Nigel Hayes-Davis recalls Dirk's routine, sets Fenerbahce's priorities in Game 3 / News - Basketnews.com
Before Fenerbahce takes on Olympiacos in Game 3 of the playoff series, Nigel Hayes-Davis talks to BasketNews about his workout routine that dates back to New York and Dirk Nowitzki. He also refers to how his team should approach the upcoming outing.
Credit: Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic Credit Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana StjepanovicFenerbahce Beko Istanbul's last practice session before Game 3 against Olympiacos Piraeus had just finished at the Ulker Sports Arena.
Player of the Game EFF 34 Kostas Sloukas Points 25 Accuracy 9-12 Rebounds 4 Assists 6
Players gathered mid-court before each took his way to the locker room. As Dimitris Itoudis was discussing some game details with his assistant coaches, two players were left on the court -- Scottie Wilbekin and Nigel Hayes-Davis.
After some stretching and shooting, Wilbekin followed his teammates into the locker room. However, Hayes-Davis proved to be a different case. The American forward remained on the floor for about 10 minutes, along with Fenerbahce's strength and conditioning coach, attempting several 3-point shots.
At one point, after having hit 12 shots in a row, he also tried his luck from the free-throw line. The Turkish team's communications director, Ilker Ucer, wasn't surprised.
"He does that all the time," he confirmed, adding that Hayes-Davis is the only player to follow that routine before and after every practice session.
Asked by BasketNews how often he stays after practice to test his shooting, Hayes-Davis was serious about his business.
"Oh, every day. Routine is human nature. Everyone has some patterns. The most successful people in the basketball world will tell you that they have a routine," he said, all sweaty after a solid effort.
The numbers support Ucer's claim and Hayes-Davis' work, as the American forward is having a great season, arguably his career-best.
Averaging 10.8 points per contest on 40.7% shooting from behind the arc, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 13.8 in PIR, the 28-year-old was quite expectedly rewarded with a new 2+1 deal by the Turkish powerhouse in early April.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul / Schedule
Olympiacos Piraeus Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul78-82 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul Olympiacos Piraeus71-72 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul Olympiacos PiraeusFri17:45Hayes-Davis recalled that he first got an idea of what a routine looks like while attending an NBA game in New York.
"Dirk [Nowitzki] came to Madison, and the Mavs were playing the Knicks. After the shootaround, Dirk went through this routine," Fenerbahce's player remembered.
"One of the coaches said he's been going through the same routine for 18 years. That was the first time I saw a routine."
However, over the last two years -- the first with FC Barcelona, the second with Fener-- Hayes-Davis has found his.
"Now, it's something I do, regardless of whether I had a good or a bad game. No matter if it's an off-day or a practice day. I come in, do the work, and it pays off."
The Ohio-born athlete said the number of shots he takes isn't as important as the higher purpose those shots are meant to serve.
"It's not a count, it's more of a feel; things I need to work on from the game before. Maybe during a game, I'll miss a shot and have to work on that, or look at how the opponent team is going to play us."
Hayes-Davis usually likes to work on the shots he's going to take in the upcoming game.
"So, it's about correcting something I didn't do well and also preparing myself for what's coming up," he explained.
Both Fenerbahce and Hayes-Davis managed to gear up in Game 2 of the EuroLeague playoff series against Olympiacos, as the Turkish side tied 1-1, and the player scored 15 points on 6/10 from the field last Friday night.
He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists, proving his versatility in a season where Nemanja Bjelica has been watching from the sidelines or the TV screen.
Ahead of a crucial but not yet decisive outing, Hayes-Davis feels he's done everything to have a good game. If someone didn't see him practice, his words would have sufficed to get an idea.
"I'd say it like this: I've put in the work. I've done my preparation. That's all I can control. I've prepared myself mentally, physically, training-wise, shooting-wise. I'm excited to play a game in front of a sold-out arena," he pointed out.
Fenerbahce fans will be crowding the Ulker Sports Arena on Wednesday and Friday with the hope that their team will be able to take advantage of the home-court factor that has invariably helped the 2017 champs during their playoff efforts.
Credit Tolga Adanali/GettyImagesHayes-Davis takes some time to think if the upcoming game is the high point of the season for Fenerbahce.
"Maybe," he said.
"It's just being a prisoner of the moment. It's a playoff game against the No.1 seed. We're at home, playing Game 3. It's probably the highest emotions I've been since we had to win that must-win Efes game. These have been the two emotionally highest points of the season," he argued.
In fact, the defeat in the Istanbul derby marked the requiem for the reigning EuroLeague champions. At the same time, Fenerbahce found a lifeline to keep their playoff hopes alive. After putting the last nail in Efes' coffin, the hosts want to finish the job against the team that was first in the regular season.
While it's true that the regular-season winner has never won the trophy, it's also accurate that all No.1 seeds have made the Final Four. Hayes-Davis prefers not to look too far ahead.
"The challenge for us is to come out and replicate Game 2. That's what we're aiming at. We take the preparation from the coaching staff, take what we did positively in Game 2, and learn from what we did negatively in Game 1. We'll try to play a nearly-perfect game for 40 minutes," he stressed.
Fenerbahce successfully contained Olympiacos' exemplary ball movement in Game 2, and it's no wonder why Hayes-Davis keeps repeating one specific word, "like a broken record," as he admits.
"The keyword I've been saying is discipline. It's a matter of us being disciplined. We feel like we have a good scouting report and game plan to be able to compete with them. We just executed it better in the second game."
The former NBA forward was one of the players who helped Itoudis unlock Olympiacos' defense and wreaked havoc, making one big 3-pointer after another in the last quarter of Game 2.
"We focused on the keys that made them great and No.1 this season, especially at home. Our coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for coming up with a plan for the team and each player individually," he said.
Hayes-Davis didn't hide that Itoudis did use "some powerful language" when Fener was down by 16 (10-26) in Game 2. But the discipline part has Nigel Hayes-Davis' name written all over it.
"I told the team that one of the hardest things to do is be disciplined. If we do that, we have a great chance. They have a game plan, and I'm sure they feel they didn't do a good job in Game 2."
Credit IMAGO/Seskim Photo TRWith Olympiacos fighting to get back the home-court advantage and prove themselves after having their superiority severely questioned, the two Istanbul fixtures look extremely enticing.
However, Hayes-Davis doesn't want his team to get ahead of itself or be carried away by the urge to prove they have the upper hand in the series.
"I expect another hard game. They had been beating our a** all year," he said, referring to Olympiacos' two blowouts over Fener in the regular season.
"It feels good to finally get a win. The first thing we need to do is control our emotions. We're back home, and we know the fans are going to be excited," he underlined and placed emphasis on how the hosts will start the game.
"It will be imperative to control ourselves in the first quarter, but that goes hand in hand with controlling the game in the first quarter as well. If you let a team like this, as we did twice in the regular season, get off to an incredible start, you won't be able to come back. I hope we'll be able to keep things under control."
That's a routine Nigel Hayes-Davis has yet to experience with Fenerbahce, but he's also entitled to believe that the time has finally come.
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