Satoransky reacts to Calathes comments over Saras, feels frustrated about his last play / News - Basketnews.com

Tomas Satoransky states he doesn't feel a lack of freedom under coach Sarunas Jasikevicius.

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Keenan Evans got squeezed between Tomas Satoransky and Rokas Jokubaitis. He tried to kick the ball out, but Arnas Butkevicius fell on the cut, and Evan's pass went nowhere.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Edgaras Ulanovas Points 15 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 7 Assists 2

Cory Higgins stole the ball and started the fastbreak. With less than 10 seconds to play, Barca was down by one and needed a field goal to survive in Kaunas.

Higgins passed to Nicolas Laprovittola, who penetrated and met a rock also known as Rolands Smits in the paint. The Argentinian guard didn't find a gap to score and sent the ball beyond the arc.

Rokas Jokubaitis could have taken the shot. But a 21-year-old point guard saw an open teammate on his left and instantly delivered the ball to the corner.

The ball moves faster than a player, they say. But Ulanovas ran at lightning speed, putting himself in the best situation to contest the shot.

Satoransky hesitated and tried to pump fake, but Ulanovas didn't take the bait. Barcelona guard, with no advantage, paused for a moment and decided to drive by the baseline. But the clock was running down.

Ulanovas perfectly put his body on Satoransky. The Czech tried to pump fake again, but Ulanovas jumped so intelligently that he left no space and, most importantly, no time to take a good shot.

Satoransky desperately threw a ball, but it was touched by Ulanovas and went into the air. The time has expired, 15 146 Zalgiris fans went into euphoria, and Satoransky grabbed his head. Zalgiris won 73-72.

"Obviously, I would shoot it," Satoransky shook his head, recalling the last play when he hesitated to take the three.

Satoransky was 2 of 5 that night and 3 of 5 prior to the game in Kaunas this EuroLeague season.

"It's tough. It happened in one second. I felt Ulanovas was running at me, and I thought I could get him on the air," Satoransky analyzed the play on BasketNews. "But Ulanovas made a hell of a defense. But it was pretty clear I had to shoot it."

Tomas Satoransky

Team:FC BarcelonaPosition:PG, SGAge:30Height:200 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:Prague, Czech RepublicProfileNewsStatistics

Jokubaitis, who was 2 of 3 from three and played almost an entire fourth quarter, was in a good momentum to take that shot. Maybe Satoransky didn't expect to get that pass?

"Typical last play. We got the steal from good defense, everybody was running, and everything happened quickly. But obviously, I'm frustrated I didn't take that shot. Though I don't think we lost the game there," Satoransky pointed out.

"The first half was definitely bad. We knew how they were going to play, and it happened. Their offensive rebounding and their switching defense did a lot of trouble for us," Satoransky said.

Zalgiris had 14 offensive boards and converted it to 17 second-chance points. Hosts also scored 22 points off Barca's turnovers, forcing guests to season-high 16 lost balls.

"When they put a big lineup out there, they're really physical. Not just tall but also strong. They feel like they have an advantage on 2 and 3 positions, and with two shooting big guards, that's a tough lineup to guard," Satoransky explained.

"We matched the intensity, and from the third quarter, that was a back-and-forth game. We just really weren't able to find more advantages. They're a very physical and strong team.

I think we needed to run a bit more and push the ball to get fouls when they were in the bonus, shoot some threes, and get free points from the three-point line. Because they're really good with their half-court defense. They're in the paint a lot, and it's really difficult with their size," added the Czech basketball star.

Barcelona is 2-2 after Round 4, but there are 30 more games to play in the regular season.

However, Satoransky will need to make (and take) those clutch shots to silence some doubters who were questioning Sarunas Jasikevicius' decision to bring him instead of Calathes from the beginning.

As one of the best passers in the league, Calathes not only left big shoes to fill but also threw some remarks over Jasikevicius' philosophy spicing things up.

"As a player, you want to have some freedom. I'm not 20 years old, I know how to play," Calathes said in an interview with S Sport. "I think over there, it was more of a system. Saras controlled it more. I think here, coach Itoudis gives players freedom, gives players things to do on the court. But he also has a lot of confidence in you, believes in you, and lets you control the game."

"Obviously, there are some times when he will stop the game and do the things that he wants to do, but he understands we are a lot of veteran players and what we can do," the guard continued. "As a player, you get the best out of a player when you let him play."

Satoransky affirmed he doesn't feel any lack of freedom in Barcelona.

"For me, it was important to get back to European basketball where the head coach has this kind of role. I have values for that because I grew up in Europe and played under great coaches. In the NBA, you kind of miss being coached during games and all that. It always brings good out of me," Satoransky commented on his decision to play for Sarunas Jasikevicius team.

"I'm here only one month, and I'm still getting to know him (Jasikevicius) a little bit on the court," Satoransky continued. "But we talked about it, and I don't feel like I lack freedom. He wants me to be aggressive all the time. It's great to listen to him because he was a point guard. It's always good to see how he saw things on the court and to listen to him. But I don't think I lack freedom. Definitely, not."

In four EuroLeague games, Satoransky averaged 9.0 points (2FG: 60%; 3FG: 50%), 4.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 14.8 PIR. A 30-year-old leads his team by efficiency and has the third-best +/-.

"I'm very happy to be in the club," Satoransky defined his first month in Barcelona.

"I think we have a really good team. We still need to improve a lot, and EuroLeague is very competitive. Especially for teams that are a little bit new. But it's like my home, so I'm super excited just to be here and work toward our goals. It's getting quick.

After the EuroBasket, I went there and had a problem with my ankle. Now I start feeling much better. In this basketball, when it starts, it never stops... But we definitely need to get better to be higher in the standings," Satoransky concluded.

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