Chus Mateo, coach of Real Madrid, rrecognized the importance of American point guard Mike James in the Monaco game, his rival this Thursday in the EuroleagueAlthough the important thing, he commented, “is not that he scores 20 points, but that he doesn’t make his teammates better.”
“Stopping Mike James is very difficult, but there is also Loyd, Moerman, whose best version has yet to be seen, Okobo, Brown… He is a tremendous, decisive player. I don’t care if he scores 20 points, but if he doesn’t make his teammates bettersaid Matthew. The coach highlighted the “consistency and solidity” that his team must show to qualify for victory.
“To try to win we have to be very consistent and solid one on one because they are a team with great penetration and overflow capacity. You have to try not to lose balls and ensure the rebound because they get a lot of points after rejections, ”he pointed out. Mateo confirmed the return of Yabusle and some physical problems of Cornelie, Tavares and Deck.
“Yabusele has been training with the team all week and may possibly play. Cornelie has had a fever since Sunday night even though she has trained today. And Deck and Tavares are very overloaded because they carry a significant load of games, but I hope they can be against Monaco, ”he reported, as well as that Rudy and Hanga are still low. The team’s winning streak, eight between the League and Euroleague, is not something Mateo spends time on.
“We are working well. It is better to build from victory than from defeat. You should not get carried away by streaks and want to improve. The most important thing is that there is a good working environment and that the head is not distracted by outside noise, both for the good and for the bad”, he observed. The coach has in his style book “touch paint early” to facilitate the offense.
“Part of the offensive plan is to touch paint early. Be deep, aggressive and hold the ball hard, because they are very good at recovering possessions. You have to put up good blocks, have a good circulation of the ball and try to find shots that are not scored, ”he explained. “We have to choose our options well and not fall into the error of chaining failuresin addition to maintaining an offensive and defensive balance”, concluded Chus Mateo.
