Red Star is in Milan, Melli: “Cohesion and character needed again”

It will be the fifth game of 2023 and of the last nine days, a very demanding pace, but over this period of time, in an emergency situation, with a potential of around 50 points per game in the stands due to various injuries, Olimpia has found a identity and cohesion. Another tremendous effort will be needed against Red Star at the Forum, like the one that generated a 45-point second half against Alba. A month and a half ago, Olimpia won at Stark Arena against the same team by 21 points, scoring 93. But 59 points were provided in that game by players who will not be available tomorrow: Maodo Lo, Shavon Shields and Nikola Mirotic . Outside of them, other protagonists emerged, Diego Flaccadori, Giordano Bortolani, Devon Hall himself around Captain Nicolò Melli. Olimpia is looking for a win that will further improve the record, knowing that it will still need resources, especially on offense, wherever they will be available. And of great attention because Red Star, although fresh from the defeat in Villeurbanne, has very talented guards such as Milos Teodosic and Nemanja Nedovic, Yago Dos Santos himself, and is very strong close to the basket as demonstrated by the second place overall in offensive rebounds, largely because Luka Mitrovic, the best in the league so far, and Joel Bolomboy. Additionally, Red Star is also first in steals and fourth in forcing opponents turnovers. This will require great attention to detail, patience and defense.

THE REFEREES – Olegs Latisevs (Latvia), Jordi Aliaga (Spain), Marcin Kowalski (Poland),

COACH ETTORE MESSINA – "Red Star is second in offensive rebounds and first in steals; therefore, we will have to play a smart game offensively and work as a team under the basket to limit their second chances. They have very talented individual players on the perimeter, of course led by Milos Teodosic. Having played so many games with a roster depleted by injuries we will have to use all the resources we can to find the energy to defend tightly and move the ball on offense in search of the best shots as we did in the second half of the Alba game."

NICOLO’ MELLI – "Over the last few games we played with cohesion and character. In clutch moments many guys took a step forward and were ready. We must try to repeat this feat against a team like Red Star which has depth and creative and very talented players on the perimeter. We play at home and we still intend to protect our court. But like in all EuroLeague games, 40 minutes of intensity and concentration will be needed."

DEVON HALL – "Red Star is a talented team with a lot of depth. It will be another tough game but we have been playing with cohesion and a lot of determination lately and we want to keep doing this and protect our home court one more time. We need to focus on our defense and rebounding. Offensively this important to keep moving and sharing the ball like we did last night."

RED STAR OUTLOOK – Having gone through a coaching change (from Dusko Ivanovic to Ioannis Sfairopoulos) and some roster adjustments, Red Star has used a total of 15 players in its starting five, with Joel Bolomboy as the most frequent starter. Among the guards, the stars are Milos Teodosic (11.1 points and 5.9 assists on average, 22.0 minutes on the court) and Nemanja Nedovic (12.5 points per game). Red Star had also recalled Nikola Topic, 19, considered a very high prospect for the next NBA draft, but after two appearances in the starting line-up, he had an injury and will not be available. The Brazilian Yago Dos Santos will therefore have more responsibility (5.6 points, 2.8 assists on average, 40.4 percent on threes). The Captain Branko Lazic (234 appearances in the EuroLeague, all with Red Star) is another important player due to his defensive impact. On the perimeter, the defensive skills of Adam Hanga also stand out (8.0 points per game), who can guard anywhere from point guard to small forward positions. The wingers are the Lithuanian Rokas Giedraitis (9.9 points and 3.8 rebounds on average), very fearsome as a shooter; Dejan Davidovac (4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, but 61.5 percent on twos and 39.5 percent from three), another defender who was very impactful in the Belgrade game (18 points); and Stefan Lazarevic. Joel Bolomboy, a great athlete, superb offensive rebounder, also dangerous as a shooter, plays over 24 minutes per game, with 10.4 points and 65.9 percent on twos. To these numbers he adds 5.1 rebounds per game of which 2.2 are offensive. Next to him, Luka Mitrovic, a very dynamic center, who doesn’t have a great size but is very crafty, is another incredible offensive rebounder (2.9 on average, 5.9 total rebounds) who produces 10.6 points per game. Mike Tobey, a veteran who spent the last season in Barcelona, ​​a naturalized Slovenian international, can play two positions. Freddie Gillespie, just arrived from Bayern, is an explosive center who in the first two games with his new team averaged 7.0 points with 70.0 percent shooting from the field.

HISTORY VS. RED STAR– In 1972, Simmenthal defeated the Red Star 74-70 in the Cup Winners’ Cup championship game (23 points were scored by Arthur Kenney, the virtual MVP of the competition), held in Thessaloniki. The two teams had also faced each other during the preliminary round with two wins for the home team. The two teams also met in the 1973 European Cup, for two more Simmenthal wins. During the 1984/85 season, Olimpia eliminated Red Star in the Korac Cup semifinal winning both games and proceeding then to win the cup against Varese in the championship game. Two more games and two more wins came also during the 1988/89 Korac Cup. In the EuroLeague, Red Star has won six games in a row, including the Milan game of the 2020/21 season. Olimpia eventually broke the losing streak by winning in Belgrade in the return game of the 2020/21 season. Now Olimpia is riding a six-game winning streak over Red Star that includes the 93-71 triumph in Belgrade this season with a 32-point effort by Maodo Lo. The all-time record is 12-7 is the all-time record in favor of Olimpia; 8-6 counting only the top European competition; 6-6 counting the EuroLeague only.

THE RED STAR CONNECTION – Nemanja Nedovic has played 32 games with 307 points scored for Olimpia over two EuroLeague seasons. During his time in Milan, Olimpia won one Supercup. Billy Baron has spent two seasons in Belgrade playing for red Star and winning once the Adriatic League. He also made his EuroLeague debut during the 2018/19 season, scoring 301 points over 26 games. Finally, Shabazz Napier started the season with Red Star and was briefly used during the Belgrade game before coming back to Olimpia Milan.

GIORDANO BORTOLANI NOTES – Giordano Bortolani wentin double figures in all of the last three EuroLeague games, scoring 35 points overall, 11.7 on average with 8-for-13 from three.

DIEGO FLACCADORI NOTES – Diego Flaccadori scored in double figures for the first time in Round 14 in Barcelona. Since then, he has scored in double figures in five of seven games. Over this period of time, he averaged 11.4 points with 21-for-39 from two, 8-for-22 from three, 14-for-16 from the free throw line.

NICOLO’ MELLI NOTES – Nicolò Melli, after placing Georgios Printezis behind him and rising to the fourth place ever in the EuroLeague for defensive rebounds captured, now he is just 12 rebounds behind Felipe Reyes and the third place ever.

DEVON HALL NOTES – Devon Hall scored 33 points in the last two games with 9-for-10 from two, 4-for-6 from three, grabbed seven total rebounds and made three steals in the game against Alba Berlin only.