Game Preview
Olimpia Milano will host Zalgiris Kaunas in the 15th round of Euroleague. This match marks midway through the regular season, so both teams will be eager to get a win. Currently, Milano has only won 4 out of 14 games, while Zalgiris has 5 victories. Not the best results, but with this year’s format both teams still have pretty decent chances to fight for a place in the next round. However, winning against direct opponents is a must. That is why this game between best Italian and Lithuanian teams will be full of emotions and drama.
Zalgiris Kaunas
No one expected a lot from Zalgiris in Euroleague this season. They do have the 2nd lowest budget of all 16 teams and usually, come to the game as underdogs. However, with the first half of a regular season coming to the end, Zalgiris is proving that they are not ready to give up without a fight. Zalgiris has won 5 and lost 9 games so far. However, they could have easily been 7-7 or 8-6, as many games were lost unfortunately, after blowing a late game lead. Zalgiris had a real shot to win at Moscow and Madrid and that only shows how surprisingly good this team is.
The main reason for all the nice words is legendary Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius. He ended up his career a couple of seasons ago and started coaching. Needless to say, this man is as talented at coaching as he was on the court. Jasikevicius shows that he can win his duels off the court against the best European coaches. He makes a great game plan, has a strong coaching staff, and adapts to the live situation with quality. A lot of things can still be improved, but he is only coaching for a second season, so Jasikevicius’ future as a coach is bright.
The Big 3 for Zalgiris Kaunas
Zalgiris is as balanced as a team with such a low budget can get. There are some great role players like Milaknis, who can easily make 5 three pointers on any given day, or Lekavicius, who is playing like a professional and confident point guard at his young age. Actually, Lekavicius remains to be one of the greatest surprises of this Euroleague’s season so far. However, on a normal day, Zalgiris relies on 3 players:
Paulius Jankunas. I strongly suggest that Jankunas is one of the best big guys in Euroleague’s history. Even though, Jankunas’ name is not escalated as much as Bodirogas’ or Brousis’, he is still the third best rebounder in Euroleague history. On top of that, Jankunas is 15th in scored points, nine in performance index rating, third in games started, and sixth in minutes played. This season he has scored 13.3 points, grabs 6.3 boards, and adds a steal a game – when he plays he is everywhere. You might never have heard of him, because he is super shy and only focuses on the game, but not on trash talking and conversations with the referee.
Brock Motum. Something has changed during this summer in Motum’s head. He always had good physical condition and all the attributes needed to be a superb player, but last season he just did not produce. However, after the Olympics, where he was one of the leaders of wonderfully playing Australia, Brock came back with more energy. He is currently scoring 13 points and adding 4 rebounds for Zalgiris this season with impressive 44.7 percent shooting beyond the arc.
Leo Westermann. Leo was brought to Zalgiris as a main playmaker. That is exactly what this man does so far. He makes 5 passes per game, sees the court perfectly, and controls the rhythm of the game impressively. On top of that, Leo is a great shooter, who cannot be left open. He adds 9 points per game and is the main guard of Zalgiris. Olimpia Milano will have to find a way how to stop Leo if they want Zalgiris’ game plan to crumble.
Olimpia Milano
Olimpia started the season strong, winning 4 out of their 7 matches. They also have a great squad full of European stars, so it looked like this season Giorgio Armani’s team will eventually show some fashion on the court as well. However, “designers” are currently failing hard and things are only going downhill in Milano. They lost their last 7 games in Euroleague and after such a good start, Milano is currently standing 15-16th on the table with a poor 4-10 record.
On top of that Allesandro Gentile, the true leader of this team, has said goodbye in the beginning of the December. That resulted in Olimpia Milano’s losses in the local Italian league as well. With Allesandro they had 10 wins in a row and after he left Milano managed to lose 2 out their 3 games. It looks like coach J.Repesa is failing to adapt and this team has lost their face. There are also a lot of rumors about Mantas Kalnietis leaving this team as well.
I am pretty sure that we will see some big changes after New Years. Milano will most likely get some reinforcement and start winning again. Sadly, their Euroleague’s season might be dead and gone by then. As for now, Zalgiris Kaunas will make sure to use the situation and get a precious victory out of Milan.
Key players for Milano:
To be honest, this team is pretty evenly split and full of talents. None of the players has started all the games in a starting line-up, meaning that Coach Repesa does not fully trust anybody in this team. Krunsolav Simon gets 28 on the floor, which is the most in the team, but he had to miss the last few games and is doubtful to start against Zalgiris as well. No player makes more than 3.6 assists, which shows the lack of true and reliable point guard. Also, no player gets more than 3.8 rebounds per game and also indicates that this team does not have that one real rebounder and rely on the team’s efforts.
And we are talking about guys who play for Serbia’s, Lithuania’s, Slovenia’s, and Croatia’s national teams as one of the leaders. Kalnietis, Simon, Raduljica, Macvan, and Zoran Dragic would make a great starting line-up for any team in the world. However, something is not clicking in this team. Still, there are some guys to watch:
Rakim Sanders. After Gentile left the team, Rakim Sanders became even more dominant than he used to be. He is leading this team in rebounds (3.8 rpg) and points (14.3 ppg). Being a forward, Sanders also attempted the most 3point shots in the whole team and makes an impressive 47.2 percent. If I was a scout of Zalgiris Kaunas, I would firstly focus on Rakim Sanders.
Zoran Dragic. Well, this boy is not as good as his brother Goran, who is establishing himself as a leader of Miami Heat, but Zoran is still a guy to watch out for. Even though, he is currently struggling in this Milano team, I am sure that his talent will come out soon, because he still remains the 2nd best player for Slovenia just right after his brother, and Zoran can determine the game on any given day on his own individual efforts.
Prediction
Presenter: @writingamigo
Originally, Kasparas is from Lithuania, and that automatically means that he is crazy for basketball. He is a geek for sports as he grew up watching everything that was airing (even curling once). Nowadays, Kasparas is practicing kick-box and traveling around Central & South America. The biggest heartbreak in his life so far, was when Italy beat Lithuania in 2004 Olympic basketball semi-finals.