Pulling off a miracle: Napier's impact & lineup that unlocked Olimpia's offense / News - Basketnews.com

In his latest BN+ article, BasketNews expert Augustas Suliauskas analyzes how EA7 Emporio Armani Milan improved in the recent games, what kind of impact Shabazz Napier had, and what Ettore Messina's changes led to the current success.

Credit: Giuseppe Cottini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Giuseppe Cottini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Wait a minute… Can they actually do it? I'm not trying to jinx it, but Olimpia Milan (12-15) have been a completely different team as of late.

In the last 6 rounds, where Milan has won all 6 games, they have the second-best net rating of all 18 EuroLeague teams and are silently hoping for a miraculous finish in the top 8.

The general opinion is that 18 or 19 wins should be enough to qualify for this year's playoffs, and this means Ettore Messina's team doesn't have much room to breathe. They would need to win all or all but one game in the remaining 7 games.

But something in Milan recently allows the Olimpia fans to believe. That something starts with the newly acquired Shabazz Napier, together with other important pieces recovering from injuries: latest EuroLeague's double week saw the long-awaited returns of Kevin Pangos and Shavon Shields - two cover boys, who were supposed to lead this edition of Olimpia straight to the Final Four.

Even though their task right now is a thousand times harder, with no mistakes allowed, the promising signs on the court are there.

The Domino Effect

No one can deny the obvious fact - Napier's addition to the team changed a lot.

If their defense has been rock solid all season long, their offense, in their 6-game winning streak, saw an increase of 16.3 points per 100 possessions. That's quite a jump from the worst offense in the league to the 8th spot.

There's an easy explanation behind this. Ettore Messina and his offensive system revolve around the creation of his ball handlers.

Improvisation is key - such playstyle is hard for the opposing teams to prepare, but it also makes the offense very dependent on a few players.

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