EReal Madrid’s hesitant start has put them in a difficult situation at the first opportunity. It has only been a month since the official season began (specifically 23 days) for the new white project to begin to show its seams. Four defeats in seven official matches are difficult to digest for a team used to sweeping at the beginning of the campaign. AND Coming from where their terrible start comes from, it is even harder for the club and its fans..
The victory against Barça in the Super Cup semi-final has been overshadowed by the defeats against Unicaja (Super Cup final), Leyma A Coruña, Surne Bilbao (League) and Bayern Munich (Euroleague). But more important than the games lost at the beginning of the competition aren the bad feelings transmitted by a team that is showing a vulnerability rarely seen in recent years. Chus Mateo asks for patience, but that word does not exist in his club’s dictionary.
Kalinoski celebrates a basket between Garuba and Llull in the Super Cup final.
There are several statistical factors that are accentuating the loss of whitesall of them inappropriate for a team with a squad made to win everything. The maladjustment of his four signingss, aggravated by the injuries of two of them (Garuba and Feliz), is one of the main ones. But they are also burdened by his defensive weakness, his concessions on the rebound, his poor success in three-pointers and free throws and his excessive lossespossibly a product of the anxiety that is taking over its players.
The worst defense in Europe: concedes 91.5 points
This may be one of the biggest burdens for Chus Mateo’s team, which has the shameful leadership in points received in the Euroleague with 91.5 on average in two games against Bayern Munich and Partizan. The Real Madrid coach insists again and again on the importance of helping each other in that aspect, but until now that solidarity is conspicuous by its absence. Also in the ACB League, in which it has the sixth worst defense in the championship with 88 points on average received in their three games against Leyma Coruña, Casademont Zaragoza and Surne Bilbao, which with the utmost respect for them are not exactly Barça, Unicaja, Baskonia or Valencia.
Campazzo and Hezonja try to cut off Partizan’s Carlik Jones.
He has given up 52 offensive rebounds
What had been one of Madrid’s great strengths in its successes in recent years, The rebound has become one of his weaknesses at the beginning of the campaign.. And that despite having the giant Tavares on the payroll, one of the best on the continent in that aspect. In the vicinity of the white ring, an area almost impregnable for its rivals until now, the open bar has been installed. In the League he is the third in capturing the fewest defensive rebounds (23.3 on average) having conceded 36 offensive attacks. And in the Euroleague he has given up 16. In total, 52 second chances for their opponents. A gift that pays dearly. You miss Poirier already It was left over. And among his substitutes, Ibaka has gone from less to more and the injury of Garuba It also weighs in this aspect.
Real Madrid center Eli Ndiaye fights for a rebound with Partizan’s Carlik Jones.
The team with the most losses in the Euroleague (31)
Another factor that weighs heavily on their performance is turnovers, too many inaccuracies that could be caused by lack of concentration or anxiety. In fact, Madrid is the team that accumulates the most losses (31) of the 18 teams in the Euroleague In the first two days, an average of 15.5. In the League these figures improve somewhat, with 12.7 losses per encounter.
Alberto Abalde and Edy Tavares, against Tryggvi Hlinason in the Real Madrid-Zaragoza match.
Triples are not the panacea: Llull has 4/21
The triple has been one of the most used resources in recent seasons by the whites, who have a handful of great specialists on their payroll. They have often gotten him out of trouble in difficult games, but at the beginning of the campaign they are condemning him in some games.. The impatience to come back in matches in which they are behind on the scoreboard It is leading him to abuse the triple, and not always successfully.
Sergio Llull protests a referee decision in the Euroleague match between Madrid and Partizan.
Llull, an accomplished specialist from that distance, does not find the wrist shot. Credit 4/21 between League (3/15) and Euroleague (1/6). Neither do two of the new ones like Rathan-Mayes (0/5 in Liga) or Ibaka (1/8) between Liga (0/4) and EuroLeague (1/4). That resource is not working for the center so far.
Even free throws resist him: 74.1%
Nor are the Whites doing well from the free kick, especially in the League, where they boast the fifth worst record of the 18 teams, with a poor 74.1% (60/81). A section in which Tavares (2/5) and Deck (10/15) especially weak. Although this ratio improves somewhat in the Euroleague with a 75.6% efficiency (31/41)with a surprising negative mention for a shooter like Rathan-Mayes (1/5).
Chus Mateo regrets a mistake by his team in the match against Casademont Zaragoza.
Anxiety, impatience and haste
The defeats have generated a state of anxiety in the team that has a direct impact in some of the statistical sections mentioned above, especially with regard to the success in shots, as in losses. The percentage of success drops and mistakes increase and errors when impatience and haste to try to reverse an adverse score enter.
We are going to play with our heads, we cannot expect to score 10 points in each attack
Chus Mateo already said it to his team during a time-out in their last defeat in Bilbao: “We are going to play with our heads, we cannot expect to score 10 points in each attack“, the coach snapped at his team. Already then haste reigned and everyone had begun to wage war on their own and the result was disastrous.
