Real Madrid host Maccabi on Thursday in the most repeated duel in the history of the European Cup (20:45, Dazn), a special clash in which Pablo Laso will complete 800 games in white and in which could return to action, after training normally during the week, Trey Thompkins and Antnohy Randolph, also Jeff Taylor. The first two have been out for more than six and eleven months, respectively, due to injury. Thompkins, after undergoing arthroscopy in his left knee in May, and Randolph, after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon last December, also in his left leg. Both have already been registered in the Euroleague. “I do not rule them out against Maccabi, but neither do I assure that they will enter in the call ”, affirms Laso, who regrets a new mishap for Carlos Alocen, now on one foot, which will keep you standing for at least another 15 days.
Alocen injury. “The only day I have been able to train with the whole team was Monday, because on Tuesday Alocen had a foot problem. We will have to stop him for a few days and it has affected him, because he returns (from low back pain) and now he has something totally different, but these are circumstances that pass. He is a strong boy and I hope that in 15 days he will be well. The rest of those who had been unemployed (Taylor, Randolph and Thompkins) have trained normally, although with different states of form. With the exception of Alocen, it has been a good week of training and it allows us to have more options in the next matches ”.
Randolph and Thompkins. “If you saw them train, I think they can play at any time, but it is absurd to think that they are at their best. We need time for them to be within the team and regain feelings, but they have trained quite well, all the hours they have used in rehabilitation with the doctor, the physicals and the physical trainer now shine because they work normally. I’m very happy, even though I know I can’t get them to play for 30 minutes tomorrow. They are not for that. We will see when we give them entry into the team, starting tomorrow it can be any day ”.
But are they going to play tomorrow? “I do not rule them out for tomorrow, but I do not assure that they will enter the call. It is a complicated and important month to balance the return of several players, to give rest to others who have been more demanded in the first months ”.
They come from a week without matches. “The previous week, which ended in Vitoria, was very demanding, very continuous efforts and we needed to rest mentally, to free ourselves. A couple of days off to forget about basketball. This week the team has trained very well because it has been able to recover physically and mentally. He played that ”.
He completes 800 games with Madrid. “Yes, I knew it, but I do not give it more importance. There are a lot of games and I’m very happy, but I’m not thinking about that, but about playing well against Maccabi ”.
In December, 10 duels and rivals like Maccabi, Barça, CSKA … “We can lose all the games in December and be champions of the Cup, the League and the Euroleague, so it is an important month, very demanding, but it cannot be decisive.”
Memories of the Madrid-Maccabi. “I remember one as a player where they painted our faces in Tel Aviv (season 97-98). There was Oded Kattash and Rashard Griffith. That is my bad memory as a player and, as a coach, I have them bad and good. The worst, the final in Milan (2014) that we lost in extra time, but because of the result. We have experienced great duels in Madrid and Tel Aviv always with the feeling that it is a classic, a great match, something that I perceive when I go to Israel. Mind you, I wasn’t a player yet and I still remember Perry and Williams jumping into the stands (from the old Pavilion, February 17, 1983). Great games with many experiences ”.
The inner game and the Maccabi. “The inside game is important to us, beyond the rebound, and we are doing a great job and not just the greats. The little ones are getting involved and the team is working well. Maccabi is a team based on a point guard that manages a lot the rhythm and has a lot of danger of three points, as is Wilbekin, who plays many situations of pick and roll and one against one. He has several teammates who complement him well, more defenders, such as Evans, Taylor and DiBartolomeo, with Nunnally being the other outside player who it grows. Good scorer, very solid and who makes very few mistakes. Inside, Zizic is having a great season, the best after going to the NBA. But the proven Reynolds, Derrick Williams … They compete very well, with a very energetic style: they shoot a lot, they run the field well and they open up. An uncomfortable team, possibly in the Spanish League you don’t see anyone like Maccabi, because they are different, perhaps in Europe either. Three solid pillars to build on: Wilbekin, Nunnally and Zizic ”.
Where does the improvement of Madrid happen? “In these first three months we have had very good moments of offensive and defensive basketball, although we lack continuity in the game. The attack and defense systems we are taking quickly, but it is costing us more situations that need more time, the game when it is broken, reading a blocked exit … Something normal when there are incorporations. We must improve to be the best possible team ”.