Trinchieri, who had a question for Sumner – about the two careers of Lekavicius and the almighty Evans / News

After the victory, Andrea Trinchieri was happy with the performance of the pupils and the support of the fans, talked about the different possible careers of Lukas Lekavičius and evaluated the possibilities of Keenan Evans to be the mayor of the city.

Kaunas “Žalgiris” defeated Milan’s “Emporio Armani” (87:73) at home on Thursday, won the third consecutive victory in the Euroleague and continues to cling to the playoffs.

“What a night, what an atmosphere, what a match, what good players I have… Even the best director couldn’t have written a story like this,” Trinchieri told a press conference. – We beat the hottest team in the Euroleague, who just won against Monaco, Fenerbahçe. We hit 4 of 16 threes in the first half, I’d say 10 of them were free, so we started to jam.

I told the team that if we hit two 3-pointers, it will be arrived, thank you (thanks and bye), our wings will spread, and so it was. I am very happy for the players, the whole organization, I have to thank the whole “Zalgiris” arena, which pushed us to play beyond our capabilities, with such energy. Even with mistakes, but if we have this energy, I’ll accept all mistakes.”

Edmond Sumneris, who played a career match, played the most productive match for Kaunas. The bright American recorded 17 points (4/4 doubles, 2/2 triples, 3/4 penalties), 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 28 efficiency points in 15 minutes.

“I asked him, ‘Where have you been?’ where have you been for the last three months?”. Just kidding, he’s an extremely positive guy, it’s a pleasure to be around him, always with a good face, a smile, Trinchieri said. – He is new to the Euroleague, it took a lot of time, mistakes, bad matches, bad fouls.

We only have this kind of performance from him because water has to go under the bridge, I mean time has to pass and because of his willingness to be coached. I was tough with him, but I think this is the best reward I can get. It looks like we have signed a new player. I’m very happy, I think he’s happy too.”

– After the defeat in Munich, you said that you were playing with toothpicks. Has that changed after these victories?
– Would you be angry if we were happy for at least a few hours now? At least until midnight. Then I’ll get back to thinking about what we need to do next. I want to be happy, and for my players to be happy.

– Lukas Lekavičius played a good game today (10 points, 11 assists). Has he been getting enough attention and nice words lately?
“I think he’s had a lot of good games, he’s our microwave, I think of him as our Vinnie Johnson from the Detroit Pistons.” He goes out, scores points, goes back to the bench, his face never changes. I believe he can have two careers, one as a scorer and one as a serial killer. He is very strong psychologically, I am happy for him, he knows that I like him.

– How do you rate the game of Lauryns Birutis?
“It wasn’t his best game, I told him that, I think he has to wait for tough, physical matches and today he wasn’t ready. He had a decent game as although he didn’t finish his usual shots and lacked physicality he defended very well pick and roll in defense and fought for balls. It’s a very good sign for me, because sometimes matches don’t go the way you expect, so you have to find ways to be useful.

– The fans held up a banner: “Keenan Evans for mayor of Kaunas”. Do you think it would fit?
“I think he can do anything right now.”

– What face of “Žalgiris” can we see in the remaining two rounds?
– Not today, I’m just very, very, very grateful to my players that we’re still in the race. This is the most important. I want to give them a breather and then we will think about what to do next. We have a very slim chance, but it’s better than no chance.

– It seems that if Evans plays a good first half, the second will almost always be perfect for him. Is there any explanation for this?
“It’s something we talked about.” I think the greatest leaders in basketball try to turn the team on first, and then the floor becomes wide and that’s when he makes the big shots. The roles in my team are very clear, Keenan trusts his teammates. We didn’t start the third quarter with him creating the game, it was done by Giedraitis, Ulanovas, Butkevičius. All of them played very aggressively, which allowed Keenan to stay fresh. We knew that at some point the opposition would start using a switch defense, and Keenan encouraged it very effectively. If he had started doing it in the first half, the evening would have been very long for him, he would have lost strength, freshness. I always think about the big picture, 40 minutes. In Keenan’s crucial moments, I want fresh. He does it brilliantly, exploits his teammates and is a killer at crucial times.

– There are three Italian coaches in the Euroleague. Is there any principle involved in playing with each other?
– I don’t know, all I know is that the Italian coaches are very good. I know the Italian school, what we have to go through, so I think there should be more of them.

– Do you think Evans should be in the MVP discussion?
“What else can I say about Keenan?” He loves this team, he plays hard, he gets his teammates involved when we need him, he’s there. He’s human, sometimes he can have a bad match, just like everyone else. He’s a very smart guy, it’s easier for coaches to have players like that. I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said.

Sumner’s comment:

Butkevičius’s comment:

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