In a clash between two teams riding high after lifting their respective domestic cups on Sunday, Olympiacos Piraeus hosts AX Armani Exchange Milan in Round 27 on Thursday.
Keys to victory: Olympiacos vs. Milan



Interior scoring is critical for the Reds
After a rough patch in which the Reds lost four in a row, Olympiacos seems to be back on track. Coach Bartzokas’s men won their last two games, including a tough clash against the reigning champs, before beating archrival Panathinaikos OPAP Athens in the Greek Cup final. The trio of Kostas Sloukas, Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov has been firing on all cylinders and will be needed against one of the league’s top defenses. Those three set the tone and open space inside, which has led to Olympiacos making 56.4% of its two-pointers, which is second-best in the league. However, Milan has held opponents to 50.4% shooting on twos. Interior scoring – or lack thereof – could be decisive for Olympiacos this week.
Related Videos
Milan's three-point defense is crucial
Milan has won seven of its last eight games to storm into third place with a 17-7 record. In that stretch, Milan has become the best defensive team in the competition, allowing just 70.4 points per night. It is holding opponents to 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc, so being able to stick to those percentages against an offensive-minded team like Olympiacos could be critical, especially since the Reds buried 18 of 33 three-point shots at Mediolanum Forum in Round 12 on their way to a 72-93 victory. In that sense, stopping Tyler Dorsey may be critical for Milan, which relies on its best backcourt defenders, Malcolm Delaney and Devon Hall, to do so.