Pablo Laso expresses concern over EuroLeague expansion, names Obradovic's biggest virtue / News - Basketnews.com

Pablo Laso took stock of his first season at Bayern's helm, described his relationship with Zeljko Obradovic, and revealed the position Vladimir Lucic is intended for. He also opined on a potential EuroLeague expansion that would increase the number of games.

Credit: Mladen Lackovic/LakoPress - Scanpix Credit Mladen Lackovic/LakoPress - Scanpix

FC Bayern Munich's chances to make the EuroLeague play-in tournament have been reduced to merely theoretical, as the Bavarian side presents a feeble 10-15 record that doesn't leave much room for optimism and hope. Hence, visiting Partizan Mozzart Bet, who are currently placed 10th, makes for another challenge.

FC Bayern Munich / Schedule

FC Bayern Munich Olympiacos Piraeus72-76 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade FC Bayern MunichThu19:30

"Partizan is without a doubt one of the toughest away matches you can have in Europe, because the atmosphere created by the fans is fantastic. They really support their team," coach Pablo Laso commented on Thursday's contest.

It is clear to the Spanish expert that it will not be easy for his team to win in a packed Belgrade Arena, but he knows the closest way to victory.

"At Partizan, they want to continue what they did last season, which was great for them. In order to win, we have to show our best basketball and ignore the atmosphere. Also, now we don't need to think anymore about the games we lost down the stretch, which prevented us from being better placed in the table. The situation is as it is and we still have a chance," he said.

"For me, Belgrade has always been the city of basketball. I remember the games in Pionir against Partizan and Crvena zvezda, I always thought about how great the atmosphere was. It's even better in the Belgrade Arena," Laso argued in an interview with Mozzart Sport's Nikola Stojkovic.

Laso is certain that Zeljko Obradovic's return can guarantee that better days will come for Partizan.

"He's a very smart man and he used everything we talked about to build additional stability that the club enjoys," the Spaniard said.

"He created a special culture and Partizan now lives in a good situation, which can last for years. Now he has everything he needs to continue on a winning path."

Laso defined Bayern's primary goal which will be decided later on this month.

3-pointers this season

36%9,9Points made:9,9Accuracy:35,6%Place in standings:4Record max:15Record min:5Most made 3FGs:Andreas ObstTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"In a few weeks, we are playing in the final tournament of the German cup, a competition that we have targeted since the beginning of the season as something we want to win. Since we are playing the final in Munich, we have high expectations.

As for the championship, we should we all have a little time to understand the dynamics of the competition. Now we are on a winning streak which shows that we understand the competition."

Bayern have an ambitious project, as the new hall (SAP Garden with 12,500 seats approximately) will soon become functional. It's clear that the basketball section wants to follow the path of the soccer team that's placed at the top of the food chain.

"I knew from the first day that this would be a difficult year for all of us, a year of adjustment, while we had a lot of injured players and national team members. Plus, we bet on guys who don't have much experience in Europe. It's up to us to defend a big brand like Bayern Munich, which has been successful in football for years."

Laso thinks his adjustment to the club and vice-versa will only come with the passage of time.

"Of course there are many things that must be taken care of," he stresed.

"Does this mean that from the first day you will be on the same wavelength with the people in the club and agree on everything? No. That's normal. Bayern have to adapt to Pablo Laso, just like Pablo Laso has to adapt to Bayern. Everything I saw when I signed the contract, the idea, the project, the team and the perspective, how far we can go, everything is still there."

However, there is something that every coach doesn't forget. It's the transient nature of the coaching profession which is reflected in (EuroLeague) teams' tendency to replace their tacticians whenever things go south.

"It is something that none of us can and will not forget and it is simply our duty to accept it as a fact," Laso said.

Credit AFP-Scanpix

"This does not mean that my ideas change. They are always the same and clear. Maybe a player has a different idea and therefore changes the club, which has happened to me before, but it is normal to accept that the rules of basketball and sports in general are like that.

These aren't the times of Sir Alex Ferguson anymore, who spent almost 30 years at Manchester United. Coaches change more often now, as well as players, it's all part of the business."

In the mid-90s, Laso was Zeljko Obradovic's player at Real Madrid. Over the past decade, the two of them have faced off in numerous outings. However, as the Spanish coach joked, they've both scored the same number of points in those games: zero.

"Does that mean that Zeljko is not the master?" he wondered.

"He is the one, he is the master. He showed it in time. Every practice I had with him in Madrid was like a small school of a great master. If I were to talk about him now, I wouldn't look at him as a coach, but as a friend. I am very proud of that. Whenever I come to Belgrade, I invite him and we go out to dinner. Of course, we will talk about basketball, but we do it as friends, which is very important," he added.

Laso named Obradovic's greatest value as a coach, mentioning that the 63-year-old legend "accurately recognizes the talent of his players and knows how to put it all together in a quality team."

Since Vladimir Lucic finished his long recovery from injury and has returned to action, Laso has been content with having the team's captain back.

"We can't look at things like he's back and now we automatically expect to win everything, give every ball to him and him to make every shot for us to win. No, that's not how it works. We have to get him into rhythm and show how much we believe in him," he explained.

Laso and Lucic share a special level of communication. When the two-time EuroLeague winner came to Bayern, he reached out to the Serbian forward and told him the position he was going to play from that point on.

"'Vladimir, that funny story that you are a '4' is over. You will play in your position'. Why? Because in my opinion, Vladimit is a pure '3'. Of course, he can be a '4' and any other position on the court, because he is a fighter and will always do everything for the team to win," Laso said.

"But his natural position is the '3' and I believe that is where he is most comfortable at, that we can get a lot of good things defensively, offensively, everything that's needed for the team."

Credit IMAGO/sportworld - Scanpix

Asked about thespeculation about the entry of Dubai, London and Paris, which inevitably leads to the expansion of the competition and probably to an even greater number of games, Laso appeared skeptical.

"We're already in a situation where guys play almost 100 games a year," he pointed out.

"That's not normal. If you have 365 days and 100 games in a year, that means a game is played every three days. I'm worried about whether the basketball players, as the main actors of this story, are ready to deal with it. They don't have time for rest and for practice, and I don't know if it's a good solution for basketball to add more games to this kind of calendar," he continued.

"Of course, people are looking for a show; but maybe I'm a romantic, so I want that show to be really good. It's hard to balance everything, because you want to give the show to people, but also to make it good."

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.