Chus Mateo: “We'll have to dig deep in Milan”
“We have to defend well but also find that balanced”, said the coach.
Real Madrid coach Chus Mateo discussed the Euroleague round six match against EA7 Emporio Armani MilanThursday, 8:30pm CET: 'You can't win without the best defence. You have to have some defensive basics that allow you to stay in the game. We have to defend well but also find that balanced. If you attack well you find yourself in a better position to defend. The same players are training as last week and Yabusele is back in the squad. Nigel Williams-Goss is gradually joining in with the team'.
'Every game is a test. They've got a lot of strengths, and a lot of quality players. Losing the likes of Shields is a big one, but they've got a huge threat in Pangos and Baron, and they've brought in Hall and he's another big threat on the outside. Deshaun Thomas plays a bit nearer to the basket and we know Brandon Davies well, he's very dangerous and has a lot of experience, we'll have to be ready to dig deep'.
'Every game is a test. They've got a lot of strengths, and a lot of quality players. Losing the likes of Shields is a big one, but they've got a huge threat in Pangos and Baron, and they've brought in Hall and he's another big threat on the outside. Deshaun Thomas plays a bit nearer to the basket and we know Brandon Davies well, he's very dangerous and has a lot of experience, we'll have to be ready to dig deep'.
Pressure
'We've lost two games at home and that's somewhat of a burden, but in the Euroleague it's almost the same whether you win at home or away because everyone is capable of winning and losing at home or away. Milan is not an easy place to play, but it wouldn't be the first time we won there. Every game is unique. We're slowly trying to develop a personality and a style that we would like to stick, but Milan can play well in the first few seconds and attack well in static. Obviously we could win by a lot of points and by a few points, we have to be smart'.
The point guard position
'We've got two point guards, Sergio Rodríguez and Llull. Hanga gives us a different option and when Nigel joins us we'll have to create space for him. We have to keep an eye on how things evolve. We had a lot of problems in that position last year because of injuries. Abalde has also played there. Nigel is back in contact training, but every time a player is out and out for a long time, it's harder to get him back involved. Alocén is doing non-contact training, but he's still got a long way to go. We have to do what's best for the player and the team when the doctors say so'.
'We've lost two games at home and that's somewhat of a burden, but in the Euroleague it's almost the same whether you win at home or away because everyone is capable of winning and losing at home or away. Milan is not an easy place to play, but it wouldn't be the first time we won there. Every game is unique. We're slowly trying to develop a personality and a style that we would like to stick, but Milan can play well in the first few seconds and attack well in static. Obviously we could win by a lot of points and by a few points, we have to be smart'.
The point guard position
'We've got two point guards, Sergio Rodríguez and Llull. Hanga gives us a different option and when Nigel joins us we'll have to create space for him. We have to keep an eye on how things evolve. We had a lot of problems in that position last year because of injuries. Abalde has also played there. Nigel is back in contact training, but every time a player is out and out for a long time, it's harder to get him back involved. Alocén is doing non-contact training, but he's still got a long way to go. We have to do what's best for the player and the team when the doctors say so'.