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This was not a good match for Kaunas “Žalgiris”. In this series of victories, it was more of a match where the victory was exhausted. In the German capital, “Žalgiris” did not have the same killer instinct as in the matches with the teams in Athens, Vitoria or Istanbul, because in Berlin the home team simply did not allow him to show it.
Even before the game, “Žalgiris” was the obvious favorite in the ALBA match. I can not play Ben Lammers, Marcusas Erikssonas and Peytonas Siva. These are not ordinary rotating players, but basketball players who, in the ranks of ALBA, usually make a great contribution to the results of the club.
As the icing on the “cake” also contributed to the positive of the famous coach Aito Garcia Reneseso Response to the COVID-19 test. He was temporarily replaced by an assistant Israeli Gonzalezas. Of course, in such a situation, the team continues to play according to its usual system, without changing anything, but in stressful situations the hand of the coach or his fault is especially felt.
It is true that, in this sense, ALBA, even with significant losses, did a very good job. The frustrated German club first beat the Kaunas residents on their defenses, forcing the newcomers to play off their game. Žalgiris was deprived of a quick attack, and attacks were eliminated in the first moments of the attack, which, incidentally, is also very popular with ALBA itself. The club from the German capital aggressively defended against “Žalgiris” two-on-two game, and in the stages they were very successful on defense, leading to frequent errors by “Žalgiris”.
Considering all the ALBA defeats and the fact that they are one of the worst defending teams in the Euroleague, this picture was a bit surprising. “Žalgiris” scored 74 points, thus playing the fourth most productive game of the season in the first round. Much is also illustrated with only 12 dots scratched in the first half with an “impressive” number of errors (9). By the way, interim strategist I. González did not remove the AG Renaissance zone defense letter from his pocket. This, of course, is related to the fact that “Žalgiris” has just drowned his opponents more than once this season.
“Žalgiris” now blew the first three-point bomb only at the end of the second half, and during the second half there were only four more. In this situation Martino schillerio Students can only be praised for proving once again that Žalgiris’s attack is unpredictable and depends on a single accent.
It should also be noted that ALBA had prepared duties to arrest the leader of Kaunas Marius grigonis. This season, the defender, who took his bet to the next level, doubled down and did not get anything easy in attack. M. Grigonis, who was severely stopped by the Germans, made a mistake four times, repeatedly caught in the defense of ALBA. However, it should be emphasized here, which is what leaders usually do: it can be difficult for such a player throughout the meeting, but in the most important minutes he will still have the ball in his hands and make decisions. This is what happened when his four points in the core of the match contributed strongly to preventing the ALBA team from accelerating further.
In general, although Žalgiris has almost played, these types of matches, which deal with survival in them, bring a lot of experience in the Euroleague, so it would be useless to label the confrontation in Berlin as unsuccessful.
Žalgiris ended the calendar year with a cartridge in such good spirits. It’s symbolic, but it’s also the end of the first round, a trip halfway to the playoffs. When evaluating teams, it is often said that it is important to wait at least for the New Year; Three months is a good time to highlight the team’s ability during the ups and downs.
So what did we learn about “Žalgiris” during this section?
1. Adaptation of a mysterious trainer.
The secret is that it was probably possible to name the arrival of Martin Schiller in Kaunas. The man, who became the hero of almost all Lithuanian basketball and synonymous with victories, was replaced on Nemunas Island by a man who had never been heard of in Lithuania. A 38-year-old stuntman who has not played basketball professionally, as the head coach has experience only in the debatable G League environment, who has seen Euroleague basketball only from the country until then, reason enough to doubt, truth?
But now, born in the city of beautiful Vienna architecture, Schiller is paying off. Such a result, that after the first round of the Euroleague did not even give Šarūnas Jasikevičius. 10 wins in 17 games and even sixth in the middle of the regular season. Last season, the first round scored just five wins for Žalgiris. These are, of course, just numbers and nothing more, because last year “Žalgiris” gained the necessary momentum, and this season the second part of the season and at the same time the final result has not yet been achieved. In either case, the numbers are positive.
M. Schiller came to Lithuania with ideas that change over the months. An Austrian is unlikely to stick with his ideas and follow only a predetermined course. Burned out in certain matches, the coach is clearly adapting to the European elite tournament and moored the ship Žalgiris alongside the most famous European names before the New Year. Do not forget and often the predetermined circumstances that are played without Patricio garino, which was designed for five starting players and is now free Steve Vasturia. Matches like the last-second drama with Bayern only increase confidence in the strategist.
2. Team capacity.
Four wins in a row at the start of the season has been impressive, and then an empty November with up to six losses in a row can be crushing. However, now the atmosphere in the Žalgiris dressing room is good again: five wins in a row. Only leaders Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow have a larger series of victories. In November, it was thought that it was too early for Žalgiris to meet the grandparents. That’s right, I still needed to grow. But at the same time, this series of victories proved that the club, if nothing unexpected happens, will definitely be on the front lines, aiming for a place in the playoffs. After the summer of anxiety and Shar’s departure, admit it, such a present reality has far exceeded expectations.
“The coach had set a goal: 9 wins and we have 10. There were definitely games that we could have won and we really could have at least 12 wins,” said M. Grigonis.
3. A professional turning point.
This is the season that opens the way for M. Grigonis to the richest clubs in Europe, and there will probably be more than one in the summer. The Kaunas resident places “Žalgiris” above the very rich Euroleague teams, and is also alongside the top ten most useful Euroleague players. Here he accumulates almost 15 points at a time and is the seventh most productive player in the tournament. Lithuanian in the context of the Euroleague attack on wolves has been a rarity in the Red Book in recent years. This is the last time that Lithuanians have been among the most productive ten years ago, when players like Linas Kleiza and Ramūnas Šiškauskas were still competing. By evaluating the influence on the team and its results, M. Grigonis became one of the best, if not the best, offensive defense of the first round of the Euroleague this season. His explosion was expected before this season, but such a Kaunas game took him to an even higher level than expected.
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