Milano arrive in Verona at the worst point of their week. This is their third game in about a week, with two hard EuroLeague nights behind them and a trip to Maccabi Tel Aviv right after. The rotation is set to be heavily reshuffled. Verona are rested, at home for the first time in the top flight, and have exactly the kind of quick guards that make a tired favourite work for every possession. I expect this game to be closer than the gap between the two names suggests.
Look at Milano's schedule. They beat Virtus Bologna 87-85 at home, then lost 76-86 in Vitoria against Baskonia, and their own club called both games very hard. Milano-focused reports say three of their foreign players will watch from the stands this time. Moses Wright could get a night off, and the Italian group of Tonut, Flaccadori, Akele and Diop comes into the rotation.
We've already seen this setup once in the league. When Milano sat Booker and Peters against Trieste, they only won 83-79 at home. More broadly, they've won by a margin like this just twice in their last ten games.
Verona have had eight days to prepare. Even without two of their foreign players they scored 93 at Tortona in the opener, with Mike Tobey putting up a double-double. Playmaker Andrew Andrews is now back. Izaiah Brockington is out with a calf injury, but Milano's own staff singled out Verona's speed and their guards attacking the basket as the main danger. With the PalaMagis crowd behind them for the home debut, Verona have the energy to keep this one tight.
