DThe painful defeats by the same result (91-71) in just 48 hours have placed Barcelona in the most compromised situation of the short Roger Grimau era. If the image was bad against Unicaja, in the visit to AS Mnaco it hit rock bottom. He was overwhelmed by a rocky team that, in addition, was used with tremendous aggressiveness, the complete opposite of the Blaugranas, lacking energy, resources, play… They lost by 30 (89-59) in the last quarter. in which its absolute disintegration was confirmed.
The beating can leave side effects. Or at least some unknowns. Willy Hernangmez, Barcelona’s star signing, only played seven minutes despite having no physical problems. He came out as the third center in the rotation behind Nnaji and did not take the court in the entire second half even though his team needed points, his specialty. Although he also needed defense…
The game was for the Blaugranas like spending two hours at the dentist, a permanent pain since the initial 7-0, soon converted into a 14-3 that forced them to row against the current. And it cost them, because the boat had numerous leaks: without closing the rebound, with many losses, especially from Laprovittola, with poor direction and non-existent exterior defense.
Parker’s departure gave Bara some air. A mirage. Despite the human version of Mike James, Monaco went 15 up: 30-15. Willy came out and in 49 seconds he scored two points and grabbed four rebounds. Back, yes, bad. Five points in a row from Laprovittola cut the lead at halftime, although he was still far away (47-36).
The culs noticed some improvement in the third act. At least they seemed more competitive. They fell from 10 down (54-46) coinciding with a visit by James to the locker room to seal a gap that was made with Satoransky’s chin. The effort was not enough in the face of the local push. A run of 7-0 and a triple from nine meters and at the buzzer of the inspired Diallo returned an advantage of +15 (67-52).
That action, when the Bara still had a remote option, was a dagger. The blaugranas sank at the beginning of the last period. They went more than four minutes without scoring and conceded a blushing 17-0. El Mnaco, led by Diallo and James, reveled in the pain of his rival, completely disappeared, impotent, soulless. The maximum reached 30 (89-59). A little makeup brought it down to 91-71, the same score as Wednesday against Unicaja. A cruel coincidence for the culís, at their lowest moment. And in Grimau’s, very touched.
