In a gloomy night Armani Exchange realized that defense can't always win games / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Zuma Press – Scanpix Credit Zuma Press – Scanpix

Defense wins games, they say, and that's often true. But no defense can save you if your offense cannot produce any rhythm. This is something that AX Armani Exchange Milan learned in a harsh way last night.

Points this season

48%82,5Points made:82,5Accuracy:48,1%Place in standings:3Record max:109Record min:64Best scorer:Vasilije MicicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, the Italian club recorded an all-time lowest-scoring home game in EuroLeague playoffs history.

The most concerning element for Milan, though, is the fact that Anadolu Efes didn't play their game of the season. As Ergin Ataman confessed in the post-game conference, they were far from perfect.

The Turkish side played solid interior defense for most of the game and, in the second half, produced better offensive situations for their two stars, Shane LarkinandVasilije Micic.

Larkin scored 16 points and, especially in the second half, was the one who pushed Milan off the cliff. Every single time that the Italian side looked like they were trying to make a comeback, Larkin scored on them to kill any hope.

3-pointers, layups after crossing over an elite defender like Devon Hall. The American guard did it all and left the impression that he still had something left for the remaining games of the series.

Micic finished with 16 points, just like his backcourt partner. He didn't shoot particularly well from outside (2/8), but he grabbed 7 rebounds and made some tough shots when needed.

He also had the best plus/minus (+20), proving that his presence on the court was definitely a key factor for Anadolu Efes.

Efes looked more prepared than Milan from the get going. They began the first quarter with a 7-2 run, the second one with an 8-0 run, and the third period once again on a 7-0 run.

Milan was always forced to rally back, which became increasingly difficult since the offense was so off sync.

AX Armani Exchange Milan / Schedule

AX Armani Exchange Milan Anadolu Efes Istanbul48-64 AX Armani Exchange Milan Anadolu Efes IstanbulThu18:30 Anadolu Efes Istanbul AX Armani Exchange Milan04-2617:30

Armani Exchange shot only 28% from 3-point (8/28) and 33% from the 2-point zone (9/27). Numbers don't always tell everything, but they definitely give a good picture of what's wrong. The offense was absolutely staggering.

Jerian Grant, who was part of the starting five, finished the game with 0 points in 15 minutes, he also had 0 rebounds and 0 assists. After a few minutes of watching the game from courtside, I almost didn't realize that Grant was part of the game.

His contribution on both ends of the court was so limited that it was really hard to notice him at times.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who played a bad game. Malcolm Delaney had only one point in 22 minutes, finishing the game with a -11 of plus/minus and being so frustrated with himself that he kicked a chair on the bench.

Kaleb Tarczweski, who also began the game in the starting five, had 0 points as well, struggling to leave any kind of mark on the game.

Sergio Rodriguez finished with 2 points and 0 assists in 19 minutes on the court. It was probably the most evident sign that Milan's offense didn't work at all last night.

The Spanish point guard looked out of rhythm and struggled to create any damage to Efes's defense.

Messina's side looked without energy on the offensive side. Most of the time, after an initial pick&roll, almost nothing happened. Even creating something from the low post became increasingly difficult, with Efes' big men not allowing anything easy close to the basket.

Despite a solid job defensively, keeping Efes at only 64 points when their regular-season average was 83 points per game, the offense was so lifeless that Milan basically never had a chance of getting out alive of this game.

And if that wasn't enough, even more concern arrived right before the end of the game, when Nicolò Melli was forced to leave the court due to an injury. In the post-game press conference, coach Ettore Messina didn't look particularly optimistic about Melli's condition.

"We'll do other tests tomorrow, but it doesn't look good," coach Messina revealed.

The Italian forward suffered a calf injury, and when he returned to the bench, he looked angry and disappointed at the same time. If Melli's injury is confirmed as a serious one, this could represent a huge blow to Armani Exchange's Final Four hopes.

Melli was the only Milan player who finished in double-digit in the game, accumulating 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist. He's the captain of the team and the general of the defensive system created by Messina.

Losing him right now, when Milan is already dealing with the absences of Dinos Mitoglou and Gigi Datome, would be a real disaster for the Italian team.

Last night, once again, Armani Exchange saw their ghosts of the recent past. An offense that looked way too bad to be true, but also another confirmation of the fact that when Sergio Rodriguez has an off night, this team struggles mightily to create any kind of ball movement offensively.

Without a real secondary creator on the perimeter, Milan has very few alternatives outside of Sergio Rodriguez's creativity.

The return of Shavon Shields from the injury helped at first, but the American-Danish forward cannot hold all the offensive load on his shoulders. The former Baskonia small forward shot only 1/5 from 3-point and was often forced to take contested shots to generate some kind of sparkle for his team.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Messina looked at the bench and called Troy Daniels. The American sharpshooter did provide some kind of offensive help, scoring 8 points in the final quarter.

But it was too little too late for Milan. Play after play, the Italian team started to be less effective on the defensive end, allowing easy drives to the basket to Larkin and Micic.

This could have been just a bad night offensively, but the signs were already on the wall. Messina's side shot poorly from the 2-point zone in the regular season, only 51.6%, the second-worst number in the competition. Their true shooting percentage also ranks among the worst in the EuroLeague, with just 56%.

Messina didn't want to blame anyone after the game. He said this was not the right time to point the finger at players who had a bad performance, and as a coach, he's right.

But looking at the game played by guys like Malcolm Delaney or Jerian Grant, it's pretty clear that something has to change.

This team keeps relying on veterans like Sergio Rodriguez and Kyle Hines, and there aren't too many alternatives to their game plan. It's an issue that Milan has often hidden in the recent past, but for how long can they continue?

Starting from Game 2, a much different offensive flow will be needed. Last night was a wake-up call for the Italian side. Everyone now needs to look in the mirror and ask themselves: how can we do better?

However, the answer might be more difficult and less pleasant to hear than expected. When you play against the reigning champions of the EuroLeague, there's no room for historical low-scoring performances.

Analyzing Milan's situation in February, when several players were missing, I asked myself: will the defense be enough?

Last night's game proved that it won't be.

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