Paris Basketball-Monaco: Shorts too strong, Monaco sinks… Favorites and scratches after match 2 of the finals

FAVORITES

Asked if he can feel unstoppable on a night like Tuesday, TJ Shorts says : " At times, yes ." You can't blame him... Standing at 1.75 meters tall, the American point guard for Paris Basketball appeared three heads above everyone else during the demonstration against Monaco (92-67) . The numbers? 28 points on 10/13 shooting, 2/4 from long distance, 6/6 on free throws, five assists, three rebounds and no turnovers. All this in just over 22 minutes. And this with Alpha Diallo and Terry Tarpey on his back. " When you're in the zone like that, you have the feeling that the defense will be wrong, whatever they do. Whether it goes in or not, I just have to think about the next shot. Sometimes you make more shots, sometimes less, that was a good day." When you're in that rhythm, that dynamic, you have the feeling that everything will fall into place ," he analyzed. Giant.

Tuesday's match offers a synthesis of the Parisian game. A stifling defense, a wealth of skill (15/27 from 3-point range after the initial 0/9) and a hellish tempo, with Nadir Hifi as a particle accelerator, and devastating "runs". Monaco literally exploded in the face of this explosive cocktail, the same one that allowed the Parisians to shine in the Euroleague (quarter-finals) and win the Coupe de France . " The team was focused, they followed the game plan, some individuals had good matches, like this boy who is sitting next to me (TJ Shorts, editor's note), but others too, the team was good at rebounding, we shot better in the second half... A lot of contributions from a lot of guys to win this match ," declared Tiago Splitter at a press conference . All good. Paris had a difference of up to 31 points (76-45) in the second half. A show of strength.

What if it were the last of the season at the Adidas Arena? If so, it would mean that Paris Basketball will be crowned French champion for the first time in its history in Monaco, Friday in Game 3 or Sunday, in a potential Game 4. Otherwise, the two teams would meet next Tuesday, in the Porte de la Chapelle arena, for a beautiful match. The fact remains that the Parisians pulled out all the stops on the court, as has been said. In the stands, the Kop Parisii did their part. Right up to the explosion on Mikael Jantunen's two-handed dunk. An ideal setting for an anticipated farewell tour. This is not just the potential last game of the season in Paris, but also the last for Tiago Splitter and many key players announced as departing, TJ Shorts and others.

" It's hard to think about that in a series like this. The goal is to win the series, the title. No secret, it's possible that it's the last match, but I'm focused on the title, I'm trying not to listen to that kind of emotion ," said the likely future Panathinaikos player, not failing to point out that the PBB " haven't done anything yet, we've only done our job by winning the matches at home. It will be the toughest match of the season in Monaco on Friday. We have confidence in ourselves, in the game plan and what we've done all season. We'll go there with maximum concentration and effort, and I hope we'll leave with the trophy ." Dare you?

CLAWS

Three classes apart. Tuesday, we saw a great Paris team and a very small Monaco team, overwhelmed in every area, every sector, unhappy when it got its head above water. Nothing to save. In the absence of boss Mike James, between suspension and injury, the potential leaders took the plunge. " Congratulations to Paris. I would have liked us to do what they did, to react, but we didn't. They played better and deserved to win ," said Vassilis Spanoulis on Tuesday , assuring that the Roca Team must " become a normal team again, we didn't look like a normal team, we were way below our standards, way below ." Unworthy of a European vice-champion , even if ASM's extra-sporting worries undoubtedly explain at least part of the mess on offer Tuesday evening.

If you ask Spanoulis, the explanation is easy to find. " What needs to change? The mentality, the attitude. We complain too much. There's frustration. We didn't fight hard enough for a final. They fought harder than us in every area. And when we play well, we don't make the shots ," grumbled the former Greek legend, asserting that " all the responsibility lies with (him) ." No doubt he'll find a few other culprits in the coming hours. " I'll find a way for us to fight, with players who are ready to fight. If we play like this in the first two games, we need changes... It's obvious ," he grumbles. Symbolizing this lack of fighting spirit, the rebounds: 47 to 29 for Paris. Failing to find Mike James, ASM must find its mental strength to at least extend the series.

But where is Mike James? While no one doubts the veracity of his injury, the US point guard has also, and above all, been suspended by his club . One thing is certain: James was not with his teammates in Paris. Is he still physically in Monaco? A concern, and not the only one, in a season that has been, to say the least, eventful on the Rock. " It obviously affects the team. We can't think about it now. As a coach, I have to think about the game. But obviously, our mentality isn't the same, we're not playing the same basketball we've been playing for the past six months that I've been here or in the Final Four, a game that made everyone admire this team. In any case, this is not the time to think about all that. We just have to think about finding a way to play a good game on Friday," judges Spanoulis. Easier said than done?