By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
After the home loss to Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 5, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan coach Ettore Messina had some harsh criticism for the way his team played in some parts of the game.
“The first half was honestly a shame. The lack of competitiveness and the lack of effort in doing things together was really hard to watch,” Messina said. He had just watched his players losing by as many as 22 points and, ultimately, failing to complete a comeback.
That was Milano’s second straight loss at the Forum. One week before, Zalgiris Kaunas had handed them a defeat after pulling off the second-biggest turnaround in EuroLeague history by coming back from down 27 points.
“We need to go back to the gym, close the door and work as hard as we can. [To] understand if there is a way to get this back,” Messina commented.
The plight of Milano continued on the road against Baskonia, where the Italian powerhouse suffered its fifth loss in the first six games. They were in danger of falling way behind the pack, while a heavy shadow of doubt was looming over the Forum, considering that the team is coming from a two-year playoff drought.
Messina got his players in the gym and not only shut the doors, but also ignored all outside noise. Their labor bore fruit and Milano turned its 1-5 losing record literally upside down with five wins over the next six games.
Milano started with two straight home dubs versus Virtus Bologna and Real Madrid. The hiccup at struggling ALBA Berlin that initially looked like a setback ultimately helped make the team’s resolve even stronger.
What followed was three straight wins, including one on the road against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, to send a strong message all over EuroLeague. That victory against the Turkish side, which was coming off six straight wins and looked bulletproof, was a particular statement that Milano has truly arrived.
“The team plays with no fear and plays with togetherness,” Messina said to EuroLeague TV. “The players are really making a tremendous effort. Now they are playing with more confidence. Obviously wins help bring more confidence.”
Raising the heat
Over the last couple of weeks, Milano has transformed from a lackluster and inconsistent group of players to a well-oiled machine.
In the first six games, Milano was averaging 79.3 points, quite poor numbers by modern EuroLeague standards, while giving up 87.5.
Since Round 7 onward, Messina’s guys have notably raised their output to 93.7 points. They have become a lot more accurate on two-pointers, going from 46.1% (105 – 228) to 57.5% (122 – 212) and make more threes (from 58 out of 142 to 67 out of 171) by operating at a higher pace with an increasingly effective manner.
Thanks to their performances during these last few rounds, Milano has now climbed to a 118.5 offensive rating, the highest the team has had since the 2020-21 season, when they made the EuroLeague Final Four.
As a team, Milano distributes the ball around more fluidly, reaching now 20.7 assists, a serious improvement to the 15.3 they had in their 1-5 start. They are also now taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes, too, averaging 12.3 points off 13.5 turnovers during this period, when they scored 5.6 off 9.6 turnovers during the first six games.
Nikola Mirotic in MVP mode once more
Following a slow start to the season, Nikola Mirotic is reminding everyone that he remains one of the best players in the EuroLeague.
Mirotic is tallying 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists over Milano’s 5-1 run, scoring 19 or more during the last five games in one of the league’s most consistent stretches. The 2022 MVP put on his top display of the season so far in arguably the biggest win for his team, with 29 points (on 9 out of 15 shooting from the field), 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists at Fenerbahce.
“Believe in each other and trusting in what the coaching staff is asking us to do,” Mirotic said to EuroLeague TV on what Milano is doing differently.
While Mirotic is known for being primarily a bucket-getter, he’s had an impact on the other end as well in these last six rounds, being ranked second among rotation players in defensive rating with 88.8.
The Pick N’ Pop Kings
Messina has been using Nikola Mirotic together with Zach LeDay as a frontline pair to a great extent, especially in light of center Josh Nebo’s injury problems. This has been working wonders recently.
After all, we are talking about possibly the best duo of stretch big men in the competition right now thanks to their ability to threaten from deep and their overall diverse scoring gifts. When they effectively put their qualities into action in unison, it’s a “thoughts and prayers” situation for every defense that has to contend against them.
This has been the case recently, with LeDay being an ideal partner in crime next to Mirotic.
On his return to Milano, LeDay, a key member of the 2021 Final Four squad, is having the most productive season in his EuroLeague career so far with 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists. But he’s been particularly lethal during Milano’s resurgence.
LeDay has been efficiency personified with 18.8 points on 55.9% from the field, including 14 out of 23 triples along with 4.8 rebounds during the 5-1 spread. He had 19 points at Fenerbahce, 22 plus 7 rebounds vs. Maccabi and a 17+8 combo against Real Madrid.
Milano executes more Pick ‘n’ Pop than any other EuroLeague team and LeDay, one of the best in the business in this kind of game, is thriving.
The instrumental Nico Mannion
It’s far from coincidence that Milano is 4-1 with guard Nico Mannion on board.
Mannion joined Milano early in November for his EuroLeague comeback after a bland run with Baskonia last year. The Red Shoes gave him the return ticket to the competition he was seeking and he was quick on milking this opportunity by adding an extra playmaking dimension and depth that the team was craving.
In his first five games with Milano, Mannion has had an instant impact with 8.4 points and a team-high 5.8 assists. The 23-year-old dished out 6.5 dimes across the wins over Real Madrid, Virtus, Maccabi and Fener, making the tempo faster and providing a breath of fresh air on offense.
Milano is simply just so much better with Mannion on the floor.
The +/- stat can sometimes lie about a player’s actual contribution to how their team is performing. In Mannion’s case, it’s another testament to his influence.
Since his arrival, Mannion has the third-highest usage rate on the team and at the same he’s ranked third in +/- with +8.0, only behind Armoni Brooks’ +10.0 and Mirotic’s +8.8 in the last five games. While carrying heavy point guard duties and responsibilities, he also holds the third-best net rating with 13.06.
It’s rather telling that overall in 2024-25 so far, Mannion’s +8.0 is by far the highest +/- figure by any Milano player.
Stats: InStat. Photos: Olimpia Milano