Jasikevicius points out threats in Bayern match-up 1

Zalgiris head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius finally received some good news from the team’s medical staff before the green’s 26th EuroLeague game of the season. Nate Wolters was cleared for contact and will be ready to play.

Having missed the last three games, the point guard was already in practice the last two days and eagerly awaits his return against the German champions. Paulius Jankunas and Antanas Kavaliauskas still have time to miss and it is not yet clear when they will be able to rejoin the roster.

After two consecutive blow-out wins, Jasikevicius hopes for a similar effort in the game against Bayern.

“We need to continue playing the way we have recently, build on that good wave and not give up any easy points. If we can defend, you can easily see the impact it has on our offense, how it comes alive. We rely heavily on the play of our guards, since Paulius and Antanas aren’t in the rotation, and our options to play back-to-the-basket have dwindled heavily.”

As they come into a game against a team that plays a physical brand of basketball, Zalgiris will have to match their intensity and hide some of the team’s weaknesses.

“Bayern is a very physical and athletic team. As I said before the first game, they play disciplined, Serbian-style basketball. They’ve got a lot of Serbians, the coach is Serbian. The most important thing is their level of contact. Of course, in some positions we’re smaller and weaker, so that will be something to hide. On the other hand, we need to turn it into our advantage in other situations.”

Jasikevicius was happy with the way the gameplan has been utilized recently and gave the players credit for the improved defense.

“After the game against Klaipeda, the number of psychological turnovers has been cut in half in the last two games. We’ve stopped giving away easy points and I’m happy with how the gameplan has been fulfilled. It’s obvious that if you start with good defense, the offense opens up on it’s own.”

Jasikevicius pointed out the threat of Derrick Williams, who was unstoppable in the two sides’ first meeting.

“It is possible to stop him, of course. We have to understand what we can let him do and what we can’t. He did whatever he wanted to during our first games. He’s a player of the highest caliber but we’ve got to force him to make decisions and not allow him to just play one-on-one. We’ve got to utilize all five players in guarding him and force him to pass the ball.”