By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
On paper, this looks like a David vs Goliath kind of game, as Real Madrid will visit ASVEL on the road in France for the EuroLeague Round 17. Chus Mateo’s team, reigning champions of the competition, are currently 1st alone with a 15-1 record, while Gianmarco Pozzecco’s side is at the bottom at 2-14.
However, visiting the French side in the newest LDLC Arena, the Spanish head coach will have to make some adjustments to his rotations, especially in the power forward position.
With Guerschon Yabusele – ex of this encounter, having played with ASVEL from February 2020 to the end of the 2020-21 season – already out since the EuroLeague Round 9 win against AS Monaco, three more players are added to the absences list: Mario Hezonja, Gabriel Deck, and Rudy Fernandez.
Chus Mateo’s words – reported by MARCA – before the International appointment warned about the issue. “There are significant losses and we are going to notice it. We have physical problems that will have to be solved among the rest. I hope they don’t last too long, but we will be without some of them for some time. We will have to do it not so much from memory as we have been doing”, he commented.
Considering most of the frontline players are out, this could be the perfect opportunity for Eli John Ndiaye to maximize his minutes as a power forward against ASVEL. So far this season, the 19-year-old player has spent 12:23 minutes per game on the court, averaging 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague