Monaco & Madrid Review 12/4

Real Madrid 81 Anadolu Efes 75

This game was tight for most of the way. In the first half my Bron of Europe Trey Lyles was letting me down. He was trying to be the Jay Huff of Europe, catching and shooting every time he got the ball. Hezonja on the other hand started the game like prime Wilt. I thought I was going to witness a Euroleague 100 ball. He scored 10 points in the first 4 minutes on 100% shooting. Then after that stopped shooting until the 2nd quarter. What a bummer I thought I was watching Hershey, PA all over again. Anadolu had a slight lead, thanks to Roland Smith and Ercan Osmani out hustling, out rebounding, and getting to the rim easier than Madrid. Madrid had the height advantage but Anadolu had the rebound and paint advantage.

Shout to Anadolu for putting up a fight without their stars though. They played tougher than some of the games I watched with their stars. Eventually as the 2nd half went on Madrid proved to be too much and Anadolus guys got tired without their stars. Osmani, Smits, and Cordinier carried the Efes but couldn't hold on. They were bringing Tavares out and he was struggling guarding the perimeter. Trey finally got a 3 to go, got to the rim for some easy layups when needed. Garuba had the play of the game with a Thiago Splitter like block on Osmani at the rim late in the 4th. Campazzo got some 3's to fall also, including a dagger step back 3 in the final minutes to secure the dub for Madrid. Madrid compared to Anadolu in this one was damn near the Euro All Stars + Trey, adding Alex Len to the squad too from the Lakers. Madrid gets the dub 81-75.

Monaco 125 Paris 104

In this one it was just one way traffic pretty much the whole way and Monaco never let up, playing Mike James until the final buzzer. I wrote earlier it's tough to beat a team back to back but it's not for Monaco. In fact they set a Euroleague record for points in a game. Paris had a slight lead early but it didn't last long. As I wrote earlier Monaco can play iso ball but they came out sharing the ball with Mike James and Ellie Okobo having 7 assists total in the first quarter. Assists on almost every bucket. They were dominant in the paint, getting to the free throw line way more than Paris. Mike James didn't have his 32 point game that he had the other night but he was dishing passes like Haliburton out there. Other guards Ellie Okoba and Matthew Strazel popped off combining for 48. Nedovic was the first lower minutes guy to get on the court today and he came out lookin like vintage Nedo, scoring 7 quick points in the 2nd quarter. He seems he plays the 2nd quarter and Tarpey starts the 4th quarter. There's a reason Monaco is the defending finalist and Paris is towards the bottom of the standings. Monaco too good in this one, shouts to the Roca Boys, and now Corey Joseph is on Monaco too. Monaco 125, Paris 104.