Bayern at Milan
Date: 1/30
Time: 9:15 PM CET
Game Preview
Two teams looking to reverse their recent fortunes will square off in the final game on Thursday's schedule. Visiting Bayern will look to secure a second straight victory after snapping a six-game losing streak with a home win over Maccabi in Round 21. Their adversaries from Milan, tenuously sitting in the eighth and final playoff spot, are in the midst of a three-game losing streak in EuroLeague play. While their recent fates may be similar, these team have two drastically-different focal points. Headed by wily vet Sergio Rodriguez and his 13.0 points and 4.9 assists per game, Olimpia leans on its backcourt. In support of Rodriguez are Vladimir Micov, who's posting 11.0 points per game, Keifer Sykes, who's averaged 10.2 points in five games with the team, and now, Drew Crawford, who averaged 13.0 ppg with Gaziantep of the Turkish League before joining Milan last weekend. They're opposed by the frontcourt-focused structure of Bayern, which rests its aspirations on the shoulders of big men Greg Monroe and Vladimir Lucic. Those two are complemented by Nihad Dedovic T.J. Bray, who have missed significant time this season with injuries but are healthy now. Bayern took home the victory last time these two teams met in Round 1, but it will be tough for them to pull off a similar feat Thursday in the Mediolanum Forum, where Milan is 8-2 this season.
Injuries
AX Armani Olimpia Milan
Jeff Brooks - OUT - Hamstring
1/20 9:13 PM IST - Brooks (hamstring) will be out at least a couple more weeks, according to Sportando. Brooks missed both EuroLeague games Milan played last week as a result of his injury, and it now appears he will be out until sometime in February.
Drew Crawford - GTD - Not Injury Related
1/27 8:15 PM IST - Crawford agreed to a one-year contract Saturday with Olimpia Milan, John Askounis of EuroHoops.net reports. The 29-year-old most recently suited up for Turkish club Gaziantep Basketbol, but he has prior experience playing in Italy for Guerino Vanoli Basket, with whom he claimed Lega Basket Serie A MVP honors during the 2018-19 season. Crawford will take a jump up in competition as he heads to the EuroLeague, with Olimpia Milan presumably looking to him to fill a reserve role in the backcourt. It's unclear whether he'll be immediately available for the club's Round 22 EuroLeague match Thursday versus Bayern Munich.
Riccardo Moraschini - OUT - Leg
1/20 9:21 PM IST - Head coach Ettore Messina said Sunday that Moraschini (hamstring) will be out at least through the Italian Basketball Cup in mid-February, according to Sportando. It was previously announced that Moraschini would miss several weeks with his injury, and his return timeline is now a bit more in focus. He could return to action before February ends, but it remains to be seen if he will have made enough progress in his recovery by then.
Bayern Munich
Vladimir Lucic - GTD - Foot
1/30 4:35 AM IST - Lucic is questionable for Thursday's game against Milan due to foot and knee injuries, according to Bayern's official website. Lucic missed his first EuroLeague game of the season last week, and there's a chance he could miss another. His status will be updated again when it is revealed whether or not he will take the court Thursday.
Zan Sisko - GTD - Groin
1/30 4:37 AM IST - Sisko (groin) is questionable for Thursday's game against Milan, according to Bayern's official website. Sisko has been limited by the groin injury for a couple weeks now, and it appears he is not out of the woods just yet.
Bayern Munich Probable Starters
G - Nihad Dedovic
G - Maodo Lo
F - Vladimir Lucic
F - Danilo Barthel
C - Greg Monroe
AX Armani Olimpia Milan Probable Starters
G - Keifer Sykes
G - Michael Roll
F - Vladimir Micov
F - Luis Scola
C - Kaleb Tarczewski
Top Picks
Sergio Rodriguez, AXE - Rodriguez's production has dipped since he started coming off the bench in Round 19, but he started getting back on track in Round 21. Rodriguez is still averaging 13.0 points and 4.9 assists on the season, so if he gets his starting spot back in Round 22 -- or even if he does not -- he could provide a nice return on investment.
Greg Monroe, BAY - Monroe failed to score in double figures his last time out for the first time since Round 16, but he did grab double-digit rebounds for the fourth time in an eight-game span. Over his last eight games Monroe averaged 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Nihad Dedovic, BAY - Dedovic did not score in double figures once between Rounds 4-20 while battling injuries, but he hit that mark in Round 21 for the first time since scoring at least 12 points in Bayern's first three EuroLeague games of the season. Dedovic has played more minutes than he is averaging in three straight games, and if he does the same Thursday good things should be in store again.
Kaleb Tarczewski, AXE - Tarczewski has been on a nice run for a few weeks now, and he scored a season-high 19 points his last time out. Since becoming a regular in the starting lineup in Round 15 he has averaged 10.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.4 blocks over 20 minutes per game.
Captaincy Options
Dream 11 Team
Grand League Combination
Rodriguez, Monroe, Micov, Bray
Small League Combination
Rodriguez, Monroe, Dedovic, Tarczewski
