The first EuroLeague game of 2023 is also the last of the first half of the regular season. For Olimpia (exhibiting a 4-4 record on the road) it is a very difficult game against Olympiacos who is 10-6 overall, 5-3 at home and has the best points difference in the competition, +135, having won eight games by 10 or more points of margin. In the last round Olympiacos dominated Panathinaikos in the Athens derby. Olimpia comes to this game riding a three-game winning streak which have restored some confidence in the group, despite the 50 player/games absences reported over the first half of the season. The opponent numbers are still impressive: Olympiacos is first for points scored (86.9 per game), assists, steals, two-point shooting and free-throw shooting. Basically, it has the EuroLeague leading scorer (Vezenkov), the best passer (Sloukas), the best for steals (Walkup), the second in two-point shooting (Fall) and second-best for rebounds (again Vezenkov). Olimpia will try to oppose its defense which allows 75.9 points per game, the best number overall, on top of being second for assists allowed and fourth at defending the two-point shooting (52.0 percent). Furthermore, Olympiacos is the team that protects the perimeter the least, 40.1 percent three-point shooting allowed: Milan is not among the most accurate teams in shooting from the perimeter in general, but over the current winning streak it is averaging 11.3 3-pointers per game and over last two outings made 22 threes on 52 attempts, over 40 percent of accuracy. Tip off time is at 20:00 Italian time on Friday, 6th.

REFEREES – Olegs Latisevs (Latvia), Robert Lottermoser (Germany), Rain Peerandi (Estonia).

COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “We are coming off a sequence of very good games, but an extra effort will be required to raise the level of our game and try to compete against one of the best EuroLeague teams, in Piraeus. Olympiacos is a team well-organized by Coach Bartzokas, with a proven system and an excellent defense.”

KYLE HINES – “Olympiacos is a tough team, they have been playing well since the start of the season, they can move the ball and especially at home, with their fans, they are incredibly good. It is going to be a big challenge for us, but we can ride the momentum of playing really well, like we did for the last couple of weeks. We want to continue to play well and if we can do it, both at the offensive and defensive end of the floor, we’ll have a chance to win the game.”

OLYMPIACOS – The star of the team is undoubtedly Sasha Vezenkov, the Bulgarian forward who missed the last game because of a right thigh injury, but up to now he is a serious MVP candidate, with his 19.2 points per game, 7.1 rebounds, an incredible 71.2 percent from two and 44.2% from three-point range. The other scorer is Kostas Sloukas, a point guard who has never started and consequently is perhaps the best sixth man in the EuroLeague, averaging 12.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. In the starting five, Coach Bartozakas normally uses Thomas Walkup at the point guard (6.6 points and 5.2 assists per game), Isaiah Canaan at the guard (6.2 points per game with 43.8 percent from three), Kostas Papanikolau at forward next to Vezenkov (7.2 points per game, 42.9 percent from three) and Moustapha Fall at center (8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, 77.1 percent from two-point range). Off the bench, Olympiacos can count on guards Giannoulis Larentzakis (9.5 points per game, 45.7 percent three-point shooting) and Shaquielle McKissic (5.7 points per game, 73.1 percent from two); on forwards Alec Peters (4.9 points per game, 40.9 percent from three) and Joel Bolomboy (5.9 points per game, 63.6 percent from two); and Tarik Black as a back-up center.

HISTORY Vs OLYMPIACOS – There have been 23 previous games between these two teams in the EuroLeague. Olimpia have won seven times and lost 16. In Piraeus the record is 10-2 for Olympiacos, which has won both games last season. Olimpia won in Piraeus on March 6, 2014, 88-86, with Keith Langford scoring 20 points in that game including the decisive three-pointer. The second win dates to the first half of the 2018/19 season, in which Olimpia won with a resounding 99-75. There were 22 points by Mike James, 20 coming from Nemanja Nedovic and 19 from Vlado Micov. At home, Olimpia has won on January 29, 2009, 76-74, top scorer Luca Vitali with 15 points; during the 2013/14 season, when Olimpia won 81-51 with 29 points by Keith Langford; during the 2015/16 season in which it came back and prevailed 99-83 with 15 points and six rebounds by Davide Pascolo; during the 2018/19 season, 66-57 with 27 points scored by Mike James and 13 by Vlado Micov; and during the 2020/21 season in which it won 90-70 with 27 points by Kevin Punter, 16 by Malcolm Delaney and 14 by Sergio Rodriguez. There are two games prior to the existence of the EuroLeague. During the 1996/97 season, Olympiacos won 87-84 at home; Olimpia won in Milan 73-71. So, the overall record is 17-8 for the Greek team.

THE OLYMPIACOS CONNECTION – Christos Stavropoulos, Olimpia’s general manager, spent 19 years at Olympiacos, winning the EuroLeague twice, among other things. Both triumphs featured Kyle Hines who played for Olympiacos for two years before moving to CSKA Moscow. During his two seasons at Olympiacos, Hines played 53 EuroLeague games scoring 503 points and grabbing 286 rebounds. Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas also coached the same team under Stavropoulos. Kostas Sloukas won the EuroLeague at Fenerbahce playing with Gigi Datome; on the same team he had Nicolò Melli as a teammate for two years. At CSKA Moscow, Hines and Voigtmann have played along Joel Bolomboy and Alec Peters. Brandon Davies has been a teammate of Thomas Walkup at Zalgiris Kaunas. Kevin Pangos and Billy Baron hava played in St. Petersburg along Tarik Black.

GAME NOTES – Brandon Davies, after passing the 2,000 career points, has reached 500 total rebounds for his career. His seven assists against Red Star are a career high. He has 17 assists over the last three games and 80 in terms of index rating. Nicolò Melli has started in all 16 Olimpia games (13 players have always started so far in the league) and in all the last 48 Milan games in which he was able to play. Melli with 1.267 rebounds for his career is now the 11th ever: a Top 10 spot is 20 rebounds away (Mirsad Turkcan with 1.287). He is also 20 points shy of 800 scored for Olimpia in the EuroLeague, now sitting in the club’s Top 10 list. Billy Baron has averaged 17.2 points per game in Olimpia’s six wins; 7.8 in the six games that he played in, and Olimpia lost. He has hit at least a three in 15 of his last 16 appearances and at least three in each of his last four outings. Kyle Hines is three blocks away from 300 for his career. Since he is in Milan, in the EuroLeague he has played 92 games out of 92.