By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos secured a victory in the first game at SUNEL Arena, defeating Anadolu Efes 89-66 in the fourth round of the EuroLeague.
Efes traveled to Athens without their best player, Mike James, who is expected to be out for 7 to 9 months due to a torn Achilles tendon sustained during an away game against Crvena Zvezda.
Nevertheless, after the match, Efes coach Pablo Laso emphasized that his team must get used to playing without James and that it should not be an excuse for their defeat.
“Psychologically, this is certainly something we have to swallow. We need to understand and accept that Mike James isn’t going to come back. This is a very significant loss for the organization, the team and his teammates. Losing such a player, especially at the beginning of the season when you are trying to establish your system of play, is naturally a major blow.”
Laso continued:
“But we cannot think, ‘Okay, everything is finished.’ That would be very stupid. It would be very wrong for me to come here and say, ‘We lost Mike, so this defeat is normal.’ That is not how I think. I have to be critical of my players.”
Stating that Efes would have to become a different team from now on, Laso said:
“We will be without a very important player. But we have to become a better basketball team than the one we showed on the court today.”
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