Just 36 hours after the EuroLeague battle of Istanbul, an overtime game and a loss hard to swallow, Olimpia returns on the court in the Italian league to face Naples on the road. Every game on short rest is very dangerous, this one particularly because it is on the road, the rest time has been really limited, some players had to stay on the court long minutes in Turkey (three more than 30 minutes, Nicolò Melli more than 25) and the team looks a little short-handed among the guards, with Maodo Lo and Billy Baron out, Devon Hall probably recovered just in time right after the Istanbul precautionary stop. On top of it, Naples looks very good. In its Italian league debut was dominant in Sassari, making 17 threes, scoring 111 points and making the game relatively easy. At halftime, Naples was leading by 15, 24 after three quarters. The fourth quarter was garbage time. Michal Sokolowski, a sharpshooting forward from Poland, made six threes and scored 23 points. The new coach Igor Milicic administered a six double-digit effort, two more players scored nine points. Some of the players have big experience at a very high level. Tyler Ennies has been a NBA and EuroLeague player; Jacob Pullen has been a very solid shooting guard for many Italian league teams in the past; Tariq Owens in Varese was one of the most athletic big man in the league; and Tomislav Zubcic, who had 20 points in Sassari, was a NBA second-round pick. “They approached the season storming into it – Coach Mario Fioretti said – Not just the most credentialed players like Pullen and Ennis, but the dynamism of their big men and Sokolowski. Offensively, they are very well organized.” The big win in Sassari generated a lot of enthusiasm in Naples: the arena will be packed. “For us, it is fundamental to find the energy necessary to play a tough road game on such a short rest – Fioretti added – we need to stay as solid as we were in Istanbul, adjusting the key details that will help us get the win.” The game is more significant for Willie Caruso: Olimpia’s big man is from Naples, although he left town to pursue a basketball career as a teen-ager. He was raised basketball wise in the nearby suburb of Cercola and spent one season in the Italian second division playing for Naples, in 2017/18 right before moving to the U.S. for college. Tip-off time is at noon on Sunday.