By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
AS Monaco keeps delivering under head coach Vassilis Spanoulis, as the Roca Team lost only two games (to Olympiacos and Real Madrid) since he took over, replacing Sasa Obradovic.
Playing on the road against ALBA Berlin was no exception, as Mike James dragged his team to the 105-90 win with 25 points and 7 assists. In the post-game flash interviews, Monaco’s No.55 commented on what has changed since the Greek head coach moved to the Principality.
“It didn’t really change the mind game, I think [what changed] is our pace and the plays we play, a little bit more off-screen plays, more plays to get me in movement instead of attack in isolation from time to time”, he commented on Spanoulis’ playbook.
“It’s just different, he’s got different rules in defense and it changes a lot for us. We’re playing with confidence, we’re trying to take it up. He’s done a great job”, Mike James followed.
The All-Time EuroLeague leading scorer touched on tonight’s away win. “We started the game locked in, sharing the ball, and playing defense. In the second half, we had some lapses, didn’t play enough defense, and let them score too much. We stayed mentally strong”, he added.
“A lot of us have been together for 2-3 years, some of us 4. We know each other. We’re trying to get through the hard times staying together and we move on”, he spoke about the team’s chemistry.
Matthew Strazel on how Monaco is sharing the ball
Mike James was followed by his teammate Matthew Strazel, who has reached 500 points in the EuroLeague tonight. The French guard also spoke about the way Monaco is moving the ball.
“We’re sharing the ball a lot better for a couple of weeks. Offensively we’re gonna find solutions because we have great players, but defensively we’re gonna keep the rhythm to play better in offense”, he said.
“We could have done a better job defensively tonight. Of course, we got the victory on the road, the first in 2025. We’re taking that for sure, but we have a lot of work to do better. We will when everybody will come back”, the former ASVEL player also said.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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