After a week that exceeded the expectations, with wins in Athens and at home against Efes, a week that revitalized its record, Olimpia faces one of the most important games of the season at the arena formerly knows as Palalido, as it is essentially a game with a lot of implications and the regular season now is in its crucial days. Red Star has the same record—11-10—as Olimpia. But Milan was one of three teams that managed to win in Belgrade (where Red Star is 8-3), so the game could have a two-way impact on the future of the competition. Moreover, it comes on the eve of another week with two highly relevant games, in Madrid and at home against Zalgiris. Red Star has built its standings on the strength of ita home court. They have lost five of their last six road games but prevailed convincingly in Istanbul against Efes. They have struggled with several injuries, but have made up for it with their roster depth and signings (Jared Butler and Donatas Motiejunas arrived during the season). They’re a strong rebounding team, who is not shooting well from three (Olimpia, on the other hand, is second overall), but they can make opponents shoot poorly, at the same time. They have a turnover problem, but they also have great interchangeable talent, especially among the wings who can play inside and outside, like Chima Moneke, Nikola Kalinic, Semi Ojeleye, and leading scorer Jordan Nwora. Olimpia won in Athens without Quinn Ellis and Shavon Shields; then they beat Efes without their point guard but with Leandro Bolmaro back. This time, the rotation is almost complete, with Marko Guduric—a Red Star product— coming off a break in the Italian League game. Stefano Tonut, Nate Sestina, and Ousmane Diop remain out.

NOTES – Olimpia Milano-Red Star Belgrade will be played on Thursday, January 15th at 8:30 PM in Milan, in Allianz Cloud.

THE REFEREES – Carlos Peruga (Spain), Borys Ryzhyk (Ukraine), Luka Kardum (Croatia).

COACH PEPPE POETA – “We expect a very tough game against a Red Star team with a lot of talent and depth. It will be important to stay consistent defensively, especially in the first few seconds of any possession, to avoid getting hurt against their transition game. Our goal is to extend our good run, and engaging our fans will be crucial to achieving this.”

ARMONI BROOKS – “We want to ride our momentum and generate even more enthusiasm among our fans, as we did in the game against Efes. We know it will be a tough match-up, and the support of our fans will be a great help. For me, it’s great to feel the confidence from the coaches and my teammates, but the key is to follow the game plan and play with a lot of patience.”

JOSH NEBO – “It will be a tough game because they’re coming off a couple of losses and will be hungry. We’re coming off two wins, but we’ll have to be just as hungry as they are and at least match their intensity. The Red Star roster is a talented one, so we will have to be ready for a battle with the goal of protecting our home court.”

Josh Nebo

RED STAR OUTLOOK – Red Star has had several injury problems this season, the most serious involving Isaiah Canaan, who was sidelined before the start of the regular season and has never been available; Tyson Carter, who only played the first three games; and center Jasiel Rivero, who got injured against Olimpia in his season opener. Joel Bolomboy has also been unavailable. Point guard Codi Miller-McIntyre, one of the most physical players in Europe at his position, is the only player who has started every single game, averaging 13.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 30:01 minutes on the court. Brazilian Yago Dos Santos (averaging 3.3 points and 2.5 assists) is a possible back-up for him. But Red Star has other quality guards to count on, like Devonte Graham and Jared Butler. Graham, who had a great NBA career (336 games, 11.1 points per game), started the season injured and returned to play seven games so far but has not yet expressed his full talent. Butler (148 NBA games, 6.7 points per game) arrived early in the season after Tyson Carter’s injury and is responding with a strong play, averaging 12.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, shooting 36.9 percent from three. The forwards can perform in two different positions, creating mismatches and using their ability to score both from outside and inside. The highly experienced Nikola Kalinic, another versatile player who usually starts, averages 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, shooting 62.5 percent from two and 36.8 percent from three. Chima Moneke, now a star of the competition, plays over 27 minutes per game, averaging 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game (2.0 offensive rebounds per game, too). Moneke shoots 62.2 percent from two-point range. Jordan Nwora, formerly at Efes, has been the most consistent player so far, averaging 17.0 points per game, while shooting 58.4 percent from two, 38.8 percent from three, and grabbing 4.6 rebounds in 27.2 minutes on the court. Former Bologna and Valencia player Semi Ojeleye is averaging 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, coming off the bench. Ognjen Dobric, who has been struggling with injuries, and Dejan Davidovac round out the rotation. The starting center is the Lithuanian Donatas Motiejunas, who arrived from Monaco during the season: he’s averaging 7.0 points per game on 62.5 percent two-point shooting and 41.7 percent on threes. The back-up is Ebuka Izundu (6.8 points per game on 65.3 percent two-point shooting), who is a dangerous offensive rebounder (2.0 per game in just 13.1 minutes on the court).

Marko Guduric

THE RED STAR CONNECTION – Lorenzo Brown spent the 2019/20 season playing 27 EuroLeague games for Red Star, scoring 332 points. Marko Guduric is Red Star-schooled player. He played there two EuroLeague seasons at the beginning of his career between 2015 and 2017, with 53 appearances and 395 points scored. With Red Star, he won the Serbian title and the Adriatic League title twice.

Armoni Brooks

GAME NOTES – In the last game, against Anadolu Efes, Armoni Brooks further improved his personal career-high for personal rating (32), points (31), rebounds (8) and came within one three-pointer of the club record he already holds for three-pointers made in one game (seven against Efes, eight is the record). Brooks, with 3.1 per game, is second overall in three-pointers made per game behind the 3.2 of Baskonia’s Timothè Luwawu-Cabarrot. His 46.8 percent from three-point range places him fourth overall but first considering only those who have at least 2.0 three-pointers made per game. Brooks is ahead of Will Clyburn (46.2 percent), Tim Luwawu-Cabarrot (44.4 percent), Antonio Blakeney (42.7 percent) and Facundo Campazzo (42.6 percent). Shavon Shields needs 18 points to reach 2,500 for his career. Devin Booker needs 31 points to reach 2,000 for his career.

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