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Who's Hot: Billy Baron, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

Who's Hot: Billy Baron, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

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29 December 20224 Mins read

Who's Hot: Billy Baron, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

One of the most in-form players in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague at present is EA7 Emporio Armani Milan guard Billy Baron. The 32-year-old has caught fire in the last three games, playing a key role as Milan snapped a nine-game losing streak and chained back-to-back wins together.

Baron is in his first season with Milan and has become the team's go-to star in recent games, but until Round 13, he had struggled to find his scoring groove. In fact, despite starting with an 18-point performance on perfect 4-of-4 three-point shooting against LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 1, Baron then failed to score more than 10 points until Round 13, when Milan took on Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

There was a hamstring injury in the middle of that run, which Baron picked up against Real Madrid in Round 6. As a result, he missed Rounds 7 to 10 before returning in Round 11. His return did not go as he would have wanted, though, as he scored 2 points against Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and went 0-for-5 from the field; both of his points came from the free-throw line. Baron followed that up with 6 points against Panathinaikos Athens.

Then, in the most recent double-round week, Baron's powers returned. Milan went on to lose its ninth straight game, with Maccabi winning 71-77 at Mediolanum Forum, but Baron ended with 18 points after going 2 of 4 on two-pointers, 3 of 6 from three-point range and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line. Those 18 points tied Baron's season high, and it was the first time he had reached double figures since Round 3, when he had 10 points against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.

Two days after his 18-point display against Maccabi, Baron recorded a new season high in Round 14, scoring 19 points – including some big-time baskets down the stretch – as Milan beat Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 67-71 at Stark Arena to bring its long losing streak to an end. Baron saw his only two-point shot of the night drop, but it was his 5-of-10 shooting from behind the arc that was key in him helping Milan get its first win since Round 4.

Last Friday, in Round 15, Milan appeared to be on course to lose its seventh game of seven at Mediolanum Forum when AS Monaco had a 12-point lead with less than 5 minutes to go. However, Baron once again came to the fore to inspire his team to a 79-71 victory in which he set another season high with 23 points. Although he went 2-of-6 from two-point range, his 6 three-pointers from 10 attempts were crucial as Milan came away with the win.

When looking at Baron's statistics prior to Round 13, he was averaging 8.3 points per game. Since Milan's loss against Maccabi, however, he has increased that average to 20.0 points per night.

Not coincidentally, his shooting output and accuracy have also increased. Baron attempted 11 two-pointers in his last three games (45.5% 2FG) compared to 10 in the first eight (60.0% 2FG), and 26 three-pointers (53.8% 3FG) since Round 13 compared to 28 (46.4%) beforehand. His free-throw output has remained more or less steady: he has made 8 of 10 (80.0% ) in Milan's last three contests compared to 15 of 18 (83.3%) in his first eight games. Baron is the fifth-highest scorer in the EuroLeague since Round 13, having scored a combined 60 points against Maccabi, Zvezda and Monaco.

The emergence of Baron as one of Milan's stars came at just the right time, as the team's back-to-back wins have given it hope of getting back in the playoff race. Milan still finds itself next-to-last in the standings with a record of 5-10 – only ALBA Berlin has a worse record – but hopes to build on the momentum of its last two wins when hosting Valencia Basket on Thursday.