He Real Madrid moves steadily towards the revalidation of the title of Euroleague. In the coming weeks, the European competition will experience the qualifying rounds prior to the Final Four in May, in which the new continental champion will be known. For now, the team Chus Mateo It has been, by far, the most reliable and most difficult team to beat.
Last night, just as happened last season, The white team put out the ‘Serbian hell’ by beating Partizan by a comfortable 76-88 which certified the 25th win in 31 games of a Madrid and that, in passing, sealed the first position in the regular season, a ‘factor’ with two sides since the Euroleague established the current format: The first classified has always played in the Final Four, but has never managed to win the title. A new challenge for a Real Madrid that has already won the Super Cup and Copa del Rey this season.
Despite the fact that Partizan was risking their lives, searching, practically in desperation, for the last place that gives them the right to play in the ‘Play-In’, the white team once again exhibited muscle and offensive talent, and in the third quarter they were able to score 35 points.
Hezonja’s fantastic week in Euroleague
Much of that success in attack once again featured Mario Hezonja. After scoring 22 points capitals last Tuesday in the victory in Berlin before Alba for 79-86 In a match more difficult than expected, the Croatian player went to the 25 points, with an excellent 5 of 6 from the triple line. He also captured 6 rebounds and distributed 4 assists to add 33 rating credits. With him on the court, +20 for his team in the +/- section.
Mario Hezonja has completed a great week in the Euroleague with Real Madrid / EFE
One of the great performances of the course
The 25 points scored by Hezonja at Stark Arena are his third best mark of the season in Euroleague, only surpassed by the 31 scored against Anadolu Efes in a match that had 4 overtimes, and the 26 converted against Alba Berlin in the first round match. After his double performance this week, the Croatian has raised his socks to the 13.6 points per game, being the 15th best scorer in the competition, and the top scorer on his team.
Euroleague MVP?
Unless Hezonja drops his performance excessively in these three remaining games and in the playoff prior to the Final Four, The race for the ‘MVP’ of the season seems to point to a head-to-head between him and Mike James, whose campaign is also being excellent, with an average of 19 points per game, and with the feat of having become the all-time leading scorer in the competition.
The dilemma with your future
With Mario Hezonja, on a sporting level, everything is joy, but The Croatian’s contractual situation does not escape anyone, And to this feeling of enjoyment on the part of the white fans, we begin to add, more and more, that of a certain nostalgia and resignation when seeing that, today, it seems that the player is facing the final stretch of his time with Real Madrid.
Hezonja arrived in the summer of 2022 from UNICS Kazan, in a coup de effect when incorporating one of the greatest talents trained in the Barça youth team that ‘passed’ on him on his return to Europe, after putting aside his time in the NBA.
Hezonja destroys the unbelievers
The Croatian’s career, until his arrival in Madrid, had had more shadows than lights. In the American League, Hezonja never met the high expectations generated by a number five in the draft, selected by the Orlando Magic in 2015. After his time at a Panathinaikos team in ‘crisis’ and for the Russian team, it remained to be seen what version ‘Super Mario’ could offer in a team of the category of Real Madrid, with the roles so established and with a dressing room with weight and experience on the continent. And Hezonja has dispelled the doubts, confirming himself as one of the best players in the Euroleague.
Hezonja’s ‘pumpkins’ to Madrid
‘Marca’ pointed out in recent weeks that so far this season, Hezonja has rejected several renewal offers by a Real Madrid that this summer also sees its contract end Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, Fabien Causeur, Edy Tavares and Vincent Poirier. The same information indicates that Panathinaikos bid hard for his return, offering him a contract for three seasons at a rate of two million euros net for each of them. The economic policy of the white team aims to not exceed the a million and a half clean per campaign, except for one Facundo Campazzo which is close to both, well below its real cachet, but with the ‘handicap’ of continuing to pay its exit clause to the NBA, executed in 2020.
Mario Hezonja, in the victory against Partizán / EFE
A strategy that can be expensive
The white club seems not to want to break this salary balance, a strategy that in the long run could be very expensive, with both Hezonja and Tavares this summer, and with Dzanan Musa who ends his contract in 2025, but who must also be paid accordingly. The Croatian’s economic requests are more than legal seeing that Kevin Punter earns 2.6 million net dollars per season, Willy and Juancho Hernangómez 2.2 and 2.1, respectively, or two million clean that they pocket Nicolo Melli or Will Clyburn, or that they had signed at the beginning of the season Kevin Pangos in Milan and Shabazz Napier in Red Star. All these figures were revealed by the ‘Eurohoops’ portal.
The relationship with the cold, white dome
The player has thrown out balls about his future and has stated that he is very focused on this final stretch of the season. ‘Marca’ also pointed out that after Hezonja’s ‘pumpkins’ to the white renovation proposals, The relationship with the leaders of the section has cooled considerably, and part of the fans are already beginning to question whether the decision is irreversible, or whether, unfortunately, They are experiencing Hezonja’s last functions as a Real Madrid player.
2024-03-22 09:53:48
#Madrids #stinginess #Hezonja #expensive
