Olimpia Milano hosting the undefeated Barca
Olimpia Milano hosting the undefeated Barca
Tonight, in a full Mediolanum Forum, Milano will face Barcelona in the most interesting game of Euroleague’s round 6. That game will be very intense because both teams have a good form and with already 12.000 fans announced in the arena, every duel will be decisive. Let’s see some stats on both teams before this big game.
Armani Milano managed to overcome a 7-points deficit at halftime against ALBA Berlin in Germany two days ago and win the game 81-78. They started very slow, with only 9 shots made from the field out of 31 attempts in the first half of the game. In third-quarter, they took the advantage and keep it until the final sound, despite some heroic performances from ALBA’s players. They finished the game with good percentages from distance, but inside the arc, there were some gaps. However, they balanced that with a very good defense, allowing ALBA to score only 23 buckets out of 65 attempts from the field. With no doubts, this game was won by defense and their energy shown in that end. The main performers were: Sergio Rodriguez (17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists), Luis Scola (14 points and 6 rebounds) and Nemanja Nedovic (12 points). Milano has all the roster available for this game with Brooks and Mack announced as fully fit for this game.
Barcelona had an unexpected hard game against Valencia two days ago. In the start of the game, they were clear favourites, but they managed to win the game only after a very good fourth half. With only 2 points in Barcelona’s favour at the halftime, Valencia overcomes the score in the third quarter and they entered in the last quarter with a 3 point lead. However, they didn’t keep up and Barcelona won the game by six points 83-77. Everything looked good for them from the field, but what should make them worry about is the fact that Higgins, Mirotic and Hanga played over 30 minutes in this game, with only 8 players playing over 11 minutes. Should that be a problem for players like them? We don’t know, but for sure the fatigue will play a small role in this game. Cory Higgins (20 points), Nikola Mirotic (17 points and 7 rebounds) and Adam Hanga (13 points and 6 assists) were the main contributors. As for team news, the same absentees will be for this game: Pangos and Heurtel.
Well, this game sounds astonishing for me. I expect huge support for the home team and with a tactic designed more on that long rotation, Milano can make a surprise here. Barcelona has the first chance to win the game, but if fatigue ‘’will play his role’’ Mirotic and Higgins can be stoped.
Photo: Euroleague.net
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
