{"id":86158,"date":"2023-05-03T08:45:49","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T08:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/?p=86158"},"modified":"2023-05-03T09:57:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T09:57:59","slug":"it-dont-mean-nothing-we-still-got-one-more-to-get-mike-james-talks-about-monacos-game-three-win-and-whats-on-the-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/it-dont-mean-nothing-we-still-got-one-more-to-get-mike-james-talks-about-monacos-game-three-win-and-whats-on-the-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"“It don’t mean nothing, we still got one more to get” Mike James talks about Monaco’s game three win"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was going to be only so long that Mike James was going to stay quiet and not make his mark for Monaco on one of these games against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague quarterfinal series. <\/p>\n

Sure, James had scored his points in both games one and two in the Principality, but he had not been the star of the show, the player that dictates Sasa Obradovic\u2019s offense and the star that can just slice, dice and chop you up one piece at a time. But no worries, that\u2019s exactly what he did in game three at Yad Eliyahu in Tel Aviv.
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Mike James – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nJames paced the Monaco offense with 21 points, 18 of which coming in the first half while he dissected the Maccabi defense to perfection time and time again over the opening 20 minutes as he set the tone for the visitors to snatch a 83-78 victory<\/a><\/strong> and recapture home court advantage.<\/p>\n

The fact is that, the Roca Team may not even need that final home game five in the series in order to advance to the Final Four. If they play the way they did in game three there is no reason to think that they can\u2019t polish off the best-of-five game series in four games.<\/p>\n

That was most certainly the attitude that all of the visiting players had when The Sports Rabbi spoke to James one-on-one following his all-world performance in the Monaco lockerroom. A cool, calm and collected James was level headed as were his teammates in what was a very, very quiet victory with no celebrations or just the bare minimum knowing that the series is not over just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool,\u201d James began when asked about the win in which he scored 21 points. \u201cIt don\u2019t really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, we still got one more win we need to get. So we just got to keep moving forward.\u201d
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Mike James – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nJames who joined Monaco just in time for the 2021\/22 season gave the franchise instant credibility. The Portland, Oregon native has been a star in almost every stop in his illustrious career whether it had been at CSKA Moscow in Russia, the team he played for just before signing in the Principality or with Milano, Panathinaikos and Baskonia. <\/p>\n

Add to the fact that James has also played with three teams in the NBA including the Suns and Nets, there is no question that the star guard can bring it with the best of them. With that in mind, when General Manager Oleksiy Yefimov inked James to a deal to join the club<\/a><\/strong>, the European basketball world opened its eyes really, really wide. It was very quickly noted that Monaco was not just in the Euroleague for a season or two, they were there for the long run and to make an impact while competing for the top prize. <\/p>\n

This team wasn\u2019t going to be a one and done team like many others. Have a cup of coffee for a season and then head back down to the EuroCup. That was not in the cards for Monaco after winning Europe\u2019s second tier title in 2019\/2020; they are here to stay with not only James but a number of top level talent whether it may be Jordan Loyd, Donatas Motiejunas, John Brown or Elie Okobo.
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Mike James and Jordan Loyd – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cMike was aggressive early, 1 on 1, he did a good job,\u201d French international Okobo said of James to The Sports Rabbi. \u201cHe brought confidence for everyone else and we followed the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

James agreed that the key for him to break out early on was the way Maccabi changed their defensive strategy in trying to contain him, \u201cThey stopped triple teaming me and they began guarding me one-on-one basically. In the first two games it was a lot of doubles and heavy stunts and trying to get the ball out of my hands. I guess they tried to go with something a little bit different and guard me straight up and one-one-one. I like myself against a lot of people so I was able to get a rhythm and exploit some mismatches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown told The Sports Rabbi about how James was able to use his talent to get things going for Monaco just as Okobo had mentioned, \u201cWe had nothing to do with that. That was just Mike taking initiative on his own. He hit those shots and other guys got going so that just gave us what we needed.\u201d
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Mike James – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nPerhaps the fact that the Maccabi fans came out in full force to jeer James and let him know what they think of him whether it was as he stepped off of the bus and entered the arena or when he stepped onto the court for the pregame warmups helped him out as well. But it was clear as day that the yellow-and-blue supporters weren\u2019t going to bother James who was in the zone early and often.<\/p>\n

While James finally broke out in game three thanks to Maccabi\u2019s tactical decisions to defend him differently, that didn\u2019t mean the guard who once upon a time played for Hapoel Galil Elyon in Israel\u2019s Galilee region wouldn\u2019t be ready for anything and everything Maccabi was going to throw at him whether it was on the court or off of it. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis pressure, hostility, it doesn’t bother me,” James said. “I played at Panathinaikos with a similar atmosphere against Olympiacos. With all this hatred aimed at me, I see it more as recognition, a form of respect, even. I was ready to play no matter what. Not everyone is like me, but outside I like to be on the pace early, shoot big shots. I am calm in this situation.”<\/p>\n

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MONACO ARRIVE<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude2e\ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/ZqoAuQTlCe<\/a><\/p>\n

— Sports Rabbi (@thesportsrabbi) May 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n