Pablo Laso: 'Maccabi are in their best moment of season; we must prepare for war' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: imago images/PanoramiC - Scanpix Credit imago images/PanoramiC - Scanpix

The head coach of Real Madrid, Pablo Laso, spoke to Spanish media ahead of the EuroLeague playoffs series against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

The 54-year-old specialist highlighted the superb form of the Israeli champs, declaring that Real's opponents are in the best shape as a team this season.

"We are in the most difficult moment of the season and my team knows it, so in this sense, I am calm. We are going to play a series against a great team, having home-court advantage. It's our intention to keep it.

Maccabi have very creative players in one-on-one situations. They have achieved their best version as a team now. They arrive at a great moment. It is a very dangerous team because of their confidence in attack," Laso stressed, via Mundo Deportivo.

According to the coach, Maccabi have 6-7 players, who carry all the team's weight on their shoulders.

"Maccabi are intelligent. Wilbekin, Evans, and Nunnally are very important for them. Maccabi are based on 6-7 players but the others do a good job. We must prepare for a war," Pablo Laso was straightforward.

Talking about his own squad, the Spanish mastermind did not lack belief in his 12-man roster.

"I have a lot of confidence in my team in terms of basketball. The mental aspect is the most difficult one, because each player has to put his problems aside in some way," he observed.

The coach also confirmed that the only absentee for the upcoming match is Gabriel Deck, who tested positive for COVID-19 this Monday.

"The only missing player is Deck. Hanga and Taylor have trained on Tuesday. I count on all the others, including Thompkins and Heurtel. Tomorrow we will decide who plays," he finished.

Real-Maccabi playoffs series begin tomorrow at WiZink Center. Game 1 starts at 21:00 CET.

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