Olimpia Milano: Euroleague becomes (still) a nightmare and there are those who do not convince

The worst moment of Coach Poeta&#8217s new adventure on the Olimpia bench. The defeat against Zalgiris, inside the home walls, was the third consecutive misstep in the Euroleague. Result? Increasingly negative record (11-13) and play-ins more and more distant. At the moment the red and whites are 13th in the standings with many, many teams ahead put much better in view of the final sprint of the regular season. And to say that, until a few weeks ago, there were those who were even thinking of entering the top eight in Europe.

In the postgame of the challenge lost, badly, to the Lithuanians, Coach Poeta tried to explain the moment, looking for the positive aspects: “We have structural flaws that I think are obvious to everyone. Sometimes we succeed in compensating for it, sometimes we succeed less. I think it is clear to everyone. I am happy with the team’s attitude: 7-0 in the league and all the games in the Euroleague with a good attitude” the words of Olimpia’s coach.

In fact, regarding the last few outings, there&#8217s little to save. When the ball starts to get hot, the team melts like snow in the sun. As if that weren&#8217t enough, Brooks, the Red and White&#8217s best forward, seems in oxygen debt, and Shields, while moving for commitment, is not always polished. However, the real problem seems to be in the guard department. Too many players are not performing as they should. The one who is disappointing a lot is Brown.

The’former Panathinaikos was supposed to be the starting point guard for the new EA7. Instead, beyond a few good contests, he looks like a mystery object. He lacks competitive nastiness. Mannion is certainly not making much of an impact either (aided by a few too many injuries). Ellis, given his young age, can be understood.

At this point, we need to stay compact and try to find ways to turn things around. The risk of staying out of the Euroleague postseason for the fourth year in a row is increasingly likely. It would be a huge blow to the club that had its sights set on it. The roster was set up to make a great Euroleague.