Two teams hurt in different ways in yesterday’s games will battle it out at the Unipol Forum tomorrow night to make a crucial step towards the goal of reaching the post-season of this crazy regular season in which one win more or less is worth an unusual number of positions in the standings. Meanwhile, the playoff or play-in quota has risen unpredictably. Last year, the teams that collected 17 wins entered the play-in; this year it is not even certain that 18 wins will be enough. Olimpia hosts Barcelona in an arena that is close to a sell-out for what is basically a “Must Win Game”. In the game played at the beginning of the season in Barcelona, Olimpia won by 13 points, but at this point in the season it is unlikely that protecting the point difference will be enough. A victory is needed. Both teams are not in their best shape, roster wise: Barcelona is without Jan Vesely, Olimpia is without Josh Nebo; on Tuesday Barcelona lost Chimezie Metu to a very serious Achilles’ injury, Olimpia will play without Fabien Causeur who suffered a back injury at the end of the Madrid game. It will also be an emotional night for Kevin Punter, who is returning to Milan; for Nikola Mirotic and Leandro Bolmaro who will face their former team, Barcelona. But above all, this is game with a lot of direct implications on the outcome of the season. In short, it will be a battle. Then others will follow, even if for Olimpia there will be no other direct clashes, but this is the game to win. Tip-off time will be 20:30 in Milan.
REFEREES – Ilija Belosevic (Serbia), Luka Kardum (Croatia), Eduard Udyanskyy (Great Britain).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “We face an offensively gifted team, because of their guards and also other efficient players such as Jabari Parker for example. Against this kind of team showing a defene consistent with the level of the competition and the all-important game we are about to play will be mandatory to increase our chances.”
BARCELLONA OUTLOOK – Due to injuries at various points of the season, Barcelona is without Nicolas Laprovittola, Juan Nunez, Chimezie Metu and Jan Vesely, who should be close to returning to the court. The point guard is the Czech Tomas Satoransky, 388 NBA appearances, who doesn’t score much nornally (5.2 points per game) but is great at involving teammates (5.6 assists on average). The shooting guard, the team’s star player, is Kevin Punter, returning from a shoulder injury and averaging 16.8 points and 3.2 assists per game, 40.2 percent three-point shooting. The small forward is Alex Abrines (174 NBA games in career), 5.1 points per game on 38.5 percent three-point shooting. The power forward is Jabari Parker (310 NBA appearances with 14.1 points per game, the 2014 NBA draft number 2 pick), 13.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, 57.4 percent from two, 39.7 percent from three. The starting center should be Willy Hernangomez (ith 344 NBA games in his career) can play both as a center and as a power forward: he averages 7.9 points per game shooting 64.8 percent from two, thanks to his low post game and his offensive rebounding prowess (1.7 in less than 15 minutes on the court; 4.1 in total). The other center is the 2.23 mt tall Youssoupha Fall, who is averaginf less than ten minutes per game but scoring 3.9 points per outing on 69.4 percent close-range shooting. However, Barcelona is a deep team. Despite the absences, they have experienced guards like the Spanish international Dario Brizuela (9.2 points per game on 44.1 percent three-point shooting), a player with great energy and competitive spirit. Dame Sarr, a young Italian international, will also have time. As a small forward (but he can also move to the 4 spot in a smallball line-up), Justin Anderson is producing a high-level season with 7.1 points per game, 67.1 percent shooting from two and 40.3 percent from three. Another option among the big men is Joel Parra (4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds on average).
THE BARCELONA CONNECTION – Nikola Mirotic played four EuroLeague seasons with the Blaugrana club with 127 appearances, all in the starting five, three Final Fours, 2,136 points scored, 16.8 points per game on average. Leandro Bolmaro was brought to Europe from Argentina by Barcelona: in the EuroLeague, he played 36 games with 99 points. Kevin Punter spent one year at Olimpia with a Super Cup win, an Italian Cup win and the 2021 Final Four. trip He played 36 games in the EuroLeague with 515 points scored.
