The reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion is firing on all cylinders at present.
Real Madrid’s offense shows no sign of slowing down
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Real Madrid was expected to be very strong this season after the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion kept nearly its entire core together and added a superstar playmaker like Facu Campazzo. But few likely thought the Spanish powerhouse would be clicking on all cylinders already, just two games into the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.
Real turned a highly anticipated showdown at Anadolu Efes Istanbul into a blowout, winning 80-103 – and that even came after throwing away a 17-point second-quarter lead. The 103 points scored by Real matched its best total on the road since 2015.
A variety of scorers
Guerschon Yabusele set the tone early, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the first quarter. Fabien Causer added 18 points and Campazzo delivered a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists.
Three other Real players scored in double figures as Chus Mateo’s team totaled 22 assists and shot 61.8% on two-pointers and 41.4% on three-pointers.
“We did a good job [of] finding the right guy on offense,” said Yabusele, who made 6-of-7 field goal attempts, including all 3 of his shots from long range. The Frenchman also had 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
The return of Campazzo
Yabusele announced his return to action in Round 1 against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz with an 18-point, 8-rebound night, and he followed that up in the perfect way possible. One of the keys to Real’s success so far, in Yabusele’s opinion, is the way in which Campazzo has helped the team.
“He makes a lot of things easy for us,” added Yabusele. “His passing skills are amazing. His scoring skills, too. He can put the pressure on [opposition defenses] and we just try to follow him. He’s a great leader for us and he makes a big difference to the team.”
Campazzo, however, prefers to keep his feet on the ground: “Stats are for you guys. I don’t like stats. I just try to give my energy and try to make the right decision, the right call. I just want to give everything I have into the game. Sometimes good things happen, sometimes not. I just try to make the right decisions on the court.”
One week after a somewhat underwhelming display at Baskonia, when he had 2 points and 5 assists in 23 minutes on the floor, the 32-year-old was more like the Facu Campazzo that was adored by Real’s fans during his first stint at the club.
Speaking after the win at Efes, Coach Mateo was satisfied with his team’s showing.
“It was a team win. Everybody did their role,” he stated. “We are working good as a team. We shared the ball very well. We want to get our rhythm going. We want to play with a good pace on offense. When we run, we are good. But we need to stop a little bit and play with more discipline.”
More reinforcements on the way
Mateo noted that his side is still a work in progress, as players like Walter Tavares and Gabriel Deck still need to be reincorporated into the team after their respective injuries. Both players made their return to action at Efes, with Tavares playing 17 and a half minutes and Deck seeing 13:41 minutes on the court.
“We will probably play a little bit worse than before. We don’t have a lot of practices, so we need a good spirit,” Mateo commented.
Still, Mateo knows his Real roster wants to work and get better.
“We are competitive and we try our best every game. We are hungry and always want more and more.”
Looking at what Real Madrid did on the road against a strong team like Efes, that could be a scary proposition for the rest of the EuroLeague.