Jasikevicius reflects on Barca's highs and lows, names Mirotic's biggest improvement / News - Basketnews.com

In an interview with SPORT, Sarunas Jasikevicius made the overall appraisal of the year 2022 for Barcelona. The Lithuanian coach expressed his wishes ahead of 2023 and referred to Nikola Mirotic's impact on the team.

Credit: Aitor Arrizabalaga/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Aitor Arrizabalaga/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Sarunas Jasikevicius is celebrating his third Christmas holiday as coach of FC Barcelona. The Lithuanian coach lives with the rest of his players a saturated calendar in a period where most people take time off.

FC Barcelona / Schedule

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade FC Barcelona94-99 FC Barcelona Virtus Segafredo BolognaThu19:30

As both the ACB and the EuroLeague include non-stop games, Barca are trying to reach the decisive stretch of the season in the best possible way.

The numbers indicate that in 2022, the Catalan side fought until the very end in all the competitions played. They won the Copa del Rey in Granada, lifting their fourth cup title in five years, before coming up short in both the EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade and in the ACB League Finals. On both occasions, it was Real Madrid who did not allow Barcelona and Jasikevicius to amplify their trophy case.

"In general terms, I am satisfied," the Kaunas-born coach told Catalan outlet SPORT in a recent interview.

"What happens is that results and titles rule at Barca, and the two that hurt me a lot were the Final Four and then the ACB. We didn't finish last season in the best way, and despite the fact that we spent more than eight months at a high level, we couldn't finish it off. Looking at the entire season we have to be satisfied, but the club needs results, and we didn't get them," Jasikevicius pointed out.

The 46-year-old tactician reflected on the year's best and worst moments. In terms of the latter, he mentioned the Final Four in Belgrade.

"We arrived at a good timing, we had the semifinal game against Real Madrid on track, but we lost control."

By comparison, Saras' happiest moment was in Granada, where Barca won the second consecutive Copa del Rey. "It was the importance of winning a title, and the way it was achieved, with us being almost 20 points behind on the scoreboard."

Points this season

49%80,6Points made:80,6Accuracy:49,0%Place in standings:11Record max:99Record min:69Best scorer:Nicolas LaprovittolaTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Despite not being able to start the season, Nikola Mirotic has already joined the rest of the team. The Montenegrin forward, EuroLeague's MVP in 2022, has already made his presence felt.

Jasikevicius thinks Mirotic needs to get well physically, first and foremost.

"For him, these first games and moments are like a preseason," the Lithuanian expert commented. Saras expects his star player to "repeat what he achieved last year in which he had a phenomenal season- and not only because of his individual performance, but also by making other players better within our system."

Saras emphasized that Mirotic's impact is manifest not in his great numbers and scoring/PIR averages, but in how he helped Barcelona obtain results.

"That's what's truly important to me as a coach, and he also achieved it by doing his numbers and being important. I think a few years ago he didn't do that," he underlined.

The next EuroLeague Final Four will be played in Kaunas, Jasikevicius' hometown. Saras guided his beloved Zalgiris to EuroLeague's flagship event in 2018 and also won the title in 2003 with Barcelona.

Asked about what he would say to all the Barca fans who dream of winning a third EuroLeague trophy, Jasikevicius replied:

"That we also have the same dream. It's the biggest goal that everyone has, but at the moment it's quite far away. The teams that improve during the season are the ones that manage to get there in the best form. That progression should be our top objective right now, especially on a physical level due to the large number of injuries we've had and also in terms of pace."

Sarunas Jasikevicius has several wishes ahead of 2023, which aren't exclusively basketball or sport-related.

"At the family level, I always want my people to be healthy.

On a global level, we have to think about the Ukrainian War and be aware that it's happening quite close to here and that it must stop now because people are dying.

And in terms of sports, people normally value titles, and I hope we can reach important events in the best possible way, and finish them off," he concluded.

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