Dan Peterson baffled by Olimpia Milano.
The words of Dan Peterson
The echo of the incredible defeat suffered by Olimpia Milano has not yet died down. In particular, the Gazzetta dello Sport published an editorial signed by Dan Peterson with the already eloquent title: "The comeback from -27 è baffling. Milan needs a pure playmaker like D’Antoni".
"What do you want me to say? No, I have never seen in one game (in two games sì) a comeback from -27 like Zalgiris Kaunas did against Olimpia Milano at the Assago Forum last Thursday. No, I have never seen, or at least I don’t remember, a team scoring 37 points in one quarter as Zalgiris did in the last fraction of the game. The figures and the result are merciless".
"When I was coaching and I had very negative situations I was almost always convinced that our physical performance was to blame. I’m not talking about muscle. I’m talking about physical endurance: lungs, heart and legs. If è this is the case, rest assured that coach Ettore Messina will make the players do a terrific job in training to recover those 13 minutes of energy that were missing on Thursday. Next, the key role: point guard. Today è everything is different: not only does Olimpia not have a “pure” playmaker like Mike to beat pressing, get the counterattack going, get the game going and avoid blackouts: the point è that type of player (director and not just scorer) no longer exists. Or almost…".
"Parenthesis: I mean no disrespect to Dimitrijevic, Bolmaro or Flaccadori. They are very good players, but they are “combos” that is; guard-plays. The “pure” playmaker è is another thing and è the key to any great team. È he who doesn’t allow blackouts like Thursday’s at the Forum. That kind of player does not lose the ball, finds the right man, inspires confidence and, more important, solves every problem with his technical and mental genius. If Milan “finds” that piece he has time for rematches. I repeat: we are in October. A thread of light at the end of the tunnel there’è. All it takes is to walk toward that light. Indeed, run", concluded the legendary coach.
