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The Frenchman played without 5 important players. For them, it was the first match after a longer hiatus. It’s natural to think that this should have been easy prey for the Kaunas team. But very often the opposite happens: it happened in Thursday’s game.
In the first part of the match, it seemed that the people of Žalgiris were playing with the idea that we would win one way or another, no matter how we played. ASVEL, for their part, obviously relished the opportunity to play basketball again and did so with inexhaustible energy, which took Žalgiris 20 minutes of pure play to equalize. In the second half of the match, it was enough to show a little more aggression and focus on defense, and in the fourth half the opponents’ fatigue factor probably skyrocketed as well.
VIDEO: A decisive assault: the victorious return of “Žalgiris” to the match
Tragic first half
Kaunas residents took to the field completely unprepared for difficult matches. ASVEL’s first attack was already a great proof that it will not be easy: M. Fallas simply pushed J. Lauvergne and put the ball in the basket. A good illustration of the entire French evening of “Žalgiris”. He lost his direct fight to Fall by fouls after spending only 12 minutes on the court, during which he scored 6 points, 4 fouls and 3 errors.
Photo from Getty Images / Euroleague.net/Eurolyga. Vilerbano ASVEL – Kaunas “Žalgiris”
The ASVEL game was not based on complex combinations, they decided to play extremely primitive and simple. You couldn’t expect much more from the team, who didn’t train for so long. As their main weapon, they chose to play in the penalty area. M. Fallas was forced to have problems with the fouls of J. Lauvergne, M. Geben and A. Rubit; all finished the game with 4 personal fouls.
D.Lighty in the first half was super aggressive under the basket and showed his strength against L.Lekavičius and M.Grigonis. G. Yabusel also liked his duel with P. Jankūnas. The French imposed on them a typical style of play, based on strength and athleticism, with which “Žalgiris” definitely descended.
But even more so in the first part of the match, during which up to 50 points were lost, “Žalgiris” was punished for a lack of concentration and an inability to defend 1v1 on the perimeter: D.Lighty beat M. Grigonis and scored 2 points under the basket; D.Lighty broke the barrier through L.Lekavičius and scored 2 more points under the basket; P. Lombombe took care of A. Milaknis in the middle and added 2 more easy points; After poor defense and an extra pass from Grigonis, Ch.Kahudi scored a triple.
ASVEL scored two more easy points after Th.Walkup fell asleep on the weak side and hit him on the back. And Kahudi landed an easy three-point pitch and hit it when M. Grigonis cut through the wall. It is not known what is the agreement of the Kaunas team in defense with these crosses and if it can be read as a mistake, but A. Milaknis and N. Hayes were sanctioned for the same in the second half of the match. It can only be noted that near M. Schiller these crossings of barriers became much more frequent than in previous seasons.
In the first part of the match, “Žalgiris” lost energy, aggression, and with his own mistakes he shared endless easy points for opponents.
What changes led to victory?
To change the course of the match, the people of Žalgiris themselves did not need to change much. We can hide almost all improvements under the word “intensity”.
Players who wish to take the ball near or in the penalty area have started. denyintiThat is, it was going from the front, and the only way to reach that player was to go over it. This led ASVEL to look for options on the perimeter and the bugs spread there.
The ASVEL team was led by 18-year-old M.Strazelis, who finished the match with -3 utility points. D.Lighty could not be named exclusive developer either. The improvisations of other players often ended in mistakes or poor shots. Kaunas’ significantly better 1v1 defense contributed to this. This change in intensity and energy is best illustrated by just 10 French points in the third quarter, of which up to 8 on free throws. So in 10 minutes ASVEL managed to scratch only one pitch from the game.
Photo from Getty Images / Euroleague.net/Eurolyga. Vilerbano ASVEL – Kaunas “Žalgiris”
The fatigue of some ASVEL basketball players was also felt in the decisive quarter, but they managed to stay in the game until the end with some great attacks against Kaunas. ice and a step Stepouto defenses.
In the attack, the biggest change in “Žalgiris” was the attack by M.Fallo. There is no doubt that this was one of Schiller’s reminders and instructions during the long break. And it worked. Defenders defenders behind barriers o transfer always followed, which allowed to create 2 against 1 advantages, which M. Grigonis took advantage of Floateriais, and Th.Walkupas with effective passes of up to 7.
Beneficiary of Marius Grigonis
ASVEL also didn’t shy away from exchanging advocates. However, M. Grigonis came here and said: “give me the ball, I’ll take care of things.”
Another change at Schiller is that there are many more one-on-one games on his system, the number one choice being M. Grigonis. While other people at Žalgiris find it more difficult to create quality pitches, M. Grigonis thanks the Austrian for his strong results.
VIDEO: M. Grigonis’ career performance: intrepid play and decisive throws
We all knew his skills in the 2v2 game. Sharp escapes, without fear of contact, a great mid-shot, a good shot in the penalty area. This season, Lithuania’s individual skills are gradually developing.
When M. Fallas reached 218 cm in front of him, M. Grigonis punished him with D. Lillard’s mark move: a shot after bouncing after dribbling between his legs. Even more beautiful, he decided the end of the match a minute before it ended. The double dribble between the legs and the ball thrown from right to left left G. Yabisele, who played in the NBA last season, hopeless and the break ended with 2 points. It was an icing on the cake for M. Grigonis’ performance and a decisive highlight for the ASVEL team in yesterday’s match.
VIDEO: Small and sharp: L. Lekavičius stabs are vital to the French
Lietuvis left the field with 25 points, hitting 8 shots of 14 in the game and 7 penalties of 7. The average of the first 6 games is very solid – vid. 15.5 points, adding almost 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Grigonis’ blow looks the most impressive – he’s still at the prestigious 50/40/90 club, attacking 58 percent. accuracy from the 2-point zone, 44 percent. three and 100 percent. (!) from the penalty line.
Summary
Everything could have been made much easier. The underestimation and relaxation of the opponent dug a hole in the first half of the game, from which it was necessary to surpass the rivals in energy and concentration in defense without making big drastic changes.
The end result was more rewarding than the team’s own play during every game.
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