By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
AS Monaco coach Vassilis Spanoulis raised a question on the fact that his superstar guard Mike James didn’t shoot a single free throw over the last two EuroLeague games.
“The problem that I see is that Mike James, the reigning EuroLeague MVP and the all-time first scorer, shot zero free throws in the last two games,” Spanoulis said after the 80 – 89 loss of Monaco to Olympiacos Piraeus at home. “I didn’t see somebody asking me about this. He’s the MVP, he had the ball in his hands and had zero free throws. I have to see both games again.”
Spanoulis was referring to the fact that James didn’t attempt any free throw over Monaco’s last two EuroLeague matches: The away win at Panathinaikos Athens last week and the defeat to Olympiacos.
It’s a highly uncommon occurence for James to not go to the line at all during a game, let alone in back-to-back games. The last time this happened was in November 2023 during a win over ASVEL Villeurbanne and then in a loss to Anadolu Efes.
James played 27:40 and 31:36 respectively in those matches.
It wasn’t something unprecedented for James even then since he didn’t taky any free throw in consecutive matches vs. Panathinaikos (a win) and Zalgiris Kaunas (a defeat) in 2022-23. In 2016 – 2017 when the American guard was playing at Panathinaikos, he also had two straight games with zero trips to the line, something that actually took place during that season.
While James has been dealing with heavy and often quite physical pressure by opposing defenses, his style has gradually changed over the the last couple of years and especially during his Monaco run. He hasn’t been attacking the basket as aggressively as before, taking more shots from afar and being as much as a facilitator as a scorer.
It has be mentioned that James’ game has gradually changed over the last couple of years and especially during his Monaco run, as he hasn’t been attacking the basket as aggressively as he used to before.
“Mike had an incredible game,” Spanoulis later commented on his guard’s performance. James finished with 12 assists to go with his 10 points and five rebounds. “All the defenses were focused on him and had the maturity to share the ball to his teammates and to make the right decision always. I’m not a big fan of the stats but when someone shares the all like that, it’s amazing.”
Spanoulis was also asked about the four free throws that Monaco took vs. Olympiacos.
“No, I don’t have any kind explanation,” Spanoulis said. “It’s not my job to speak about the [officiating] criteria of the games. My job is basketball-wise. To improve offensively and defensively and improve as a team.”
“You have to be strong mentally,” Spanoulis then mentioned on his players having to move on and be ready for the upcoming game vs. ALBA Berlin. “This is the EuroLeague. You can win everywhere and you can lose everywhere. But you have to move on. The team that is more ready, mentally, and will improve more through the year, will go all the way, to the quarterfinals and the Final Four. The most important thing is to learn from every loss. To not throw responsibilities and excuses. I’m not a guy who finds excuses. I’m a guy that I start from myself to see what didn’t go well. Then the players must do the same. Take responsibility, not find excuses and move on.”