Regular Season
Round 24 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Plenty at stake when Fenerbahce hosts Milan on Tuesday
Article
3 mins read
All but two teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague have played 29 games in the 2022-23 regular season, meaning that there are five fixtures remaining before the playoffs get underway. This Tuesday evening (18:15 CET), Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan will be level with the rest in terms of games played, as they face each other in a postponed contest from Round 24.
For Fenerbahce, it currently sits fifth in the standings with a record of 17-11, two wins above Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in eighth, the final playoff spot. However, following an 82-80 defeat at Valencia Basket last time out, Dimitris Itoudis's side needs to get back on track against Milan if it is to keep FC Barcelona and AS Monaco – in third and fourth place, respectively, with 19-10 records – on their toes in the battle for home-court advantage.
On the other side of the equation, Milan saw its slim playoff hopes take a hit last week, as it saw its six-game winning streak come to an end in the Spanish capital, losing 91-87 to Real Madrid. That defeat means that Milan now finds itself with a record of 12-16 in 13th place, three wins behind eighth. Although the Italian team still needs some things to go its way, a win on Tuesday evening would keep its playoff dreams alive.
Historically, Fenerbahce has dominated this fixture, beating Milan 15 times and losing on six occasions. Curiously, though, the last five meetings between these two have been won by the road team, with Milan winning twice in Istanbul in that span: 71-79 in Round 14 of the 2020-21 season and then again, 43-68, in Round 9 of the 2021-22 campaign. The last time that they faced off, in Round 10 at Mediolanum Forum this season, Fenerbahce won 72-82.
This is always a special game for two experienced members of Milan's roster, too: Gigi Datome and Nicolo Melli. The Italian duo both played for Fenerbahce in the past, with Datome spending five seasons at Ulker Sports and Event Hall (2015-20) and Melli staying there for two campaigns (2017-19). Datome wrote his name into Fenerbahce folklore by helping the team win its first – and only – EuroLeague title in 2017, following a defeat to CSKA Moscow in the championship game one year earlier. Melli, meanwhile, was part of the Fenerbahce side that finished as runners-up in 2018, as it lost to Real Madrid in the championship game.
Unlike Melli, Datome will not be on the floor at Ulker Sports and Event Hall this Tuesday evening as he remains sidelined with a calf strain. Milan will also be without Kevin Pangos, Devon Hall and Shavon Shields, but Naz Mitrou-Long returned from an injury last weekend and has made the trip to Istanbul.
“We face one of the best teams in the competition, built around two experienced guards like [Nick] Calathes and [Scottie] Wilbekin, with a lot of individual talent and firepower at every position, with physicality and depth among the bigs," said Milan head coach Ettore Messina ahead of this rescheduled game. "Because of absences, which once again are affecting us, we lost some of the rhythm that allowed us to win six straight games. However, in Istanbul, we want to play the best possible game, to keep competing as we have always done and try to improve, regardless of who is going to be out there."
Fortunately for Milan, Shabazz Napier kept his hot streak going with 17 points and 8 assists against Real. Melli also added 16 points, Billy Baron and Stefano Tonut had 14 points apiece, and Brandon Davies contributed 10 points in the loss. Another night like this on the offensive end could end up resulting in a crucial road win for Coach Messina's squad.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, will once again be without Dyshawn Pierre, while Tyler Dorsey is ineligible because he signed after this game's original date. Apart from those two notable absentees, Coach Itoudis has all of his big hitters available. Fenerbahce lost to Valencia last time out, but Marko Guduric and Johnathan Motley stayed hot with 23 and 19 points, respectively, so their scoring output – in addition to help from elsewhere – should put Fenerbahce in a good position to improve to 18-11.
For the season overall, Fenerbahce is 10-4 at Ulker Sports and Event Hall and Milan is 5-8 on its travels, but everything points towards this being a must-watch game for neutrals at home. Both teams are fighting for playoff-related targets, and it is anyone's guess as to how it will pan out. Tune in from 18:15 CET this Tuesday evening to see how this one unfolds.