Lessons from the Catalan genius in Kaunas: why did the progress of “Žalgiris” stop?

Before the game, the president of Kaunas “Žalgiris” Paulius Motiejūnas KC Riversui He presented a symbolic gift in the middle of the field, thanking the American for a successful stretch last season at the club.

“A little reminder of the time in the ranks of the green whites,” wrote the Kaunas social network account.

KC Riversas | Eriko Ovcharenko / BNS photo nuotr.

But in the end, KC Rivers, with partners Austin hollinsu, Will thomas Y Kevinu Pangosu Žalgiris remembered his problems on the parquet.

Just three days ago, the men of Zenit St. Petersburg fought back and won in Vitoria, which is one of the longest trips for Russian clubs. Tuomet Xavi Pascualio the students managed to return home to St. Petersburg and set out on a journey back to Kaunas. Sure, the wealthy Russian club has the luxury of flying charter flights, but in any case, it’s two trips, two trips, and two intense Euroleague matches.

But when watching Thursday night’s game at “Žalgiris” stadium, it would be difficult to name which team is the most tired. Total control of the game, disciplined and well-calculated defense and tactically rich attack: Zenit looks like a dirty basketball mechanism from the beginning of the game.

Žalgiris has been having very serious issues with the delayed and screeching team defense lately, so it wasn’t difficult to predict the potential benefits of Zenit’s long-range artillery, especially when he lined up with specific defenders like KC Rivers, A. Hollins , K. Pangos or Billy baron.

It has already happened that during the first two quarters, the star of A. Hollins shone more brightly. The defender scored 13 points before the break, and also two triples. That means he managed to play the second most productive game of his season only in the first half of the game.

Later, A. Hollins finished the match with 20 points on his account, the absolute best indicator of his season, but these are just the details: the fate of “Žalgiris” on Nemunas Island was decided this time during the first 23 minutes of the party.

“Žalgiris” this season had matches like in Milan and Tel Aviv, where the eyes were on one-on-one defense, but it is tactically possible to hide such gaps with the team’s actions. The problem is that it is not even possible to hide.

A. Hollins became a great reflection of how naked the defense of the “Žalgiris” team is. His pitches came so late Steve’as Vasturia, both of them Rokas Jokubaitis, Both are Artūras Milaknis. There are also problems under the basket. Here it is Joffrey Lauvergne’o the stats look solid: 19 points and 22 utility points. However, this last figure never contains gaps in defense, which the French central continues to show more than once and twice, so he does not regret it afterwards and Martin Schiller.

Without a doubt, here it is worth putting your hat to coach X. Pascual, whose influence on the club is enormous. It is no coincidence that this is one of the most tactically trained coaches in Europe. However, it is also true that the reaction of Žalgiris players in the team’s defense is often delayed and this is already in vogue during this five-loss series.

The slow start of the match has yet to be resolved in any way. It is during this failed stretch that Kaunas has fallen behind by two points on average after two quarters. We only remember that “Žalgiris” fought with teams from Madrid, Moscow, Milan, Tel Aviv. How realistic is it to expect these teams not to take advantage of that?

Maccabi scored 53 points for Kaunas Club in two quarters, CSKA – 45, AX Armani – 52, now Zenit – 45. These are simply unforgivable indicators.

“Perhaps it is not always possible to accentuate everything, but there must be team communication,” he clearly points to the problem with a finger. Paulius Jankūnas. – Maybe someone lacks concentration or responsibilities. It seems to me that the team defense is not one on one, where if you are weaker you will feel overwhelmed. But here there is teamwork, especially after losing both games. The more you lose, the better the defense should be. But we still don’t. “

Zenit, led by a Catalan specialist, is a defensive team, in which case it was important that Žalgiris did not separate from the main variants of their attack and, true to their style, attack faster. What happened? On the contrary, the Russian club completely imposed its style, plunged “Žalgiris” into slow positional attacks, and serious problems began in their inability to respond harshly.

Zenit’s men, who came to the rescue from above in the positional attacks, completely locked up the Žalgiris defenders. If the negative player S. Vasturia is not in the news this season, then A. Milaknis also scored a utility score of -1, Lukas Lekavičius and R. Jokubaitis. I just added one Thomas walkupas.

That heady start to four straight victories on the “Žalgiris” road has long been forgotten, now M. Schiller must apply the handbrake as soon as possible to stop the disputes of Kaunas residents.

“Žalgiris” is one of the worst defending teams in the Euroleague, and 89.2 points are lost in this failed section. To rectify the situation, Schiller occasionally brings out bunnies like zone defense or hat pressure, annoying the opponent, as is specifically the case this Thursday. However, when fighting with elite coaches, Austrians are often taught tactical dueling lessons, and despite unique innovations, progress in the game is too slow.

The current image of “Žalgiris” does not seem attractive, but he must look for the roots of the problems not only in the coach’s combination board. “Žalgiris” is increasingly caught in the gaps with a hard front and the absence of a light forward.

Schiller expressed confidence in the post-game press conference that his team would not collapse after the blows. However, with the game curve on the rise, the club’s fans are already eagerly awaiting next week, when the best European team arrives in Kaunas right now.

Is it possible for such a team to surprise the hero returning home?