Olympiacos pulled away in Greece on Thursday, handing AS Monaco Basketball a second straight loss to open their EuroLeague playoff series.
A Roca Team who faced the battle of a shortened roster throughout the end of their regular season finally had both Terry Tarpey and Nemanja Nedović available again, giving them 10 men to utilise in their playoff battle against Olympiacos.
However, that sense of regained depth was short-lived, as Monaco once again found themselves dealing with a reduced rotation under entirely different circumstances. The Thursday matchup held in Greece was another game to forget for AS Monaco, as the team lost by 30 points with a score of 94-64.
With a slow start to the game, both teams began rather cold, with Monaco failing to score until three minutes in. Any early rhythm was further disrupted by an immediate blow to the rotation, as Daniel Theis exited the game to head to the locker room after only registering 2:25 in the quarter before leaving with a right-hand injury.
The first quarter saw lead changes favoring both sides; however, Olympiacos ultimately ended the quarter with a five-point lead – one that still left the game within reach for Monaco.
Unfortunately, the second quarter proved fatal for Monaco, as Olympiacos took only three minutes to extend their lead into double digits. Going 0-for-10 from beyond the arc and only obtaining six rebounds compared to Olympiacos’ 15 highlighted Monaco’s struggles to play to their strengths. As Olympiacos went on a 23–4 scoring run, Monaco’s already fragile rotation took another major hit, as Mike James was ejected from the game with eight seconds remaining in the quarter. The teams went into halftime with a score of 59–31.
With what had briefly been a 10-man roster now effectively reduced to just eight available players, the Roca Team had the whole second half to make a comeback. Despite their efforts in the third to reduce the gap, shooting 0% from beyond the arc in the fourth along with only four rebounds total in that same quarter sealed their fate in a 30-point loss. More than just being outplayed, the game underscored how quickly Monaco’s depth disappeared once again under in-game circumstances.
Interim coach Manuchar Markoishvili addressed the fact that the team showing up thus far has not been the team that led them to this playoff appearance. “We have to do better at home and fight until the end. It’s hard to imagine three wins against Olympiacos, but we have to keep believing.”
Acknowledging the instability of a roster that continues to shift from game to game is critical to understanding Monaco’s playoff position. What was expected to be a strengthened lineup quickly turned into another short-handed effort, this time due to injuries and in-game incidents rather than pre-existing absences. As they risk elimination, they will return home to Salle Gaston Médecin to face Olympiacos on Tuesday with home-court advantage, where the team must show up with greater effort, improvements, and ideally a full bench.
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Photo source: AS Monaco Basket