M. James’s bad message to Lithuanians: “K. Durant doesn’t want a vacation in Lithuania”

Monaco star Mike James, who returned to the EuroLeague final four, will not have the support of Kevin Durant in Kaunas this coming weekend, unlike last season’s fifth quarter-final game in Greece.

“I doubt he will come. After all, this is Lithuania, and Kevin really does not want to spend his vacation in Lithuania”, – 15 minutes Mike James told the portal on the eve of the semi-final match.

The main European club event came to Lithuania for the first time in history, and M. James thinks that this is a wonderful choice.

“In my eyes, this is one of the two or three best arenas in Europe,” he told the portal 15 minutes said M. James. – Just look at this hall. This is the NBA level. Just an amazing arena. It’s a great place for basketball, and it looks beautiful. I entered the arena and thought that the “Žalgiris” arena is a great place for the Euroleague final four. I’m happy to be here.”

“Olympiakos” and “Monaco” clubs of Piraeus performed decisive exercises in the “Zalgiris” arena before tomorrow’s Euroleague semi-finals.

“They took first place for a reason. Olympiakos deserve to be in the final four, just like us. No one promises to give up. I think they will play hard like they have all season. I think it will be a great match. I hope we can win. We’ve done it twice this season, but that’s a thing of the past. In two years, we played maybe ten times and shared maybe equal victories. It is an honor to play against such an opponent. We have to enjoy the moment and strive for victory”, M. James said about the upcoming fight.

Although the bookies are the clear favorites of this pair in time for the regular season winner from Greece, the club of the Principality of Monaco, which has assembled an extremely talented team, has its own trump card.

One of them is perhaps the best basketball player of the tournament, Mike James, for whom this will be the second experience of the final four in his career.

No other Monaco player has played in the Final Four. For comparison, the total experience of Olympiakos basketball players in the final four reaches 42 matches, Barcelona – 63, and Real Madrid – as many as 82.

The 32-year-old American, who is playing in the strongest tournament of the Old Continent for the ninth season, broke into the four strongest European clubs in 2016 with Baskonia of Vitoria.

It was a weekend James probably wants to forget. The Basque club fell in both games, with the forward managing just 1 efficiency point in 46 minutes.

“The difference is in psychology, about the expectations in the first four of the final and now 15 minutes M. James told the portal. – Then I thought about defense and small things that would help the team to win. I was a role player. This year, my concentration is significantly higher, because I have to bear more responsibility, so my thinking is different now. I have to be aggressive, take advantage of opportunities and maintain my pace.”

Selected for the second symbolic EuroLeague team, the brightest star of the “Monaco” team collected 16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 16.8 efficiency points in 31 minutes this season.

He has been rocking European basketball for several seasons now with his amazing performances, but he still does not have a major title in his trophy collection.

“That’s what we play basketball for. I think that for all the participants in the final four, the EuroLeague title would mean everything,” said the leader of Monaco.

M. James shared his thoughts about the influence of the sometimes annoying Donatas Motiejūnas on the “Monaco” team.

“He is a veteran, he has been playing basketball for a long time. Donatus talks a lot. That’s fine with me, even though I’m not a chatterbox, I’m mostly on my own, – 15 minutes M. James told the portal. – It’s nice that we have a person who talks a lot in the team, although sometimes it can be annoying. He is a true professional who does all the right things for the team, goes to the gym every day and works hard. Donatas is a great example for the young players we have in the team.”

Does the presence of the Lithuanian D. Motiejūnas in the team in the semi-final against Olympiakos guarantee the support of the locals for the Monaco team?

“I have no idea. I think Olympiakos fans will dominate this hall. But this is basketball, so there will be many different fans in the arena. The event is extraordinary, I think the audience will have fun watching it,” said M. James.