The duel between two of last season's Final Four teams will also complete the first half of the regular season.
Monaco hosts Barca in 2023's last EuroLeague game
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Salle Gaston Medecin is already sold out to see this highly-anticipated showdown between AS Monaco and FC Barcelona on Friday. It is the first game between these teams since last season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
Barca is undefeated in Monaco
Monaco and Barca lost in the EuroLeague semifinals last season against Olympiacos Piraeus and Real Madrid, respectively. It was Monaco's first-ever Final Four appearance. For Barca, it was the third consecutive Final Four after having not qualified since 2014. In the Third Place Game, Monaco topped Barca 78-66 behind 15 points from Matthew Strazel.
Before that game, Barca had dominated Monaco the last couple of seasons, winning all four regular season games. They met for the first time on October 15, 2021. Barca edged Monaco 81-85 on the road behind 27 points from Brandon Davies, who was playing against his former team. Last season, Barca beat Monaco at Salle Gaston Medecin, 63-69, to remain undefeated in this building. Nikola Mirotic led the way with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Mike James's struggles against Barca
Mike James has a 5-10 career record against Barcelona, including losing 10 of his last 13 games. Barca recorded five consecutive road victories against James's teams over the last six years. Added to its two wins in Monaco, Barca beat CSKA Moscow twice in the Russian capital and defeated EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 85-90 on January 9, 2019. James's last home win against Barca was with Panathinaikos Athens, 71-65, on January 24, 2017. He had 10 points and a PIR of 9 in over 28 minutes that night.
Statistically speaking, James is one of the best players in competition history, with averages of 16.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and a PIR of 16.6 in 259 EuroLeague career games. He has struggled a bit against Barca, though. His career-best effort against Barca is 20 points with Milan in an 85-90 home loss at Mediolanum Forum. In 15 games against Barca, James has averaged 12.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a PIR of 13.6, making just 17 of 65 three-point shots (26.2% 3FG). All those numbers are below his career averages.
Telling numbers
Both teams have different basketball brands and whoever excels in what it usually does well should have a better chance to win the game. Monaco leads the 2023-24 EuroLeague fewest turnovers committed with just 9.9 per game and no team has registered double-digits in steals against it. Entering Round 17, It ranked fourth in offensive rebounds with 11.6 per night, second in fouls drawn (21.1 per game) and fourth in free throws made (241). As such, keeping its trademark aggressiveness should be critical in this difficult game.
Barca is more of an offensive-minded team, ranking fourth in scoring (83.2 ppg.), assists (19.3 apg.) and defensive rebounds (24.9 drpg.). Barca is also fourth in two-point shooting (56.4%) and fifth in three-pointers (37.4%), generally shooting the ball better than Monaco (51.1% 2FG, 35.8% 3FG). Barca, however, is last in free throw percentage (73.5%), which could be an issue in a close game. Surprisingly, James is Monaco's leading rebounder (4.4 rpg.) and Tomas Satoransky (4.5 rpg.) is right behind Willy Hernangomez (4.6 rpg.) and Jabari Parker (4.6 rpg.). Controlling the boards should be the biggest key to this exciting showdown.
Two of the best four teams from last season meet for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign, trying to finish the year with a prestigious win. What's not to like? Tune in on Friday at 21:00 for the final EuroLeague game of 2023!