As Olimpia Milan look lost, can Ettore Messina turn it around? / News - Basketnews.com

After a terrible loss against Anadolu Efes, Emporio Armani Milan is left with more questions than answers, and for the first time under his management, Ettore Messina is struggling to find a solution to these issues.

Credit: Dainius Lukšta Credit Dainius Lukšta

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan saw the end of its past EuroLeague season against Anadolu Efes in the playoffs with a 1-3 loss in the series against the Turkish team. Despite numerous injuries, the team showed amazing character and fought until the very end, and there was no shame in that loss.

However, last night's defeat against Efes was a completely different story. Olimpia Milan was completely destroyed by the Turkish side and ended up with a 51-80 defeat, the fifth-worst of their history in the EuroLeague.

We're 9 games into the season, and Milan has yet to win a home game. Something that would have been almost impossible to imagine a few months ago.

Olimpia Milan's roster was imagined and built to be a Final Four contender, and many praised the Italian team during the offseason. But now the situation is completely different.

Ettore Messina's team looks completely uninspired and without any real chemistry. There's a lack of energy, and the offense is completely locked down. Even the defense, which still remains at a very good level, seems to have lost more of a turn from the best moments of last season.

Players like Kevin Pangos, Brandon Davies, and Johannes Voigtmann, who were brought in to become key players of this roster, all look like ghosts of themselves. They're afraid and uninspired, they simply cannot make a shot and don't create almost any type of advantage for the team.

After a solid first half, in which Milan gave the impression of being a real challenge for Efes, the Italian champions completely disappeared from the court in the second half.

Will Clyburn started to dominate, and the Italian side simply didn't have an answer to his plays.

Milan scored 34 points in the first half, while in the second one, they only scored 17. In the third quarter, they were crushed 7-21.

Two numbers show a clear picture of what's wrong with this team: Milan finished the game shooting 15% from 3-point (5/32), and they also shot only four free throws in the entire match, attempting the first one with 1:37 left in the game.

As of right now, Olimpia Milan hasn't any kind of confidence on the offensive end. They struggle to create easy shots, and even when they generate some good open shots, they just cannot make it.

They're among the worst teams in the competition in terms of 3-point percentage and offensive rating. Defense can still make a difference at times, but it's not enough if the offense keeps being this bad.

Sure, the injuries don't help. Not having Shavon Shields, Billy Baron, Gigi Datome, and Stefano Tonut make the situation even worse because there are fewer options in the backcourt, and Messina is often forced to use a very big lineup, playing together three big men at once.

But let's be honest, even without the injured players, this team was supposed to be much better offensively.

So far in the EuroLeague, Messina's team scored more than 80 points only once, in last month's win against Bayern Munich. They're averaging 67.8 points per game. In the last five games, they averaged only 61 points per game and scored more than 70 points only once, in the loss at home against Real Madrid.

The overall picture is honestly depressing, and for the first time since Messina has been the team coach, there seems to be no immediate way out of this situation. The Italian coach, for his part, has never shied away from responsibility, and in the post-game press conference, he used extremely clear words.

"I'm primarily responsible for this team. If the team plays like this, I feel responsible for putting together a team that doesn't click," the Italian head coach stated. "Now the only thing I can do is try to manage the situation in Italy, where everything is still possible, and do better in the second part of the season in EuroLeague."

"If we keep playing like this, I'll draw my own conclusions, and I'll go to Mr. Armani to tell him that it will be necessary to find another guide for this team," Messina added.

He didn't mention any player, although he admitted that the overall performance was shameful and heartless. Messina put together the team and now takes full responsibility for what's happening. But it's evident that some of the players are letting him down, especially the newcomers.

Davies and Pangos were universally considered superb additions to a team that was already among the best in Europe. So far, though, saying that they've been disappointing would be a huge understatement.

The Canadian point guard is averaging 10.4 points and 3.4 assists per game in EuroLeague, but he's shooting only 27% from 3-point, and he's averaging 2 turnovers per game. So far, he has been unable to lead this group. He's been struggling to create anything relevant out of pick & roll situations, and his confidence looks at an all-time low level.

Davies was brought in from Barcelona. Taking him away from the Catalan side was a huge coup for Milan. Considering he was taking the place of Kaleb Tarczweski, Davies was supposed to be a massive upgrade for Milan's frontcourt. Forming an alliance with Nicolo Melli and Kyle Hines was an extremely exciting idea on paper.

However, the partnership between Milan and Davies has been extremely unsatisfying so far. Just like Pangos, Davies looks like a player with a very low confidence level as of right now. Offensively, he's not aggressive enough, missing many easy shots.

On the defensive end, he's often disconnected and hasn't provided the type of effort expected from him.

Against Efes, Deshaun Thomas, another one of the additions made this summer, was left on the bench for the entire game. The former Bayern Munich forward has struggled mightily so far, and the arrival of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot could push him out of the rotations.

The French swingman played his first official game for Milan against Efes just a few days after his arrival in Italy.

He remained on the court for 19 minutes and had 6 points. It was hard to expect more from him, and he will not be the savior of this team. Still, the hope is that, at least, he can provide a little spark offensively, something that Milan desperately needs right now.

Olimpia Milan will now face Fenerbahce on Thursday, once again in front of their home crowd. The game against Fener doesn't look like the right one to break the losing streak. Itoudis' side currently sits at the top of the EuroLeague table with an 8-1 record.

If Milan maintains its current level of performance, it will be a no contest. Hopefully, Messina and his players will be able to find some pride and at least put in a fight.

Only a few months ago, Ettore Messina and Olimpia Milan agreed to an additional two years of cooperation (not a real contract extension, in coach Messina's contract, there was an option to extend the deal for an additional two years at the end of a 3-year period) and the team that was built looked like the strongest one ever had by the club in recent history.

Now, only a couple of months into the season, the picture is completely different. Messina hinted at his possible resignation, and most of the additions made over the summer have been a huge disappointment.

Can Ettore Messina turn it around? That's the main question right now. After the heavy loss against Efes, the experienced coach didn't look particularly confident, but time is still on his side.

Everyone inside the club has to act fast, though, because what was supposed to be a dream season is quickly turning into a nightmare.

URBONUS on out-of-the-box Messina's move:

Milan vs. Anadolu Efes highlights:

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