By Alex Madrid/ info@eurohoops.net
BELGRADΕ – Holden who is currently a scout of the Detroit Pistons talked about the semifinal game between Real Madrid and his former team, CSKA Moscow.
“It’s going to be a good game“, said Holden. “I think that they have a tough matchup with Madrid and Sergio Llull who returned back to action in the playoffs. He was a little rusty in the first game, but in the second he played good. Those are two heavyweight teams who are used to the Final Four. I like CSKA team, I like their chances and their experience. They have a player like Rodriguez as their point guard. It’s one of those games that both teams can win, but I like CSKA’s chances. Madrid, on the other hand, is really big and with Ayon and Tavares, but CSKA is a bit more athletic. It’s going to be a great game“.
Speaking about the game, Holden also stressed the fact that the two opponents are really deep teams and it’s not about just one matchup, even if this includes Luka Doncic: “It will be interesting to see who CSKA will put on Doncic. I don’t think that they will use Nando De Colo. They are going to put Clyburn on him or Higgins. They will have to put some pressure on him, make him work. Can Ayon and Tavares get Kyle Hines into foul trouble? It’s not just one thing. It’s going to be a great matchup and a duel of the coaches. Who makes the right moves at the right time. It can come down in the last shot. I think it will be decided in the last two minutes“.
Speaking about his time in CSKA, Holden, a two times EuroLeague champ in 2006 and 2008, didn’t exactly agree on calling his team a dynasty: “You have to win in order to be a dynasty. The team has been to the Final Fours but didn’t have many wins. I guess my biggest thing is that if you get to the Final Four you have a chance to win. I don’t know if CSKA qualifies as a dynasty. It’s very hard to win the EuroLeague two or three times in a row. Even Obradovic didn’t get back to back titles. In Panathinaikos, it was always winning, then losing, win and lose. This year he has the chance to do it“.
Holden holds a special place in European basketball after making as a naturalized Russian guard the game-winning shot in the final of Eurobasket 2017. “For me, it’s a part of my basketball career, it’s an honor cause I played against some of the best Spanish players like Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Navarro who is now on his way out, Calderon. I got to play against those guys in their prime. It’s always a great part of history and I am glad I was in it“.