Chus Mateo: "In the Euroleague every game counts because there is so much parity"

Chus Mateo and Garuba spoke ahead of Real Madrid-Baskonia, corresponding to the 23rd round of the Euroleague (Thursday, 8:45pm CET). The coach analysed the game that will be played at the Movistar Arena: "There are not that many games left until the end of the Regular League and we have to try to position ourselves as high as possible in the table. A lot is riding on this game as there's a huge amount of parity and any detail or any point up or down or a win by more or less will mean that you're playing for the title or not."

"Baskonia have been on a very good run of form. We played recently in Vitoria. We were able to win by playing a good game. They are a team that is on the rise and I hope we pay close attention to them and don't think that if we win there, it's a done deal. They have players who are improving like Moneke, Cabarrot or Samanic. There is also Howard. I'm not the first to suss them out. They are capable of scoring a lot, with a lot of offensive resources. They're having some irregularity and require all our attention."

Dennis Smith Jr.
"He's not ready to play yet. He needs some time and he needs to get to the physical level that the competitions we are in demand. Let's be patient. I'd like him to start before the Cup. We have to weigh things up and see what's best for us. I'd like to have everyone available, I'd like Deck to recover too. Hopefully, there are no injuries and we can choose who plays."

What are you looking for with his signing?
"One of his best characteristics is his physicality, capable of getting into the paint, defending well, recovering balls and attacking the rim with power. He will surely bring a lot of energy. He has experience and he will be looking to show how good a player he is."

Do you need to strengthen the inside game?
"Anything that helps is great. We're 41 games in and we're going to be playing teams that are playing less. We need to reinforce the physicality of a squad that has to be at 100 percent every day."

Garuba: ‘It's very important to win at home’
"Every game is important and we have to keep fighting to achieve our objective, which is to get into the playoffs and have home-court advantage. It's very important to win at home. If you lose the home games, they take their toll on you in the standings. We need to try and win all of them."

Baskonia
"We have already played them twice this season. We know them well, we know what they are capable of and we have to be ready and prepared. We're running well and we must continue to do damage on the counter-attack and play with intensity."