The EuroLeague rookie had another exceptional performance in Round 30 as Paris beat Milan
Mr. Inevitable does it again: TJ Shorts keeps adding weight to his MVP case
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Regular Season
Round 30 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Another win for Paris Basketball and another day in the office for TJ Shorts. It sure has been a special rookie season in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for the 27-year-old.
On Tuesday night, Shorts was central to everything good for Paris as it defeated EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 92-79, a result that gave the French team the tiebreaker after previously losing by five points (79-74) in Italy back in Round 2.
Given that both Paris and Milan entered their Round 30 clash with an identical record, and both firmly in the race for the top six, the head-to-head advantage may end up proving crucial.
Now back to Shorts. What he has done this season really is marvelous, with his latest masterpiece seeing him finish with a 24-point, 10-assist double-double, as well as 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block (his second block of the season) and a 37 PIR. It's not just the stats with him, though. It's much more than that.
Few players in the EuroLeague orchestrate things in the way that Shorts does at Paris; he is the heartbeat of this team and the one who makes everything tick. Nor did many, if any, people expect Paris to be where it currently is in the standings before the season got underway, yet that is a testament to the way in which Shorts had led the team.
The discussion around what makes an MVP is heard in all corners of the globe, but strip it down and what does it come down to: If you take X player off Y team, is there a noticeable difference? In the case of Paris and Shorts, that is 100% true. He has elevated this team to new heights, as he reminded everyone once more in Tuesday's must-win game against Milan.
"This was a very important win," Shorts told EuroLeague TV. "We know what the standings look like, we know how tight it is. To win like this at home, it's huge in this league. We'll carry this momentum for the rest of the season."
Whenever Shorts went to the free-throw line, chants of "MVP" echoed down from the stands at Adidas Arena – a regular occurrence this season. Yet, particularly after three straight defeats in the EuroLeague, Paris needed an MVP-level display from its star man and that's exactly what it got.
Not only did Round 30 see Shorts post his fourth double-double in the EuroLeague, but it is the 13th time he has scored 20 points or more. For those keeping count, fellow MVP candidates Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus have reached 20 points on 14 and 12 occasions, respectively, this season, while neither player has dished 10 assists in a game.
For now, Shorts won't care about any of that. He was able to let his hair down after the final buzzer against Milan by celebrating with the Kop of Paname fan group, but he will be well aware that a tough stretch awaits.
Next up for Paris, it faces three straight road games at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Panathinaikos and Real Madrid before seeing out the regular season at home to ALBA Berlin. Should Paris come through that spell of games unscathed and still sitting in the top six, Shorts is going to be a huge reason why.
Who knows, perhaps that could be enough to see Shorts take home the MVP trophy, too.