Efes - Monaco
International - Euroleague, Round 34
The outgoing continental champion Efes hasn't just a motive, to bid farewell to the Euroleague season in front of their fans with a victory. But also, to show, with a good game against Monaco, that the atmosphere in the team is not as bad as the Turkish media claim.
Efes (16-17 in the Euroleague season and no chance for the Top 8 stage of the competition) was at the center of a major controversy earlier this week. Their stars, famous guard Larkin and forward Clyburn, refused to travel with the team by bus to Istanbul, after a convincing loss to Pinar Karsiyaka away from home 98:83, in the domestic league.
On the other hand, the atmosphere in Monaco is not ideal either, and it has been openly discussed for a long time about the disagreement between the first star and the best scorer of the team Mike James and the coach Sasa Obradovic. For Monaco, this match in the last Round 34 of the Euroleague has no importance, the team can do neither better nor worse than the fourth place, and will have the home field advantage in the quarter-finals.
Despite the overall bad form, Efes played for many weeks and almost without exception - an effective attacking game. The Istanbul team, two-time consecutive Euroleague champions, scored at least 78 points in each of the last ten games in all competitions. Out of that, even seven times Efes managed to score at least 86 points. On the other hand, Monaco was mostly and extremely effective during this season in the matches in which they were favorites - and they justified that role almost without exception.
During the season, these rivals provided approximately the same quality of attacking games, Efes has an average index score of 95.3 and Monaco 93 per game. Both teams have slightly more than 15.5 assists per match in the Euroleague. Efes, however, shoots three-pointers significantly more successfully, with 39.1 percent of realization, and Monaco with only 32.3 percent. It is expected that the team from the French LNB League will make up for the lack of top shooters from distance, with solid play under the hoop, with more counters and fewer turnovers.
Interestingly, this will be only the fourth duel between these rivals in the Euroleague, and Efes only has a triumph. At least 175 points have been seen in each of their three matches so far. Now, in a duel between completely relieved teams that are primarily looking for a chance to prove themselves in front of the fans, we should expect a large number of shots from distance in the early phase of the attack.
This will certainly be the last match in which coach Ergin Ataman will lead Efes in the Euroleague, so it will also be an emotional evening for the home team. An important and successful era is coming to an end for the Istanbul club, which will be looking for a new direction for the development of the team from the summer, with a completely reconstructed squad. Regardless of everything, this match with Monaco will be an evening of pride for an exceptional generation of Efes basketball players, and they will be ready to provide a spectacle with an excellent rival.