Milano – Anadolu Efes
International - Euroleague, Round 9
16/11/2023 - 20:30 CET
Milano suffered another defeat in the EuroLeague on Tuesday, bringing their record to 2-6. All the problems seen so far came to light once again, with only six players contributing points for Ettore Messina's team. While Nikola Mirotic and Shavon Shields have been consistently strong offensively since the start of the season, the team needs contributions from the bench to turn things around. When Stefano Tonut, Devon Hall and Diego Flaccadori can provide support from the second unit, as seen against Valencia when Milano won by 83:52, the team performs better. Defensively, Milano can play the best defense in the EuroLeague. Even against Virtus, they limited their top players, but Gabriel Lundberg and Awudu Abass were unstoppable. These two players, who hadn't scored a single point in the three previous EuroLeague games, combined for 33 points against Milano, making a significant difference.
On the other hand, Anadolu Efes achieved their biggest win of the season, playing their best game so far under new head coach Erdem Can. Shane Larkin was spectacular and played like in his prime. His key shot for the win from an impossible situation best illustrates how well everything worked for this team. Rodrigue Beaubois and Darius Thompson made every open shot they had, overshadowing Efes' short rotation. The victory gains even more significance considering that Monaco had nine more offensive rebounds and complete control under the boards. However, when Efes shoots well from distance, offensive rebounds become unnecessary.
Three out of the four best players for Anadolu Efes played their best game of the season against Monaco. It's unrealistic to expect such performances consistently. Milano's defense is capable of slowing down any offense in the EuroLeague, because they can switch everything. Larkin and Beaubois are unlikely to get as many open looks as they did on Tuesday. Ettore Messina is under significant public pressure as he was brought in to win the EuroLeague, but his team stands at 2-6. Signing Mirotic, the most wanted player in the market this summer, was aimed at being at the top, not at the bottom, of the EuroLeague. If they can't beat Anadolu Efes, it might be time for some changes. Anadolu Efes has a 1-3 record on the road in the EuroLeague, with all three losses being by a double-digit margin. To achieve a good result away from home, they need to shoot at a high percentage as they did against Monaco, but it's very difficult to do that consistently.