Anadolu Efes Istanbul seeks a third consecutive victory tonight against AS Monaco, which is on a three-game road losing streak.
Efes and Monaco meet in big scorers' battle
Artículo
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 23 of 34
Regular Season
Anadolu Efes IstanbulEFS
7880
AS MonacoASM
Overview
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In its almost three seasons in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Anadolu Efes Istanbul has been an uncomfortable opponent for AS Monaco, especially in Istanbul. Monaco is still looking for its first-ever victory at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. Last season, Efes did not find much trouble beating Monaco 87-72 in the teams' regular-season finale. Tibor Pleiss led Efes with season-highs of 21 points, 12 rebounds and a PIR of 25.
More than a year earlier, on November 19, 2021, Efes and Monaco faced each other for the first time. Efes thrashed Monaco 98-77, as Rodrigue Beaubois led five scorers players in double digits with 17 points in addition to 7 assists for a PIR of 24.
Efes and Monaco already faced each other in Round 8 earlier this season. Efes beat Monaco 82-89 at Salle Gaston Medecin and led for the final 26 minutes of the game. Mike James and Alpha Diallo rallied Monaco to 82-85 with over a minute left but Shane Larkin buried a contested rainbow jumper over Diallo that sealed the outcome down the stretch. Larkin led the winners with 25 points while Beaubois added 21. Jordan Loyd had 19 points for Monaco. It was one of just two Efes road wins so far this season: the other one was against ALBA Berlin in early December.
Larkin vs. James: What's not to like?
The game brings a stellar matchup by two of the best combo guards in recent EuroLeague history. James is the competition's leading scorer (19.3 ppg.) and PIR leader (21.5) this season. He is also seventh in assists (5.5 apg.). Larkin ranks third in scoring (18.0 ppg.), ninth in assists (5.5 apg.) and second in PIR (21.0). Larkin is a two-time champion with Efes, as the cornerstone of one of the best teams European basketball has ever seen. James is on track to become the EuroLeague's all-time leading scorer very soon. He is 108 points away from first place and it looks like it is only a matter of time until he passes Vassilis Spanoulis and Nando De Colo.
It is unlikely that James and Larkin will see a lot of playing time against each other, as Efes and Monaco will use their best defensive weapons against the opponent's superstar. James should see a lot of playing time against Darius Thompson and Beaubouis, while Larkin is set to face Loyd and Yak Ouattara. James has kind of struggled against Efes since he joined Monaco, averaging 12.5 points on 3-of-13 three-point shooting in four games. Larkin has been up and down, getting 25 points and a PIR of 25 in this season's road victory, but also was held scoreless and had a PIR of -6 in a 102-80 road loss against Monaco on March 11, 2022. Larkin only had one other scoreless game in 206 appearances in the competition. This time, both Larkin and James arrive in great shape, and a monster performance is not out of the question.
Efes's resurgence
Efes snapped a seven-game losing streak recently, getting a couple of no-doubt-about-it road wins in which everything clicked. First, Efes brought back some injured players. Tibor Pleiss returned to action in great shape. He averaged 5.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and a PIR of 4.4 before the injury and has boosted his numbers to 12.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and a PIR of 12.2 in the last five games. Rodrigue Beaubois, Tyrique Jones and Will Clyburn also came back and that has allowed Efes to be more competitive. Efes signed Mike Daum and Dan Oturu, gaining much-needed frontcourt depth.
Pleiss is not the only player to step up lately. Thompson had 26 points and a PIR of 31 in his team's Round 21 victory over Virtus Segafredo Bologna. Elijah Bryant has been worth 13.0 points, 5.8 points, 3.8 assists and a PIR of 18.8 in the last five games. In the last two games, Efes has averaged 98.5 points on solid shooting percentages (61.1% 2FG, 43.5% 3FG), 21.0 assists, 8.0 steals, 8.5 turnovers and a PIR of 124.5, much better numbers than its season averages (84.9 ppg., 56.4% 2FG, 34.7% 3FG, 6.8 spg., 11.0 TO, 94.9 PIR). More depth, a healthy roster and stars stepping up have made Efes more competitive and this game against Monaco is another strong test for Coach Erdem Can's team.
All eyes will be on Larkin and James, but there is a lot more to this outstanding game. Tune in at 18:30 CET on Friday and grab some snacks!