By Bilal Baran Yardımcı/ info@eurohoops.net
Shane Larkin compared his recent outings to previous campaigns in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finding his best basketball in current form.
After helping Anadolu Efes secure the win against FC Barcelona, he also talked to Eurohoops about Thursday’s game, the back-to-back double-game weeks in EuroLeague, excelling against Barca, and head coach Erdem Can.
“I think we showed our caliber. What kind of team we can be when we come out, fight, and play aggressively,” he described Round 22 of EuroLeague’s Regular Season and defeating such a strong opponent, “To be fair, this is probably the first game we had a full roster all year.”
“These fans have been very supportive of us for many years. They were just as good today as they were when we won the championships,” Larkin added referring to the support of the crowd in Sinan Erdem Dome, “We just need to continue to grow as a team and continue to have this support. All grow together.”
In a rewind to the back-to-back two-game weeks, the Istanbul outfit managed to snap a seven-game losing streak at the bottom end of the second week by blowing out Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 21. The two-time EuroLeague champion proposed a balanced schedule between home and away games in similar stretches.
“It was challenging,” he told Eurohoops, “In those situations if you want to have two double-weeks in a row, I think all teams should have at least one home game and one away game in both of those double-weeks to make it easier.”
“Some of the best basketball I have played”
The player with the most points in a single game of the modern era of Europe’s premier club continental competition set the specific record in 2019. He went on to be crowned EuroLeague champion in 2021 and 2022. However, Larkin matches the latest showings with his peak.
“I think I understand the game a lot more. I think I can affect the game in more areas now,” he described, “The season that was canceled out, I was playing at a high level, but I mostly scoring the ball, scoring the ball, scoring the ball, and scoring at a high level.”
In the 2023-24 season, he has tallied 18.0 points, 5.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks per contest. Averaging 21.0 in performance index rating per game, he is tied with Mike James in first place.
“I have been able to understand the game more. Read certain defenses instead of forcing the game and trying to score so many times. The defense is trying to take me away from doing specific things. I can try to help my teammates in different ways,” furthered the 31-year-old combo guard.
“I think I am more consistent now. It is not just explosion, just scoring,” added Larkin, “Overall, I am impacting the game on both sides of the floor, offensively and defensively, getting my teammates involved, understanding defenses, finding specific ways to get guys good looks. I think I am understanding the game more, reading the game more, not just using my athleticism and skill to try to dominate one area.”
“I would say in the last 12-13 games, it is probably some of the best basketball I have played,” he concluded.
👀 Geçmiş Larkin vs. Günümüz Larkin:
“Geçmişe göre oyunu çok daha iyi anlıyorum, çok daha fazla alanda etki edebiliyorum. Olgunluk bakımından son birkaç aydaki halimin en iyisi olduğunu düşünüyorum.
Artık sadece ‘skor patlamalarından’ ibaret değilim.”
(via @bilalbyardimci) pic.twitter.com/2udPSONdkw
— Eurohoops Türkiye (@EurohoopsTR) January 19, 2024
The Barcelona deal
Tallying 15 points and eight assists on Thursday, Larkin added yet another solid showing against Barca.
“There is some extra motivation because I did sign a deal with them after my year in Baskonia,” he confirmed to Eurohoops, “It is not like I have anything against them. I still love their club and everything that they have going on over there. It is just a little bit of motivation to say, ‘This is what we could have had together years ago.’ It never worked out. I just want to always play well against them because of that.”
After the 2016-17 season at the team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, he went from the ACB’s Tanteo list to ending up with the Boston Celtics in the NBA. Returning to the Old Continent in 2018, he joined Efes.
Shane Larkin talks about his motivation when playing against Barcelona 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZbOvfsjkPc
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) January 19, 2024
“The criticism of coach is kind of unfair”
Wrapping up the interview, Larkin also talked about coach Can navigating an injury-riddled season.
“I think all the criticism of coach is kind of unfair,” he stressed, “The coach had a specific vision of what he wanted the team to be. It takes time to build that.”
“We were hit with six injuries in two weeks,” recalled the Miami product, “Now we are scrambling, trying to find new players, trying to sign new players, trying to put it all together.”
“Now that we have a full roster and continue to get healthy, we can see what that picture looks like,” he explained to Eurohoops.