Ataman on Elijah Bryant: 'It is not easy to come into a championship team and adapt quickly' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Aykut Akici/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Aykut Akici/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

In front of a jubilant crowd in Istanbul, Anadolu Efes won a big game against Real Madrid (93-90), which was crucial on their quest for 4th place and home-court advantage in the EuroLeague standings.

Player of the Game EFF 29 Vasilije Micic Points 29 Accuracy 9-17 Rebounds 3 Assists 6

Rallying back from 13 points deficit and defending the last ball, Efes kept their undefeated status at home since they lost against Barcelona at the beginning of December.

"It was a really difficult game for us because Real Madrid successfully put out our strategy in the first half," said Ergin Ataman.

"We did not find our aggressiveness in offense, their switching defense was effective. We tried to attack with our guts to their bigs but missed all shots."

They used a defensive strategy similar to last year's playoff matchup. They even matched their bigs with our guards; Micic-Larkin pick and rolls, Walter Tavares made 3 blocks on the layups," Ataman continued.

But as we saw many other times throughout this season or the previous years, Efes' roster depth and quality provided some makeshift solutions behind the leadership of Vasilje Micic (29 points, 6 assists), Shane Larkin (12 points), and Adrien Moerman (18 points, 4/5 threes).

"In the second half, we improved our defense and started playing more aggressively on their guards. In the offense, the most important thing was Micic's great game tonight. But after the 25th minute, Larkin also came back to the game.

He started to open Real Madrid's defense. He found Moerman for important shots. Last quarter we also found our defense and came back to the game," Ataman said.

In addition to all the usual suspects of Efes game savers, Elijah Bryant did not have much time to show his qualities yet as an ex-Maccabi and ex-Milwaukee Bucks player with an NBA title.

Points this season

48%83,1Points made:83,1Accuracy:47,8%Place in standings:3Record max:109Record min:67Best scorer:Vasilije MicicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

But not only Bryant's crucial 3-pointer with 2 minutes remaining was a turning point of the game, but his defensive effort also helped Anadolu Efes to shut down the opponent in the last minutes.

"Elijah Bryant was a player who had 10 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. It is not an easy thing to come into a championship team and adapt to its system right away. The first player in his position was Krunoslav Simon, but Simon was injured. He played well against Zalgiris. Bryant's quality is well-known," Ataman praised the American.

Lastly, Ataman also opened up about Chris Singleton's injury.

"He had a problem in his finger, a capsule tear, and cannot hold the ball right now. It is not a major thing, but he probably won't be able to play on Thursday as well."

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