Olimpia Milan already with its back to the wall: how many problems

Many criticisms levelled at coach Messina after the loss to Trento in game 1

Olimpia Milano's post season is off to a bad start. In game 1, Trento routed the Forum, thus taking a surprise 1-0 lead in the series. On Tuesday night, AX is obliged to win to avoid risking an elimination that would be absolutely tragic, considering that winning the Scudetto is the only way to save a season that is currently a failure.

Despite the returns of Mirotic and Baron, the latter of whom has been inactive since December, the Olimpia seen against the Dolomiti è appeared in great distress. Defensively, not even the experience of Hines è failed to make a difference. On offense, apart from the usual Shields, the others appeared ineffective, especially star Mirotic, still little involved in the team’s offensive mechanisms.

Concerns about nervousness within the group. Napier, in the second quarter, è left the court rather testy (so much so that he did not give Shields a high five). In addition, Hall's regression è a major concern. A lot of criticism has been levelled at Coach Messina who, so far, has not yet found a way to make a team full of stars perform at their best.

Clearly, the second act of the series è already decisive. Milan has the obligation to win (and convince) and then go to Trento and win the passage to the round. The problem è that Dolomiti does not seem to be in a gifting mood at all and, unlike Olimpia, seems to be in a state of grace. The group è cohesive and convinced.