Milano – Valencia
International - Euroleague, Round 7
09/11/2023 - 20:30 CET
Milano is in a major crisis in the EuroLeague. They are at the bottom of the table with a 1-5 record, which is shocking considering their signings during the summer, including Nikola Mirotic. The expectations were high, with hopes of competing not only for the Final Four but also the title. When you have players like Shavon Shields, Nicolo Melli, Johannes Voigtmann, Kyle Hines, Maodo Lo, Devon Hall and Mirotic in your team, it's not normal to have just one win in six rounds. Last week, Milano suffered home defeats against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Monaco, making this upcoming game a "must-win" in every sense. Defensively, this team has enormous potential, as shown when they limited Olympiacos to just 53 points. Now, they need to find their rhythm on the offensive end.
Valencia has been the most pleasant surprise in the EuroLeague, with five wins in six games. Their only loss came against Anadolu Efes in Istanbul three weeks ago. They made fantastic moves in the summer transfer market, and all their new players have proven to be upgrades. Brandon Davies is playing at his best, Semi Ojeleye is among the top power forwards in the EuroLeague, and Damien Inglis can defend anyone. The backcourt has been bolstered with Kassius Robertson and Stefan Jovic, giving head coach Alex Mumbru a lot of options at every position. The potential issue in this game could be the injury status of their starting point guard, Chris Jones, who might skip the game due to an ankle injury.
Even with Jones in the lineup, Valencia will have a tough task in this game. Milano is hungry to make amends for their poor results, and on paper, they have a much more powerful team than the visitors. The experience gap between coach Messina and Mumbru is evident. While Davies and Ojeleye have dominated many games this season, they might not find much success against Milano's strong frontcourt defenders. The key for Milano will be for players like Lo, Shields and Hall to find their three-point shooting range, and if they do, the home team could likely break their four-game losing streak and move off the bottom of the table, which was an unexpected position after six rounds.