“My game hasn’t changed – assures the Italian – but my perception has changed: today I know what my role is here, I know what the team needs from me”. And of the Jazz who have won 12 of the last 14 games played he says: “Our secret is that in this group there are no big egos”
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The magical moment of the Utah Jazz – in an open streak of six consecutive victories, with 12 successes in the last 14 games played – reflects the super positive moment also of Simone Fontecchio, who is increasingly acting as a protagonist. Having entered the quintet at the end of November, he has practically (almost) never left it since, in the last 14 – in addition to averaging almost 10 points per game – he is shooting over 46% from the field and 40% from three, going also very good at rebounding (almost 4 per evening). The Jazz are the team of Markkanen but of many other protagonists, perhaps secondary, but always important – with 10 players who can boast at least 20 minutes of average use (Fontecchio has 22.5). “It is fundamental – he says – especially in this January which for us presents a very intense calendar [17 partite nel mese, più di una ogni due giorni, ndr]. This is why it is important to have large rotations, because if everyone has minutes it is easier to stay fresh and it is also easier to stay involved”, he explains. The calendar itself, reflects the blue, is perhaps the biggest difference between US basketball and European basketball “In Europe we start in September and finish in June like here, where however we start almost two months later. The calendar in the NBA is more compressed and this amount of games in less time is quite trying: if you want to ‘survive’ you have to do everything possible to always stay focused, take care of your body, keep yourself in shape,” he says.
“No forcing: I have to play in a simple, clean way”
Fontecchio has clear ideas about his performances, which are clearly improving after a first year of adaptation: “I don’t think my game has changed much. What has changed is my perception within this reality: today I know how I have to play, what my role is in this team. So what is asked of me and I know what I am capable of doing on the pitch, without forcing anything, playing in a simple, clean way. Sometimes this also means just staying in the corner, to widen the field and help my teammatesto give more space to Lauri [Markkanen] in the area. There are matches in which I’m more involved and others perhaps in which I’m a little less, but that’s fine if it’s for the good of the team.” defensive improvements his ever-increasing role for coach Hardy: “I don’t know if I needed confirmation in this sense, but to be able to demonstrate that you don’t fall behind defensively against some of the best players in this league it increases my confidence but above all that of my teammates in me“.
see also
Fontecchio’s plays exalt the Jazz on IG
Le parole su coach Will Hardy
The feeling that Fontecchio seems to have found in these Jazz has to do with the understanding that was also created with his head coach, who the Italian describes like this: “Will is a very positive person, full of energy and joy of living – someone who is nice to be around. As a coach he is someone who he has no problem giving you freedom on the pitch if you make sure he plays hard, passes the ball to his teammates and be always altruistic“. An aspect, the latter, which in a roster as deep as Utah’s takes on even more importance: Hardy has to make sometimes difficult choices to manage everyone’s minutes. “He doesn’t need to tell us anything – we’re all adults” , says Fontecchio. “We know first if we are playing well, and often those who finish the matches on the pitch are those who are playing best. Other times, however, it is not even the performance that is discriminating, but the defensive pairingsthe quintet combinations. But that’s exactly it our biggest strength: there are no big egos on this team. Everyone just wants to win and everyone knows very well that the success of the team comes before that of the individuals”, a feeling that Fontecchio says he has only felt with the blue national team shirt. And now, in these winning Jazz, he is starting to savor it again.
see also
Fontecchio flies over the rim in Milwaukee. VIDEO
Jazz account X speaks Italian for Fontecchio
A final week as an absolute protagonist for Simone Fontecchio, who averaged over 19 points in the last three games played, shooting more than 58% from the field and 52.4% from beyond the arc. And to ride the splendid performances of the blue player, the official CLICK HERE
INFALLIBLE FROM THREE
- In the game that gave him his season high (24 points, on the Portland Trail Blazers), the blue “cooked” his opponents to perfection, with 5 triples scored on 5 attempts. “Perfect cooking,” comments the Jazz’s account
ONE RACE AT MAXIMUM (SEASONAL)
- And at the end of the match against the Blazers comes the season high for Fontecchio, with 24 points and 7/8 shooting. “Good work, SIMONEFONTECCHIO” was the message sent to the player on the team account
“TWO MORE POINTS”
- In English this tweet would sound like this, but why not write it directly in Italian?
TAG:
2024-01-17 15:38:41
#NBA #Fontecchios #growth #Utahs #victories #pitch
