Real Madrid-La Laguna Tenerife: The Endesa League playoffs begin

Real Madrid begins the playoffs of the Endesa League tonight with the first quarterfinal game against La Laguna Tenerife. Scariolo's team, which finished as the regular season leader, will aim to leverage home-court advantage to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series. In the only previous encounter between the two teams in this opening round, the madridistas advanced with a 2-0 victory in the 2017/18 season.

Real Madrid faces a demanding series and needs to be at 100% once again. This season, they have faced the Tenerife side three times, with two wins for us in the semifinals of the Super Cup (72-71) and in the League (70-71), and one win for the islanders in the League (90-95).

Without Tavares, Len, or Garuba, Madrid has strengthened its interior play with Yurtseven (who played against Manresa and Baskonia) and the newly arrived Sissoko. But once again, the key will be unity. Hezonja will make his debut as the MVP of the League and as a member of the best five in the competition. The Croatian led the team with an average of 17.4 points. In the last two games, he averaged 26.5 points. Alongside him, Campazzo, Lyles, Feliz, Deck, and company will need to step up.

Opponent
La Laguna Tenerife is one of the most balanced teams in the competition. A negative streak of six losses in their last seven games caused them to drop to eighth place. They excel in shooting, leading the league in three-point percentage (39.5%) and free throw percentage (82.7%). Their main axis is the Huertas-Shermadini duo, but they have many capable scorers like Mills, Jaime Fernández, Van Beck, Giedraitis, or Doonerkamp. Real Madrid's home record against La Laguna Tenerife stands at 12 wins in 14 games. Tonight, they'll aim for the first victory in the quarterfinals.

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.