Ahh, what a matchup we've got tonight, ladies and gentlemen. There's nothing like a good old-fashioned slugfest between EA7 Emporio Armani Milano and Monaco Basket.
Let’s start with our friends from Italy, Milano. Their leading men last season, Nikola Mirotic, notched up an almost symmetrical 16.9 points per game along with a comfortable 5.7 rebounds. His sidekick, Shavon Shields threw in a further 15.7 points and 3.7 rebounds each game. Not too shabby.
Switching gears to Monaco Basket and their high-roller, Mike James. The man averaged an impressive 18.7 points last season, added with 4.2 rebounds and a pretty handy 5.1 assists per game. Sharing his spotlight was Elie Okobo, who landed a fairly respectable 10.8 points per game.
Past match-ups between these two have been quite the nail-biters. We saw Monaco get a taste of defeat with 80-98 against Milano in March 2024, but they managed a comeback in November of the same year, narrowly edging 72-66.
Considering their recent performance, it seems Milano’s having a bit of a struggle. Their latest outing against Maccabi Tel Aviv ended in disappointment with a 92-86 defeat. On the other hand, Monaco seems to be enjoying a decent run, except for their most recent slip against Fenerbahçe Beko by just a point.
Now, glancing over last season, Monaco clearly took the larger slice of the pie with 23 victories over Milano’s 15. And don't forget, they ranked pretty high up there at #3 while Milano just about staggered along at #12.
Taking all these into account, the match is practically shouting a predictable outcome.
Albert’s Prediction: Monaco Basket by 3