By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Kyle Hines emphasized on the upcoming match-up against Bryant Dunston in the game between CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes for the 20th Round of the EuroLeague regular season.
As he wrote for his official blog hosted in EuroLeague’s website, the three-times continental champ is looking forward for the individual battle vs the big guy of Efes. This is also a top class “DPOY match-up” since Hines has succeeded Dunston as “EuroLeague Best Defender” in 2016 after the former won the award in 2014 and 2015.
Here’s his full blog entry:
After four losses in our last six games, we feel like we still have a lot to prove, not only to other people, but also to ourselves. We were not necessarily happy with the way we played and didn’t have the best performances in these losses, especially against Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade. We felt like we had control in the game against Fenerbahce but then we had a disastrous overtime period. So, we want to kind of prove ourselves and need to get back to playing the way we did previously. It is important for us not only to play well, but to establish a strong home-court presence, because we feel like, as a team – and everybody knows how this competition is going to play out – that what is going to matter most is who is able to defend its home court throughout the season. Every time we play at home, is a must-win situation for us.
It is a fact that everybody wants to beat the reigning champions. Every game we play, we don’t have the opportunity to, let’s say, give anything but our best performance. No matter who the opponent is, they are going to give their best effort, not only because we are the champions, but also because of the way the new format is. Every game is important, so it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are or what your ranking is. It is something we had to realize in this first part of the season; we cannot relax because when we do, that is when we tend to not perform at our best level.
Speaking of the new format, I have to say the whole entire league improved and all teams are playing better. You see surprising results in every round, no matter which games are played or what the circumstances are. Like I said, every game is important and everyone tries to play really, really well. For me, that has been the most surprising thing in the entire season; just how competitive the games have been. Every week, with the old format, you could guess which teams would win and by how many points. Now, with the new style, it kind of equalizes things for a lot of teams. The league is fairer, too, because you play everybody. There are no excuses: everybody has to meet everybody at some point of the season. With the old format, you may meet a team in the regular season and may not be as competitive as it is towards the end of the Top 16, but now, it is a more open format and you face teams when they are at their best shape. It is definitely more fair and more competitive, too, not only for fans, but I think all players, we like it and enjoy it as well.
We will play against Anadolu Efes at home next. Getting ready for the second game in back-to-back weeks is the biggest adjustment, not only for the players, but also for the coaches and the teams. You cannot readjust and the priority is getting the necessary rest that you need to play another high-level, competitive game. I think this is probably the fourth back-to-back week scenario, so everybody is kind of getting the rhythm of it. We didn’t necessarily do well in the last back-to-back week – we lost against Fenerbahce at home. We have to get used to the new format.
I am really looking forward to playing against Bryant Dunston! Me and Dunston have played against each other since college, when I was in UNC at Greensboro and he was in Fordham, we matched up with each other a couple of times. He is someone I am always willing to play against; he is a great competitor, a great defender, a great finisher and overall, a great player. It is always really fun to matchup with a player of his caliber.
We must continue to take this season game by game. You can see how close everybody is in the rankings, from first to 11th and even more. We understand that we have to keep playing well to win as many games as we can. At the same time, we have to take it game by game. Every game is going to be different; the goal is to try to keep getting better and that way, we can have success and the best possible outcome.
See you next time! Go CSKA!