Monaco vs. ASVEL: David and Goliath battle in French Derby
The story for the two French clubs in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague could not be more different heading into the fourth-ever edition of the French Derby this Friday evening (19:00 CET), as AS Monaco is fifth in the standings with a record of 14-9 while LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne finds itself in 17th after going 8-15 through the first 23 rounds.
Monaco has its sights set on the playoffs, whereas ASVEL is four games back of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in eighth. Yet, as is often the case in derbies, form tends to go out of the window in these big clashes between two teams that know each other so well.
The first meeting between Monaco and ASVEL this season at the Astroballe resulted in Sasa Obradovic's side grabbing a 75-84 road win, with Mike James and Donatas Motiejunas scoring 17 points apiece. That victory meant that Monaco had won both of its EuroLeague games at ASVEL's home since arriving in the competition in 2021.
However, when Monaco welcomed ASVEL to Salle Gaston Medecin in November 2021, William Howard's half-court heave in the final seconds of the game saw ASVEL grab a famous win. The road team has won in each of the three French derbies that have taken place, so will Monaco be able to break that streak this Friday or will ASVEL keep that run going?
Nevertheless, Monaco has had ASVEL's number this season. In addition to its victory in Round 11, Monaco has also beaten ASVEL in both of their domestic matchups in 2022-23, winning 97-78 at home in early December before grabbing a 63-72 triumph on January 29. In this battle of David (ASVEL) vs. Goliath (Monaco), it is certainly Goliath that has had the upper hand so far.
"Even if we have not beaten them since the beginning of the season, we must not approach this game fearing Monaco," stated ASVEL head coach TJ Parker in the lead-up to Friday's game. "We must focus on us, on what we have to do to play eye to eye with them. When we put the necessary intensity from the beginning of games, we do great things. We must reproduce this all the time. We have 12 players to use; we have to be able to trust and use everyone."
The positive news for ASVEL is that its only absentee is Joffrey Lauvergne, who has been out of action since suffering an injury in Round 4. While the odds are stacked against the team from Lyon, one player who will be particularly eager to show what he can do against Monaco is Dee Bost, who joined ASVEL ahead of Round 20 but became a 7DAYS EuroCup champion with Roca Team in 2021.
Bost had a 5-point outing in a road win at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on his debut, but since then he has averaged 11.7 points over the next three games. Back at his former home in Round 24, he has the opportunity to lead ASVEL to a famous win, just like it achieved last year. Together with legendary French guard Nando De Colo, they have the potential to cause plenty of problems for Monaco.
On the other side of things, Monaco has plenty of star talent that will no doubt be looking to dominate the spotlight. The team's guard trio of James, ex-ASVEL man Elie Okobo and Jordan Loyd are becoming more accustomed to playing alongside each other with each passing game, and that spells bad news for ASVEL.
While James is Monaco's star and has put himself firmly in the race to be named the EuroLeague MVP at the end of the season with some stellar performances, having averaged 20.3 points and 5.7 assists per game since Round 18, Okobo has ably supported him in recent weeks by increasing his scoring output, averaging 15.7 points in the last three contests. Last time out, against Real Madrid, James paced Monaco with 23 points, with Okobo adding 16.
When Monaco and ASVEL first met in the EuroLeague in Round 11, though, it was Loyd and not Okobo who joined James in double figures. Loyd finished with 11 points while Okobo only managed 5 on his first trip back to the Astroballe.
However, in Round 12, Loyd suffered a severe facial injury against Real Madrid and only made his full return in Round 20, having played just 1:04 against Milan in Round 15. Despite going scoreless in his first game back – on the road at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul – he followed that up with 11 points and 12 points against Milan and ALBA Berlin, respectively, before scoring just 4 points at home to Real last Friday night. Loyd will be looking to get back on track against ASVEL in the French Derby.
Monaco ended up losing that game to Real, ending a four-game home unbeaten streak in the process, but if it is to get home-court advantage in the playoffs, it needs to be beating a struggling team like ASVEL. The visitors, meanwhile, come into this contest on the back of two defeats in the latest double-round week to Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, so responding in the right manner will be crucial.
On paper, it would be facile to suggest that Monaco is the overwhelming favorite. Yet, this is a derby and anything could happen. Make sure to tune in from 19:00 CET to see the fourth-ever edition of the French Derby!