Madrid came out to the match shedding the supposed traumas accumulated in the last Clásicos. Supported by a ferocious defense they achieved an advantage of almost 20 points, but little by little Barça took the measure, finding cracks and the whites ended up losing the advantage. The problems in the point guard position and the scarcity of successful hands in attack in the last minutes ended up condemning Laso’s men.
Randolph: Not Rated. He didn’t play a minute.
Heurtel: Approved. He suffered a lot in defense and Madrid’s best minutes at the start of the game were without him on the pitch. But he was successful in attack within the general drought and was the only one who scored in the last minutes, with his team below.
Rudy: Approved. Misguided from the triple, but important in the defensive framework that Laso wove, although not as much as on other days.
Abalde: Approved. He began occupying the base position with great success. He finished with 8 points, but in the second half he completely disappeared.
Hanga: Approved. Another of the important forwards in the defense of Madrid changes. Intangible until becoming the most valued of whites along with Taylor. He hit a key three-pointer at his team’s worst moment, but an injury caused him to watch the final plays from the bench.
Deck: Suspense. The last play marked his game. That mistake left Madrid with no chance of winning, a very easy basket that they incomprehensibly failed to score. Otherwise, notable defense on Mirotic, one of the main reasons he’s supposed to come back. But that mistake will be remembered for years.
Poirier: Approved. Today he was the most outstanding pivot ahead of Mirotic, although without firing rockets. He put a tremendous block in the first minutes, but little by little he lost prominence.
Tavares: Suspense. One of those days in which the giant was not. 33% shooting twos and 5 turnovers. He put a huge stopper on Mirotic with the match on the wire, but in the end it was worthless.
Lull: Suspense. Only Madrid player who finished with a negative rating. He fixed the stat for him with two free throws and a basket in the final seconds. He failed a lot in attack and was transparent in defense on several occasions.
Yabusele: Approved. Better than lately against Barça, he had moments of clarity in the first half. He was important in the defense of many white centimeters, but more is expected of him in attack.
Thompson: Approved. The one who played the least of those who went out on the track, nailed the only triple he tried. It is surprising that he did not have more prominence in the last quarter, when Madrid was stuck in attack.
Taylor: Remarkable. The best of the white team, the one that maintained a remarkable level throughout the match. Only Deck played more than him. Tremendous on perimeter defense, especially on point guards and shooting guards. He failed to hit the triple (0/3) to make an almost perfect game.