Monaco - Paris Levallois

France - Pro A, Playoffs, Final

In the fight for the first title of the French champion in their history, Monaco will be the absolute favorite against Paris Levalloies, in the LNB league final series.
The team from the principality on the Cote d'Azur has been playing with so much confidence since they won against the mighty Barcelona 78:66 on May 21 and earned third place in the Euroleague. Since then, Monaco have won all five games in the LNB league playoffs. In each, the team of Serbian coach Sasa Obradovic scored at least 85 points. In the last match, away against the excellent Eurocup team Bourg, Monaco won 85:71.
It is clear, by playing in both attack and defense on highest level, that Monaco this spring shows that winning the first championship title is an absolute goal for a powerful team. The quality of the individuals is second to none in France – but what impresses is the quality of the team play. Famous guards Mike James and Jordan Loyd have excellent support, guard-forward Yaluba Outtara is playing better and better - and American Brown and Lithuanian Motiejunas dominate under the hoop. Everyone in this team is aware that they are absolute favorites in the final against Paris Levallois in the final - and they accept that role proudly.
On the other hand, Paris Levallois surprised Asvel, the famous Euroleague team from Lyon, in the semi-finals. The team from the French capital showed exceptional quality with a total score of 3:1, they were convincingly defeated once and won three times in exciting last minutes.
The key quality of Paris Levallois is without a doubt the leadership of the experienced coach Vincent Collet, a long-time coach of the French national team. On the eve of the first match of the final in Monaco, Collet said that the task of his team is to restrain the top qualities of the opponent's players as much as possible - in the same way as they did against Asvel. However, in reality, Monaco is a much higher quality unit than Aswell and in much better shape.
On its home field against Paris Levallois, Monaco won by as much as 87:68 in the match played on April 2 in the LNB league. The duel was practically resolved at the end of the third quarter. Before that, in the national cup match, Monaco won 107:76 in the game played on February 15. Away from home on December 11 last year, Obradovic's team won 95:82. The impression is that this opponent absolutely suits Monaco and that Paris Levallois will have big problems in defense during the final series, especially away from home.
Since the start of the playoffs, Paris Levallois has played seven matches - and they have conceded at least 80 points in as many as four games. It is clear that this is a team that is primarily oriented towards attack. However, the impression is that the chances of victory in the final series will wait until the third game, scheduled on the famous courts of the tennis complex of the Roland Garros tournament, which will be renovated for the occasion in Paris for a basketball spectacle.
Monaco will not be bothered by the pressure of being the favorite, during the season this team continuously beat much better rivals in the Euroleague. A convincing triumph at the start of the final series is an opportunity to chart the path to a historic title, for a club that has lost four times in the final series so far.