Dan Peterson identifies the weaknesses of Olimpia and Virtus

In an article for *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, popular former coach Dan Peterson analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna, the two powerhouses of Italian basketball that faced off last Tuesday in the EuroLeague.

Olimpia came out on top after a nail-biting finish: “Two home wins in three days, against Trieste on Sunday and Bologna on Tuesday. The second was a carbon copy of the first: they risked losing but then played their trump card. Two wins like that build confidence. Where can they improve? In my opinion, in ball movement. That is, more passing and less dribbling. Their strengths? They have an excellent full-court press. Every defensive switch throws the offense off.”

Virtus Bologna: “It’s a young team, inexperienced at this level, but they don’t know it! So they fight with conviction in their abilities. They don’t have a great center or particularly tall players. In fact, they often play with three or four guards. Coach Mumbrù rotates all his players without a second thought. The result is an unpredictable team, capable of incredible comebacks, like the one against Olimpia when they were down by 15. The main problem: rebounds, since Milan grabbed 43, 16 of them on offense.”

According to Peterson, Bologna has plenty of room for improvement: “Against Olimpia, they threw away at least 20 points with major blunders: missed shots and turnovers. With more “structure,” patience, and a few more dribble-and-stop-and-shoot plays, they can do great things. They’re fast and reactive. Maybe they’ll apply more pressure with double-teams to take advantage of these strengths. Work in progress, as they say.”