Olimpia Milano, what to take away from the loss against Monaco?
A loss that once again feels like a missed opportunity for Olimpia Milano. Despite refereeing that objectively influenced the game — and mostly to Milano’s disadvantage — Ettore Messina’s team has plenty to regret. In the final moments, two poor possessions proved costly: the first by Shavon Shields, who decided to force a fast break with 20 seconds left even though Monaco’s defense was already set, resulting in a block by Diallo; and the second, a potential game-tying shot by Lorenzo Brown, which didn’t even come close to the rim. In doing so, Olimpia wasted another chance after once again showing strong resilience in coming back against a Monaco team built more on individual talent than collective play. The difference came down to scoring efficiency: Milano shot better from three (9/30 vs. 7/26), but allowed Monaco to convert 58.8% from two-point range. The absence of Josh Nebo weighed heavily, though Devin Booker’s second half was a bright spot — as coach Messina noted in his postgame comments. Still, even there, the late shot he made with 55 seconds left to cut the deficit to one wasn’t exactly the best decision to take.
Booker’s performance, however, remains encouraging — especially since Nebo will be sidelined for quite some time. Lorenzo Brown and Marko Guduric still appear to be finding their rhythm: the point guard finished with 12 points and 7 assists, while the Serbian helped lead the comeback (despite clearly battling some physical issues). Zach LeDay, meanwhile, received a stern reminder from Messina about “responsibility.” The player claims he feels fine; the medical staff — and sometimes even LeDay himself — say otherwise. “Moral of the story: he’s not fine,” said Messina. And with such a long EuroLeague season ahead, forcing things and risking further injury simply makes no sense.
Next up for Olimpia is the derby in Varese in the second round of the Italian league (LBA), followed by tough road games against Bayern Munich and Zalgiris Kaunas next week. The grueling stretch continues.
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