no ideas in attack, poor defense and 19 losses! | Relief

A game to forget… Or hang it like a poster on the wall and remember everything you can’t do for the rest of the season. Real Madrid were not Monaco’s opponents (98–76).. And for the first time this season this can be said about Chusa Mateo’s team. But it was also the biggest correction that the white team has experienced in the Euroleague… in three years! “It wasn’t our day,” the White coach said succinctly and accurately after the defeat. But we must not lose sight of one issue: it is not only about what happened this Friday in the Principality, but also about second game Real Madrid have lost in a row this week, in a season in which they had accumulated just four defeats to date. But what went wrong in Monaco? Almost everything.

Losses and accumulated physical wear and tear

Real Madrid have noticed too much the absence of Sergio Llull and, above all, Eddie Tavares.. The first to suffer from plantar fasciitis is a player who is added off the bench whenever the team needs him. The second player, who suffered a collateral ligament injury in his right ankle, is a regular starter, but primarily on defense. And although Vincent Poirier makes up for this loss with great opportunities, in the match against Monaco this was not enough.

Those who belonged to Chus Mateo suffered too much in every way.. In attack and defense. And the fatigue of the players after two intense weeks of Euroleague double days, five overtimes and even more physical wear and tear, given the opponents (Anadolu Efes, Valencia Basket and UCAM Murcia) they faced in these competitions, was proving to be a heavy burden. a team that, as the white coach already warned in the preview, is also very physical and talented. “It’s never easy in a small country like Monaco. a team with a lot of talent, especially on the perimeter and individually and that he is capable of resolving many matches on his own. I have no doubt that it will be a difficult game and we will have to fight,” said the Whites coach.

And this is reality. FC Monaco, in terms of composition and budget, is among the teams destined to be at the top of the standings. But the truth is that already in the first round he caused a lot of doubts (now he is fighting for a place in the playoffs). And we can say without mistake that WithWhen the team coached by Sasa Obradovic really showed their best version, it was against Real Madrid.. And without having to use his second weapon (obviously the first is Mike James, who is still stellar), which is Kemba Walker. “We were surprised by their huge defense and couldn’t solve it.”– Chus assured Mateo in front of the Euroleague microphones. And yes, the truth is that the board did not work.

No leaf, no success

The rotations that occurred during the match brought virtually no benefit., especially in the interior game: even with Yabusele and Poirier paired; nor with Yabusele or Ndiaye with the number “5”. And no matter how much Chus Mateo tried to draw some kind of game on the board, he couldn’t do it. In fact, Real Madrid even made mistakes in communications that until now seemed to be the key to success (such as Chacho and Poirier). “We played poorly, passed poorly and executed poorly. We played bad defense.”– Chus admitted to Mateo at the post-match press conference. And just look at the numbers.

At the break, Monaco had 15/19 shots from twos and 7/15 from trebles. While Real Madrid showed a poor result: 9/19 on shots from two and 5/12 on threes. And, The defense was not consistent enough to stop the Monaco team, which was able to easily penetrate the paint and shoot from the perimeter.which allowed them to concede 56 points in just 20 minutes (56-40).

But in the second half the percentage was even worse: only eight hits and four three-pointers, and the final result was only 17/33 on 2’s and 9/31 on 3’s.. And if they add to this assists (10 versus 25 for the Monegasques), losses (19 compared to 13 for the opponent) and Coser’s injury with over seven minutes remaining, there’s not much else to say.

Therefore, in the last timeout of the match, Chus Mateo, giving instructions, admitted: “I know that we will not win this game, but we are going to continue to work”, also not surprising. More than anything, because if Real Madrid have achieved anything, it’s make up for what could have been the worst score in five years, as White lost up to 29 points (80-51).

Biggest loss in the Euroleague since 2021

Real Madrid’s 98 points are their second-worst total of the season. (after the 100th match against Fenerbahce, which became the first defeat in the Euroleague), not counting games with extra time. But also, The 22-point drop is the biggest loss in the EuroLeague since 2021.. And for the second time in three years, White has trailed by 20 points or more in continental competition.

WITH April 22, 2021in the second playoff game against Anadolu Efes White fell by 23 points (91-68), there has never been such a heavy defeat. Only in 2022, on February 24, in the match with Zalgiris, Real fell behind by 21 points (68-47). So this Friday represents the biggest correction since that pre-Efes appointment.

“This is a bad time. Because of the injuries, because of the calendar, we probably suffered from this situation, but this is a regular season game and we have to continue to play and work. We’ll have to forget about this game, like we do when we win, and focus on the next game.“Mateo assured. And this is what White must do to change the chip.

Because this Sunday they will face Bilbao Basket in the Endesa League, but next week they will host Olympiacos at the WiZink Center (Thursday, 20:45) and then visit Gran Canaria (Sunday 28th, 13:00) and next week they will face another double whammy in the Euroleague.. Third one this month.