Schiller surprised by the Žalgiris attack: “It looked like we were running before the tsunami” / News

Photo: BasketNews.lt/D. Shell

Photo: BasketNews.lt/D. Shell

Photo: BasketNews.lt/D. Shell

Photo: BasketNews.lt/D. Shell

Photo: BasketNews.lt/D. Shell

Martin Schiller suffered his first defeat at the helm of Kaunas “Žalgiris”. The team led by Austro landed at the AX Armani Exchange in Milan in the final of the WE’RE BACK 70:88 Euroleague friendly tournament.

“I don’t think there are two different sides and we have a lot to learn from this match. AX Armani Exchange is a very good team and we highlight that they have a lot of snipers. I think it felt that way today: they reached 55 percent. Three points. When you play With a team like that, you have to cover all the pitches. It’s good to have experienced this today because we will be playing with them later in the season.

As crazy as it sounds, the hardest part was the attack. We couldn’t score points, they hit particularly well and it looked like we were running like before the tsunami. After that, we sorted out the attack a bit, we found better solutions, which makes me happy. I’m glad the men kept fighting, ”said the strategist.

– How did you adapt to the opponent’s defense?
– We have expanded the field so that we do not play in the penalty area. In the Missmatch situations, we were looking for a quick transition on picenrole and that posed some issues for his defense. Thomas Walkup hit a 3-pointer early in the second half as the AX Armani Exchange doubted whether or not they would switch on defense. This made room for Joffrey Lauvergne.

That is what we will emphasize. We will not play statically, we will not look at the penalty area as much and we will try harder to move the ball.

– What was the main lesson of this tournament?
– As a coach, the main lesson for me was that there are different rules at this level than in FIBA ​​tournaments. These are very important and must be learned. Also, playing with those teams, we were able to see where both we and them are at right now.

This is the main objective of preseason games. The season can be divided into three parts: preparation, regular season, and playoffs. We played a friendly match and now we still have a week of training left before the start of the season.

– How do you feel before next season?
– I feel confident, because I’ve been here for a while, I felt the atmosphere, the players, the dressing room. We understand what we can and cannot do tactfully. When I arrived, everything was new to me at first. Now I have played, felt all the basketball of the Euroleague and for that reason I feel quite comfortable.

– Is third position your main concern at the moment?
– We have no worries. We like the current lineup. Sure, we are waiting for the return of Patricio Garino, but that will happen sooner or later. As I said yesterday, we must take care of his body and think about his future career. I can’t say I’m worried.

– Hayes didn’t hit a single triple. Were you satisfied with the choice and decisions of your releases?
– Nigel has hit very well lately. With us everything is simple: if the launch is good, we launch it. He works hard and I have no doubt that his pitches will drop.

– What did you think of the team’s reaction, despite being 23 points behind at the same time?
– I think they (the players) reacted well. We attacked their defenses while they exchanged defenses. From the middle of the third quarter to the end of the second, the five seconds gave us a big boost and therefore we reduced the deficit. We won the second half, we fight every game and that is very important.

– Dimša and Blaževičius did not play in this tournament. Does that mean they won’t be in the main roster when the season starts?
– I can’t answer that, but load distribution is very important. That is why we have a very deep composition. If we look at last season, we used a rotation of 9-10 players in the Euroleague, LKL used all 12 players and the playing time of basketball players ranged from 15-20 minutes.

This season will be very similar. We will have to watch the minutes of the players and shorten the rotation in the Euroleague. That is part of my job.