Mitrovic on early James' substitution: 'I saw that he was not ready to play' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS - Scanpix

Yesterday, AS Monaco (5-9) suffered their fifth consecutive Turkish Airlines EuroLeague defeat, losing against AX Armani Exchange Milan (9-5).

Player of the Game EFF 20 Kyle Hines Points 11 Accuracy 4-6 Rebounds 6 Assists 3

Mike James tried to participate in the game despite facing problems with a muscle strain. On December 6, Monaco officially announced that the American guard is set to miss approximately 10 days due to the setback.

Four days since the report, the 31-year-old was already on the court. However, Zvezdan Mitrovic let his superstar enjoy the game rhythm only for 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Then, Monaco's head coach benched James while the player was angry regarding this decision. The assistant cooled Mike James off as the 1.85-meter guard did not appear on the floor for the rest of the match.

After the duel, Zvezdan Mitrovic explained his decision, saying Mike was not able to compete in such a high-intensity contest.

"Mike tried to start but I saw that he was not ready to play. I decided to keep him safe for the next game," said the Montenegrin specialist. "Tonight's match was really tough and he did not practice for a whole week with the team. He wanted to play but you could recognize the moving... It was very dangerous for him and I wanted to protect him."

For his part, Mike James tweeted an ambiguous reply to one basketball fan.

"Americans give up everything they got going on at home. They leave the family and try to make a living in a whole other culture. The whole point is basketball and when that isn't right, it doesn't matter if I lived in heaven - I am going to be upset."

James is averaging 13.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 2.4 turnovers, and 13.9 PIR over 14 EuroLeague games this season.

Monaco are sharing 13-17 places with Fenerbahce, Baskonia, and ALBA.

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