Dinamo hasn't been lucky. At its peak, when it had won five of six games, it was hit by a series of injuries, all to the outside line. First, the injury to forward Marshall in the Tortona game, where the American was the best player on the court, and his exit had a significant impact on a match lost in the second overtime. Then came the injuries to Beliauskas (still sidelined, like Marshall), and to Buie and Johnson, who returned against Napoli but are still half-fit, especially Johnson. Coach Mrsic has increased the playing time of players like Ceron and Zanelli, but objectively, it's not the same.
The worrying aspect is that the calendar features crucial matches in January and February, both for relegation and the playoffs. Sassari has already lost in Reggio Emilia (without four foreign players) with a margin that will be extremely difficult to recover in the return match: -22. Yesterday, they were defeated at home by Napoli, which now boasts a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head matches.
The white-and-blues now face two away games: in Trieste and Udine, interspersed with a match at the PalaSerradimigni against Cremona. A full-strength Banco could have hoped for a landslide victory. Now, if at least point guard Buie and guard Johnson don't regain top form, they risk losing all three and having to focus solely on staying up, even though after Trapani's elimination, there's only one relegation to be had.
Furthermore, the now-unwanted FIBA Champions League is in the mix, with Mrsic's team playing tomorrow in Turkey and two weeks later at home against Peristeri. These European matches should be used only as training, sparing the players who need to be at their best in the league.
