With almost nothing at stake in the Endesa League, where it is practically impossible for it to improve its current second place, Barça has been in for a week, and will be another two more, focused on preparing for Euroleague Final Four which will take place in Cologne from May 28 to 30. The results of this final of the ACB regular phase matter much less than the team’s set-up for the big event of the season, where the Catalans aspire to win the third European title in their history.
[+]Mirotic was MVP of the Euroleague in the month of March
Sarunas Jasikevicius has done it throughout the season but in recent weeks has increased the rotations of players, giving rest in various games to the great references of the team. Getting to Cologne as fresh as possible is one of the goals, although not the only one. Involve everyone and raise the degree of self-demandto appear in the Final Four with maximum competitive tension are also, as well as recover the best version of Nikola Mirotic.
The great offensive reference of the Barça team has been far from his usual level for several weeks. Since the middle of April Mirotic He has played eight games and in only one has he reached 15 points scored. His game crisis was especially noticeable during the series against him Zenit Saint Petersburg from Xavi Pascual, whose defense managed to minimize him in a notorious way.
Playing practically the same minutes as the rest of the season, Mirotic’s numbers have plummeted in the last three weeks, both in the Endesa League and in the Euroleague. In the national competition the player of Montenegrin origin has averaged 12 points and 12.6 valuation in the last three games when their season averages are 14.8 points and 17.8 valuation. The most striking thing is the decrease in his triple hit, from 48.5% to 25%, and in free throws, from 80.6% to 53.8%.
Mirotic’s performance slump is even more noticeable in the Euroleague. In the five games of the series against Zenit, Barça’s ’33’ stayed in 8.6 points, almost half of those who averaged in the regular phase of European competition (16.9). The decline was even more pronounced in the assessment, signing an average of 7.6 when until then it presented one of 22, the best among all the Euroleague players. Here the aspect of his game that suffered the most was that of the two-point shots, falling from 62.5% for the season to a poor 28.6%.
The two games that Barça have left between now and the Final Four, on Wednesday 19 at the Palau against him Baskonia and the following weekend on the track Lenovo Tenerife, should serve so that Mirotic recover your best version and can arrive in Cologne with the best possible sensations.