Madrid is still up in everything

Madrid continues to lead in everything, in the ACB and in the Euroleague, after closing the week with their third victory (62-82). He suffered from the beginning in Granada against the good approach of Pablo Pin and said goodbye with a little more brilliance once the locals gave up. The mistake in the triples marked the pulse (3 of 19 some and 6 of 31 the others, below 20%), as marked by Tavares and Musa, something already habitual. The center conditioned the game to the extreme with his physical superiority and what he contributes with an increasingly better reading of the game on both sides of the field (15 points on 7 of 10; 10 rebounds and 3 assists for a PIR of 28). And the forward finished off with his verticality and his success on a morning in which he was one of the few who did not need glasses to see the hoop clearly. The Bosnian finished with 20 goals, 16 in the second half, 4 assists and +25 with him on the pitch. Llull there, +24. The captain served as main point guard in the absence of Williams-Goss, released for Rudy to enter three weeks later. Just a matter of the forced rotation in a squad already with 15 troops, because Deck’s return is also imminent (Alocén and Randolph are still out).

Granada, which started the League like a shot, even dreaming of the Cup, now looks to the bottom to escape relegation, a change of perspective forced by injuries, which have crunched. This Sunday he gathered his people and tried to play Madrid without complete, with the lesson studied, a lot of energy and a lot of concentration. It was about maximizing his virtues and, above all, tripping up the rival after a double European day, which always weighs down a lot mentally and physically. That of Madrid, in Belgrade and Berlin, was tough, and he had to close it with the third trip of the week.

Under these parameters, Granada triumphed from the start, because it served the whites a fairly thick game on a leaden tray, who were going to have to work it out. And they do it like that. Also ordered, although unwise, perhaps a little hasty when throwing from afar. Tavares marked the pulse in the start with his intimidation, some steals at ground level and an overwhelming collection of attack rebounds. Then Poirier took over with a great defensive tone, including three blocks.

From the start, Abalde had dried up Bropleh and Christian Díaz was the only one who found his way (11 points at halftime) in the debut with Covirán of forward Michael Caicedo (loaned by the Barça basket) and power forward Mike Moore. Each basket was like a goal, like going up a port. The locals had 2 of 11 of three in the middle, but Real lowered their percentage to 11% (2 of 17). The verticality of Musa (9-15) and a mandarinazo from Llull on the horn of the first act (11-19) allowed Chus Mateo’s men to gain an advantage; however, the atmosphere was getting thicker: a poor and very short 24-26 minute and a half from the intermission. A recovery from Poirier with a basket from Hanga and another final from the French interior gave his team some air: 24-32.

At the restart, more of the same, but better for Granada, who clung to a 3-2 zone defense while Madrid continued to see a two in the three-point box, although with 22 shots (1 of 8 in the third period). Bropleh and Renfroe came up in attack and Niang played a great game all over the court: 37-36. The plan worked out for Pablo Pin, but a merengue response was awaited, which came from the hands of Musa. The Bosnian had stopped Alba’s reaction on Thursday with 9 points in the last quarter and this time he added 7 in 6 minutes. Before, Mateo had changed the quintet, returning Llull to the point guard for Hanga.

In the absence of success, the whites put more speed into the game, partly due to the enormous work behind Tavares, who now adds those recoveries in full dribble from the rival point guard to the blocks and rebounds that are pure gold. And they also found the gaps that an area always leaves, and more when it lengthens in time. Yabusele added his efficiency under the basket (after an ugly blow to his right knee) and scored a basket in the last tenth of the third quarter (46-57).

From the density prior to a demarcation that would be definitive for Madrid: 53-70 after a three-pointer from Llull after several strikes. An exception, because what his team did was load the inside with the outside. Already to close the clash he found something more of external aim. The income touched 20 (60-80) with Musa on fire (another 9 without failure in the last set) and Rudy accumulating kilometers in his second comeback, after the blow in Bilbao three weeks ago, in a course in which he had lost 32 of the 36 previous meetings. Madrid continues to lead everything, recovers troops and will have a few days to work at home. On Friday there will be more, a big trip: Olympiacos in Piraeus.