The EuroLeague rookie helped guide his team to the playoffs
TJ Shorts laid the foundation for Paris’s memorable play-in victory at Real Madrid
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What a season this has been for TJ Shorts and Paris Basketball.
On Tuesday night, in the first game of the play-in, Paris travelled to the Spanish capital to take on 11-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion Real Madrid. This was going to be the 635th EuroLeague game in Real Madrid’s history and just the 35th for Paris. Experience was certainly in favor of the hosts.
In the end, experience counts for little against a team led by Shorts. Right from the tip, the EuroLeague rookie made sure to inspire and guide his teammates by laying the foundation for a 73-81 win.
Shorts drained a three-pointer on the opening offense of the game, then found Kevarrius Hayes for a slam, and drove to the rim for a layup to give Paris an early 6-7 lead. Seven points for Paris, seven points from the hands of Shorts.
Another couple of connections between Shorts and Hayes in the latter stages of the first quarter showed the freedom that the visitors were playing with. Having posted 7 points and 4 assists in the opening 10 minutes, with Paris leading 22-27, Shorts also appeared with the final play of the first half to give his team a 36-46 advantage at the interval, the first time either team had led by double digits.
Shorts went to work early in the third quarter to stave off any Real Madrid comeback, then he did a bit of scoring and playmaking in the fourth as Paris just about managed to hold off Los Blancos.
The 27-year-old was a menace throughout and finished the contest with 23 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists, while he played a season-high 30:46 minutes – just the second time this season he has gone above 30 minutes.
His simple presence on the floor was a positive factor for Paris, too, as he was a +10 in the plus/minus column, an important factor given the team's eight-point win.
"We've been working very hard,” Shorts told EuroLeague TV afterward. “We had to do it the hard way going through the play-in, but now we stamped our ticket. It's an amazing feeling right now. I'm just so happy for everybody that's a part of Paris Basketball to be able to enjoy this."
By winning in Madrid, Paris has set up a playoff date with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the 2-7 matchup. Shorts fancies his team’s chances, though.
"The sky is the limit. I've been talking about this all year,” he stated. “We believe we can compete with the best. We went head up with Real Madrid here. We obviously know the history, we know the talent that they have on that roster. We have the utmost confidence in ourselves that we can compete with anybody.
“And now, obviously, we understand we're playing against Fenerbahce. We will lock in on them, but tonight we're gonna enjoy it. And then we'll get ready for the playoffs."
Shorts managed to put on another show in front of one of his closest friends, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz forward Chima Moneke, who was sat in the first few rows.
Paris has been the fairy-tale story of the season and after Tuesday night’s game at Real Madrid, it still has a few chapters that need to be written.