By Michalis Gioulenoglou / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos beat ASVEL in EuroLeague Round 4 thanks in large part to Richaun Holmes, improving to 3-1 in the standings..
T.J. Shorts, who finished the game with just four points, four assists, and no made three-pointers in 13 minutes, spoke to Eurohoops after the win about the performance over the Villeurbanne team, his role, Kendrick Nunn and Holmes.
“I don’t know if I could give a rating to my teammates tonight. I definitely wouldn’t say this was our best performance. It’s still very early, and we’re trying to figure out how to play together on both offense and defense. Games like this are important to win, especially at home, but we’re not fully satisfied with our performance tonight.”
About Kendrick Nunn and himself: “It will take time to build chemistry. We see it in practice, in games, and in how much we play together. We talk to each other so that by the end of the season we’ll have found that chemistry, but right now it’s still early. We’re trying to understand each other’s game.”
On Holmes’ performance, he added: “I’m really happy for him—he works extremely hard. Moving from the NBA to Europe is a big step, and he’s still adjusting. This performance will help him even more in the coming games because we know what he’s capable of, and we see his passion in practice.”
On the upcoming game against Anadolu Efes: “It will be a very tough game. Obviously, we have to travel there and find a way to recover in 48 hours. It will be a big battle—they have excellent players and a great coach. We’ll go there to try to make it 2/2.”