The EuroLeague season’s home opener features Olimpia against an ambitious opponent— who had two Final Four appearances on its resume over the last three seasons—, a team rich in individual talent, and obviously presenting a friendly rival in Nikola Mirotic, who is also coming off a Round 2’s MVP award. Like Olimpia, Monaco has won one of its two games but played both of them at home. It lost to Zalgiris and beat Dubai. Olimpia won one of its two battles in Belgrade, losing the last by a narrow margin, so it enters this game perfectly in line. After the double week in the EuroLeague, Olimpia lost to Tortona, while Monaco suffered a loss in Chalon. However, against a full-strength opponent, Olimpia will play with a patched-up squad missing its starting center Josh Nebo and will have to face the Theis-Hayes tag team, hopefully helped by the immensely experienced Bryant Dunston. Obviously, Monaco is a very powerful offensive team led by Mike James, Nikola Mirotic and Elie Okobo. Olimpia in Belgrade scored 92 points against Red Star and lost to a last-second miss by Marko Guduric who had otherwise a great game with 12 points and a career-high eight assists. No question, this is tough game especially at the defensive end of the floor.
NOTES – Olimpia Milano vs. AS Monaco will be played on Thursday, October 9th, at 8:30 PM at the Unipol Forum.
REFEREES – Robert Lottermoser (Germany), Milan Nedovic (Serbia), Stefan Catic (Serbia).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “The game is obviously tough against a Final Four team now featuring Nikola Mirotic: we will wecolme him back with pleasure. Monaco is a team with enormous offensive potential. We will have to stay connected the entire game and stay organized at both ends of the floor. The first two games in Belgrade were both very good, but a step up and further growth is necessary to win our home opener.”
BRYANT DUNSTON – “Its is a good test for us against a Final Four team. They have been playing together, with the same core, for years and it shows on the court. They have a legendary player as a coach and the ability to score. It will be crucial for us to stop them from doing their things, so defense will be required. Our mentality is tp keep everybody focused, never get excited after a win and never get too down after a loss. Whetever happens we need to move on, stay healthy and play together.”
AS MONACO OUTLOOK – For years now, Monaco’s team has been built around the most powerful scorer of the last decade. Mike James is the EuroLeague’s all-time leader in points scored, third in three-pointers made, and sixth in assists. He is a player of great individual talent and physical strength, capable of exploding at any moment, even at 35 years old. In his first two games, he averaged 28 minutes per night. Alongside him, the key player is Elie Okobo, a left-handed player who also excels as a one-on-one scorer and was a member of the French national team at the Paris Olympics, where he contributed to the team’s silver medal. Nick Calathes, the all-time leading assist leader, is coming off a season with several physical issues to overcome and has sat out the first two games. The roster’s depth is ensured by point guard Matthew Strazel, another French international, fast and aggressive, and Nemanja Nedovic, another former Olimpia player, a guard of great individual talent and experience. Terry Tarpey, Juhann Begharin and David Michineau are all French wingers who can occasionally complete the rotation. The small forwards are Alpha Diallo and Jaron Blossomgame. Diallo is an American-schooled player (Providence), a classic two-way wing who can defend on one side and score using the three-point shot at the other end (he is a 37.4 percent career shooter from long-range distance). He has the size and physicality to be a factor on the rebounds as well (he averages 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his career, always in Monaco). Blossomgame is a physical player with a high-level defensive reputation, who has been at Monaco since 2022. He’s not a scorer but he is a solid rebounder and can play two positions, small forward replacing Diallo or power forward spelling Mirotic. The power forward position is the one in which Monaco seemed most exposed in recent seasons. But the arrival of Mirotic has filled the gap. Mirotic plays inside and outside and has a great ability to draw fouls. In the first two games, he was at his best with an average rating of 27.5 over 22 minutes on the court. He shot with very high efficiency (12 from 17 from the field). The centers are German Dan Theis, very decorated with the national team but also with a significant NBA career behind him: in his first two outings, he shot 10 for 11 from the field and produced 16.0 points per game. He is difficult to contain because he is also a dangerous perimeter shooter. His back-up is Kevarrius Hayes, a player with considerable EuroLeague experience, who complements Theis with his skills as a vertical and athletic center.
THE MONACO CONNECTION – Mike James spent one year in Milan in the 2018/19 season, winning the EuroLeague scoring title. That season, he played 30 games, scored 595 points and dished 191 assists. Nemanja Nedovic spent two years in Milan, scoring 307 points out of 32 appearances. Finally, Nikola Mirotic played 51 EuroLeague games for Olimpia, scoring 886 points.
GAME NOTES – Marko Guduric is seven three-pointers shy of 400 for his career, a feat achieved by only 19 players before him. He is coming off a 8-assist game, a career-high. Devin Booker needs three rebounds to reach 800 for his career. Shavon Shields made at least one three-pointer in 21 of his last 22 EuroLeague games. The next game he will play in, will be Lorenzo Brown’s 200th of his EuroLeague career. Zach LeDay, with 902 points, moved up to fifth place on Olimpia’s all-time EuroLeague scoring list.
