Monaco Basket Early Season Report

If there was one word to describe the start of the year for As Monaco Basket it would be "inconsistent". They have shown they can beat the top clubs in the league with back to back wins over Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, but also have losses and struggled against teams they should beat handily such as Partizzan Mozart, Mccabi Tel Aviv, and Bologna. All in all Monaco players and fans are not particularly happy having a 6-5 record and sitting in 9th place currently. However, those wins show they still can be one of the best, if not the best, team in Euroleague.

Monaco this year is returning a very similar rotation to last year, but are missing some depth, particulaly with their centers. Domantas Monteijunas, Giorgios Papagiannis, and Mam Jaiteh, 3 centers, all left the team this year. Jaiteh I was really hoping would take the next step and thought with him and Theis, Monaco would easily have the best big man rotation. Yoan Makoundou is a new center for Monaco that has showed promise so far for replacing some of what Jaiteh did. Former Uindy greyhound Jordan "Loydinski" Loyd, also left the team for Anadolu over the summer after going off in Eurobasket for Poland. Loyd was a role player, averaging 15 minutes per game in the playoffs last year, so his loss has been felt.

New additions to the team include longtime NBA and Euroleague star Nikola Mirotic, Kevarrius Hayes, and longtime Euroleague Vet Nemanja Nedovic. The addition of Mirotic has been huge, most importantly his 3 point shot. Him stretching the floor gives Mike more room to work and also get to the rim to get it to Theis. Also though Mirotic from the midrange is damn butter also. Kevarrius Hayes bring unbelievable defense to Monaco, in my opinion being a candidate for defensive player of the year. he has multiple blocks this year that are game changing. Nemanja Nedovic has playded the least of the three players easily, and hasn't offered a ton when on but has hit a few 3's. He is a former Euroleague Champion though and his winning experience and mindset will hopefully help Mike James get his first Euroleague Ring.

The best news for Monaco Basket is that Mike has showed no signs of slowing down. There's been games he has kept them in, or won, scoring 30+ points. He has passed Nando de Colo for alltime PIR and on a nightly basis is still the most dangerous player on the court on either team. 6-5 through 11 games is not where Monaco wanted to be, but after a short off-season, and proven wins again this year, I think we'll be just fine here as the season continues.