The curtain on the EuroLeague regular season is about to fall. Olimpia plays its last game in Belgrade, which Maccabi has chosen as the site of its home games this season, normally at the old Pionir, but on this occasion at the Stark Arena (the other facility is taken by the European Boxing Championships). For Maccabi it is a game emptied of meaning because in any case the seventh place has been crystallized. There is no chance of making it better and no risk of making it worse. But Maccabi is in great shape, they won six games in a row before losing to Barcelona in the closing possessions, they have a well-tested team with a clear identity: they have the second offense in the EuroLeague in terms of points scored and the 18th defense in terms of points allowed. This is a tremendous offensive rebounding team, the best in the league, thanks to Josh Nebo primarily, but also because of Bonzi Colson, Jasiel Rivero and Roman Sorkin. It is team that relies a lot against set defenses on the scoring prowess of Brown, Baldwin, and Colson himself. Olimpia has won its last five home games but has failed to enter the post-season zone due to its road record (3-13). The chances of grabbing the tenth place are minimal and depend on a win in Belgrade and defeats by Efes and Partizan. But it’s correct to explore this opportunity and still end the season in the best possible way. If Maccabi is the best team in offensive rebounds, Olimpia is the best for offensive rebounds allowed to the opponents. This could be a critical key to the game. In any case, to overcome Maccabi, a great performance will be needed, despite the absence of Devon Hall, who twisted his left ankle in practice and has been left behind for the necessary exhams. Tip-off time will be 20:05.
THE REFEREES – Carlos Peruga (Spain), Mehdi Difallah (France), Alberto Baena (Spain).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “We face a very athletic team who was able to make the play-in tournament despite playing all season without the support of its home crowd, which is remarkable. They have a couple of guards that are leading everybody and their bigs are very dynamic. We will depend a lot by our transition defense and the job that we will be able to do under the boards.”
MACCABI TEL AVIV OUTLOOK – Before losing to Barcelona in the last round – but with a limited margin, just three points -, Maccabi had won six consecutive games, obtaining the seventh place in the standings which will give them the opportunity to have home court advantage in the entire play-in tournament. In truth, in Tel Aviv, Maccabi was only able to play one game this year but on the neutral court in Belgrade it still compiled a 12-4 record on which it built its season. The team coached by former star guard Oded Katash has a consolidated structure and clear hierarchies. The starting line-up includes guards Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin; Bonzi Colson at the small forward spot; Josh Nebo is the center, while Jake Cohen normally starts as a power forward but is then limited to under ten minutes of playing time and in that position Roman Sorkin (7.3 points and 3.5 rebounds on average) and James Webb (6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds) are more relevant. Brown is the team leader, a very experienced floor general, a European champion with Spain as a naturalized player, who averages 12.2 points and 6.2 assists per game. Baldwin, who compared to the past is playing almost exclusively as an off guard, is having the best season of his career with 17.7 points, 4.9 assists on average, 38.5 percent three-point shooting even if his best skill is the pull-up jumper from the elbow. The guard rotation is strengthened by two high-energy players in John DiBartolomeo (4.8 points, 39.7 percent on three-pointers) and Tamir Blatt (6.9 points, 4.5 assists, 39.7 percent on three-pointers). The starting forward is Bonzi Colson, who has imposing physical size for the position, has started in 33 out of 33 games and is averaging 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per outing. He shot 57.1 percent on twos and 39.3 percent from three. The back-up is Antonius Cleveland (5.2 points per game), a player with great defensive instincts. Center Josh Nebo is averaging 11.0 points per game, adding to them 7.3 rebounds, including 3.0 on offense. He also shoots 65.8 percent from two. His back-up is Jasel Rivero (7.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game).
HISTORY Vs MACCABI – Olimpia has won two of its three European titles by beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the championship game. In Lausanne on April 2, 1987, the game finished 71-69 for Milan, and the coach was Dan Peterson. A year later, in Ghent, it finished 90-84 again for Olimpia in the Final Four’s championship game. The coach was Franco Casalini. Overall, the two teams have met 37 times, with Maccabi leading the all-time series 19-18. In Milan it is 12-6 for Olimpia. In Tel Aviv is 13-4 for Maccabi. On a neutral court it is 2-0 for Olimpia. Three years ago, Olimpia broke a streak that started in 1987 by winning 86-85 in Tel Aviv after an overtime with Malcolm Delaney’s winning jumper.
THE MACCABI CONNECTION – Alex Poythress has spent the 2022/23 season with Maccabi, winning the Israeli championship before signing for Olimpia.
NICOLO’ MELLI NOTES – Nicolò Melli has climbed in the podium of the all-time defensive rebounders of in the EuroLeague, surpassing Georgios Printezis and also Felipe Reyes. Melli now boasts 1,122 defensive rebounds, 42 less than Ioannis Bourousis, who was his teammate for two years at Olimpia. Melli is also eighth in total rebounds with 1,491 (seventh in the list is Ante Tomic, who has 1,545).
SHAVON SHIELDS NOTES – Shavon Shields has made 170 three-pointers with Olimpia and has become the first ever in the club’s history for three-pointers made, surpassing Sergio Rodriguez and Vlado Micov. Shields also became the third Olimpia player ever with at least 300 two-point field goals in the EuroLeague after Kyle Hines and Nicolò Melli. Shields is fifth in steals this season with 1.3 per game and has stolen at least one ball in 18 of the last 19 games including the last ten. Finally, he is the seventh scorer (15.9 per game) and ninth in average rating (17.4). Shields is also fifth in 3-pointers made per game, 2.5 per game.
NIKOLA MIROTIC NOTES – Nikola Mirotic is fifth in the scoring charts (17.2), fourth in rating with 19.4, and is the league’s tenth rebounder with an average of 5.9 per game. Against Bologna, he went in double figures in rebounds for the third time this season. It was also his third double-double of the season.
— Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) April 7, 2024
