia as a team is first at 42.51 percent from three-point range and is also the team with fewest turnovers per game, at 10.93.
A SEASON FOR THE AGES – Olimpia has set a new club-record for most wins in one season. The previous one dated back to the 2013/14 season with a different format when Olimpia won 5 games in the regular season, 10 in the Top 16 and one in the playoffs totaling 16 wins. Now the number of wins has reached 19.
