Mike James’ winning shot
Photo credit: AS Monaco Basket
EuroLeague – Revenge is a dish best served cold for Mike James. Kicked out of Milan, when he was top scorer in the EuroLeague, in 2019 by Ettore Messina, the American scorer crucified Olimpia with a huge award-winning shot 14.4 seconds from the final buzzer at 66- 67. AS Monaco won 72-66 in Lombardy and pocketed its fourth victory in a row.
“By my own decision, you will not have a place on our team next season”wrote by email, in 2019, the new Milan coach, Ettore Messina, to the best scorer in the EuroLeague, a certain Mike James. “Despite your incredible talent, I believe the risks are too high for you to break the rules and become a problem for the team rather than an asset. I don’t want to take such a risk because if it happened I would find myself having to take action too late. And that would be unfair to the team, owners and supporters of Milan. »
Roca Team back in the Top 6
The former Spurs assistant was not completely wrong. Mike James’ behavior has sometimes posed a problem, again at the start of the year in Monaco when he was suspended two weeks after yet another drunken evening. But above all he was right on one point: his talent is absolutely incredible. And the native of Portland had obviously not finished settling scores with Olimpia. Does he do as he pleases? Yes. But sometimes, it can be good… During his timeout 35 seconds from the end, when Milan had returned to 66-67, Sasa Obradovic sharply reiterated to his players that they did not necessarily need to ‘a three-point shot. And what did Mike James do? He did as he pleased, of course. He took the ball by himself, dribbled for 20 seconds, side-step on the right in front of Stefano Tonut then shoot long distance. Twine, obviously. And curtain. Revenge of the outcast. “Sometimes the strategy is to give the ball to Mike”Sasa Obradovic preferred to smile afterwards.
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However, like his team (led 18-24 in the 13th minute), the candidate for the EuroLeague MVP trophy did not start his Lombard outing particularly well, booed by the audience at the Mediolano Forum. “He didn’t start well, complained too much to the referees, had bad body language”, listed the Serbian technician. At the break, he had 6 points at 2/6 and 3 fouls, including a technical. Benched after returning from the locker room, he piled up 15 units at 6/8 in the second half once restarted. “He changed everything in the end. It’s hard to stop him! » Unplayable during the last four Monegasque outings (20 points at 55%, 4.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists for 24.8 rating), Mike James above all came to complete his team’s defensive masterpiece.
[Vidéo] Mike James’ 21 points in Milan
“We deserve to win! »
Like John Brown III, still magnificent in his commitment to limit Nikola Mirotic to 9 points at 2/7, he who averaged 22.8 units, the Roca Team came to Italy to put up a fight. It wasn’t pretty, really not, but regardless, the Principality team regained its place in the Top 6 with four victories in six matches. “We could have played better, it wasn’t our best performance but we deserve to win”lance Sasa Obradovic. “We entered the match with little intensity, we were much too messy, we lacked collective ideas and I really didn’t like our lack of sharing the ball. But in the end, it was our defense that made the difference in the second half! Despite our offensive difficulties, we also found a way to win thanks to our individual talents. » Above all, an incredible talent, as Ettore Messina would write.
by @Alexandre Lacoste
November 2, 2023 at 10:35 a.m.
“By my own decision, you will not have a place on our team next season”wrote by email, in 2019, the new Milan coach, Ettore Messina, to the best scorer in the EuroLeague, a certain Mike James. “Despite your incredible talent, I am convinced that the risks are too high for you to be able to…
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2023-11-02 21:35:31
#Milan #Monaco #sweet #revenge #Mike #James
