Olimpia has played six of its first regular season games on the road, with three wins, a very promising pace especially considering that two wins have been achieved against two of the leading teams in the competition, Red Star Belgrade and Zalgiris Kaunas. Now, it is important to fortify the record at home. Olimpia is approaching a sequence of three home games in a row, the first against Asvel Villeurbanne, a traditional opponent Olimpia is facing since the ‘60s. Of all the French team, with Limoges, Asvel is the most traditional one. The team coached by Pierric Poupet has struggled with injuries so far, but with the only exception of the Kaunas game managed to stay competitive everywhere including during last week’s game against the defending champions of Fenerbahce in Istanbul: for three periods, Asvel was very threatening with its aggressive defense that generates 12.3 forced turnovers per game. It is a very crucial game for Olimpia, who is coming off a tough win after two overtimes in Istanbul and will have Josh Nebo back. The center so far has been able to play just two games and 52 minutes out of 360 available minutes at the 5-spot. Now, Devin Booker can share the load with him and, if necessary, with Bryant Dunston who was instrumental in Istanbul.
INJURY REPORT – Lorenzo Brown is still recovering from an early season injury. Ousmane Diop – flu-like symptoms – didn’t practice. Zach LeDay re-injured himself in Istanbul and will miss this week games, will be re-evaluated shortly after.
NOTES – Olimpia Milano-ASVEL Villeurbanne is scheduled to be played on Wednesday, November 12th, at Unipol Forum, tip-off time 20:30.
THE REFEREES – Sreten Radovic (Serbia), Arturas Sukys (Lithuania), Eduard Udyanskyy (Great Britain)
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “It is a very important game for us. All games are important but now we want to carry over the last few outings and keep improving. Asvel paid a price to the injuries, as happened to many more teams, but they have maintained a high level of athletism and organization, especially at the defensive end of the floor with their 3-2 match-up zone. We need to pay attention to the little details, especially rebounds and ball movement, in order to get the win.”
ASVEL VILLEURBANNE OUTLOOK – Asvel’s results in this first part of the season have certainly been affected by the unavailability of the highly experienced Thomas Heurtel, who was chosen to lead a team full of athleticism alongside Nando De Colo (12.7 points and 4.0 assists per game). The latter, who played important seasons in Moscow and Istanbul, as well as playing in the NBA in San Antonio and Toronto, is also expected to be sidelined due to an injury. The other guards are Glynn Watson (13.2 points per game in his first EuroLeague season, coming from Gravelines); Mehdy Ngouama (4.4 points per game); the great 2007-born prospect, Adam Atamna; the experienced Edwin Jackson (7.4 points per game, 41.0 percent shooting on threes); and Shaquille Harrison, a physical player who can play both positions and is coming off an injury. The forwards are Melvin Ajinca (6.6 points per game) and the experienced David Lighty, a longtime Asvel player (5.6 points per game). The power forward spot belong to Bodian Massa (4.7 points and 4.2 rebounds on average), who is a 2.10mt tall player, the American shooter Zachary Seljaas (9.2 points per game on 66.7 percent two-point shooting), and Armel Traore (6.6 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 78.3 percent on two-pointers, and 42.9 percent from three), a player who can also play as a center. The two centers are Mbaye Ndiaye (7.7 points and 4.7 rebounds on average, 76.7 percent on two-pointers) and the muscular Bastian Vautier (4.7 points per game).
GAME NOTES – Shavon Shields has a streak of 28 games out of 29 with at least one three-pointer. Shields has scored at least 10 points in nine straight and 18 of his last 19 games. Zach LeDay played his 200th EuroLeague game in Istanbul; Leandro Bolmaro played his 100th. Zach LeDay and Shavon Shields both scored 20+ points in Istanbul. This is the 20th time in modern EuroLeague history that two Olimpia players have scored 20+ points in the same game.
