Euroleague Preview: Strasbourg v Real Madrid
Unbeaten in 3 matches, Real Madrid will take on winless Strasbourg on matchweek 4 of the Euroleague.
Power forward Nikola Mirotic is leading the way for the Los Blancos, averaging team-high of 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and an impressive 85.7% shooting from beyond the arc.
Real has won their first three games by an average margin of 26.3 points, but coach Pablo Laso is not swayed by the short-term success until after they have met their objective of getting through to the next round.
"Our first goal is making the Top 16. We have played three games, won them, but still didn't make it. Until we accomplish our objective we cannot relax nor get over-confident," Laso told euroleague.net.
While Strasbourg has struggled thus far, Laso is not taking things lightly nor is he underestimating the opposition.
"Strasbourg has players with quality and experience. Greer is a veteran player who has played in many battles, we have Diot, Ajinca," he said.
"They are a team with the capacity and the players to create baskets. They also have good shooters."
In spite of Madrid's form, Strasbourg coach Vincent Collet, however, is not backing down from the daunting task of facing them.
"If we look at the latest results of Madrid, it is almost insurmountable," said Collet.
"The players of Madrid make often significant gaps in the score in a short period of time with a huge defense and a set of very accurate attacks."
Alexis Ajinca, who scored a team-high of 21 points in their last outing, will need the support of his teammates on the offensive end to increase their scoring average of 66.7 per cent.
Strasbourg big men must double their effort to clean the boards as they are only averaging 26.7 rebounds, as opposed to Real's 36.0.
Projected Starters:
Strasbourg: Campbell (PG), Diot (SG), Leloup (SF), Greer (PF), Ajinca (C)
Real Madrid: Llull (PG), Fernandez (SG), Darden (SF), Mirotic (PF), Bourousis (C)
Schedule and Free Live Online Streaming (Link/s will be provided an hour before tip-off):
November 7, 2013 - 5:45 am (AEST)
LINK1 I LINK2
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