Having returned from Barcelona this morning, dodging some strikes at some airports, Olimpia is preparing to forget the bitter pill it had to swallow in the closing seconds of the Barca game, in order to be ready to compete against Paris Basketball in front of the Milan’s home crowd. The story of this European season is currently easy to define: Olimpia has a point differential in the EuroLeague of zero, which is way better than its current win-loss record of 2-5, but that’s explained by four last-second losses, including the one in Barcelona. Two losses by three points and two by a two points margin are tarnishing the record, so a return to winning ways against Paris Basketball, which was defeated at home by Anadolu Efes in the last round, is urgently needed. They’re a team that plays at a high tempo, one of three teams averaging over 90 points per game, and also the team that attempts the most three-pointers, averaging 34 per game (36.6 percent of shooting accuracy). They have athletic players, led by the creative Nadir Hifi, big men who go hard after offensive rebounds, and generally have four shooters on the court at all times. Olimpia will again be without three of its starters (Lorenzo Brown, Zach LeDay, Josh Nebo), a condition that obviously is taking a toll, so playing a consistent and emotional game is needed, while waiting for the imminent return of at least the two big men.
NOTES – Olimpia Milano-Paris Basketball is scheduled to be played on Thursday, October 30th at Milan’s Unipol Forum.
THE REFEREES – Carlos Peruga (Spain), Jordi Aliaga (Spain), Rain Peerandi (Estonia).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “Paris Basketball is a team with great athleticism and speed, playing at the highest tempo in the EuroLeague, a team that tries to elevate the number of possessions. Taking care of the defensive transition and, above all, of the great energy that they have attacking the offensive board, with all five players, will be crucial to win this game, along with continuing to move the ball quickly on offense, balancing shots from inside and outside the right way.”
PARIS BASKETBALL OUTLOOK – Paris Basketball, a club founded in 2018 by the American David Kahn, the former general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, won the Eurocup two years ago, won the French title and reached the EuroLeague playoffs during the last season, and is now trying to return there again despite a significantly changed roster. It’s worth noting that Paris Basketball’s two previous coaches are both in the NBA now: Tuomas Iisalo is the coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Tiago Splitter is the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. The current head coach is Francesco Tabellini, a native of Modena, who coached in Nymburk before coming to Paris. Among the guards, the players retained from last season are the international Nadir Hifi, Sebastian Herrera, and Yakuba Ouattara. Hifi is a combo guard with unlimited shooting range (he shoots more three-pointers than two-pointers, and he’s doing so at a 36.1 percent accuracy that is affected by his 0-for-8 nightmare night against Efes yesterday). He’s quick and creative, currently averaging 22.0 points and 4.3 assists per game, and has become the team’s go-to guy after TJ Shorts left for Athens in the summer. He’s the most dangerous player. Herrera is a Chilean player, a shooting specialist too, averaging 8.5 points per game; Ouattara is a veteran who spent a long time in Monaco and has been in Paris for two seasons. He’s also primarily a shooter (38.4 percent on threes for his career). The point guard is Justin Robinson, coming off a great season in Trapani, Italy, who has been playing consistently alongside or in place of Hifi, averaging 16.0 points per game and 3.2 assists per game. Completing the rotation is Joel Ayayi, a highly athletic player who, after attempting to enter the NBA (he signed with Washington and stayed briefly), returned to France, playing in the last two seasons in Nanterre and then in Bourg.
The starting small forward should be Jeremy Morgan, who has played in Italy (Trento), Germany (Bonn), France (Bourg), and last year in Israel at Hapoel Jerusalem. He’s averaging 6.8 points per game, shooting 40.9 percent from three. In truth, the starter was supposed to be Lamar Stevens, who spent five seasons in the NBA, the first three in Cleveland and the last in Memphis but has yet to make his debut due to an injury. Among the power forwards, Coach Tabellini has at least four options available, although he ends up shuffling the cards and playing without a pure center at times. Amath M’Baye (7.3 points per game) usually starts at the 4 spot. Daulton Hommes (6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds on average, 58.3 percent from three) is recovering after missing almost all of last season due to an injury. Leopold Cavaliere, in his second year in Paris, completes the rotation. Derek Willis, the most capable of playing two positions, is currently averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, shooting 63.2 percent from two. The centers are Ismael Bako, a Belgian national team player (averaging 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds), Allan Dokossi, who isn’t tall (2.03) but is powerful (3.5 points and 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 of which are offensive in just 15.2 minutes on the court), the young Mohammed Faye, another super rebounder (5.3 per game in 16.2 minutes, 2.2 offensive rebounds per game), and finally the experienced Enzo Shravin.
LA PARIS BASKETBALL CONNECTION – Amath M’Baye, who joined Paris at the beginning of this season, spent one year with Olimpia during the 2017/18 season, helping the team win a Super Cup and a league title. M’Baye played 30 EuroLeague games with Olimpia, with 183 points scored and 61 rebounds grabbed.
GAME NOTES – Leandro Bolmaro’s 31 points against Valencia were his new career high, shattering the previous record of 21. His 37-point index rating was a personal best. Pippo Ricci, who has scored in double digits in his last two games, is 8-of-9 from three over the same period. Marko Guduric, meanwhile, is two threes shy of reaching his 400th career three. Shavon Shields scored his 400th two-pointer for Olimpia against Valencia. Bryant Dunston ha surpassed Ioannis Bourosis’ 1.603 rebounds and now sits in seventh place all-time in the EuroLeague.
