The German guard scored 19 points to help the Parisian outfit defeat Maccabi in Round 13
Maodo Lo personifies what Coach Splitter seeks from Paris
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Regular Season
Round 13 of 34
Group Regular Season
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A lot of the attention around Paris Basketball and its red-hot run to the top of the standings has surrounded the play of star guard TJ Shorts, the EuroLeague MVP for November. But one of Paris’s most important weapons has been its depth, as coach Tiago Splitter employs an 11-man rotation.
"We do a lot of subs. Nobody plays too many minutes in a row, so I ask them to be at their max [effort] whenever they are on the court," Coach Splitter said in the post-game press conference after his team defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 81-93 on Tuesday night at Aleksander Nikolic Hall in Belgrade. "They accept that; that’s not easy."
Though he did not speak specifically to any of his reserves, if he had, Splitter would surely have sung the praises of Maodo Lo.
The German guard scored 19 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting in 21:34 minutes off the bench against Maccabi. It marked the third time in the last four games in which Lo scored at least 15 points.
Why is that significant? Well, the better Lo plays, the more Coach Splitter can afford to rest Shorts. And ensuring that both of them are giving 100% effort at all times on the floor means that Paris is that much more dangerous.
"Everyone from players to staff was committed to bringing the energy today," Lo said after the game, modestly not speaking at all about his strong performance. When asked about the future, Lo explained: "We just have to keep doing the things we do and try to focus on our habits. We meet the best talent here in Europe, so it’s gonna be tough. But we are going to keep going our way."
With Lo leading the way, Paris's reserves outscored the starters 47-46. Among the 11 players in the rotation, everyone played at least 10 minutes and no one reached as many as 26. Shorts topped the charts with 25:56 played, 22 points and 8 assists. Ten different Paris players scored.
Two more keys to this win for Paris were the fact that it cashed in on Maccabi's 14 turnovers to the tune of 20 points and it bullied its way to 19 offensive rebounds. Lo was one of five Paris players with multiple offensive rebounds.
With Lo, now in his ninth EuroLeague campaign, giving his all off the bench, Paris continues to take the scalps of heralded opponents. It’s next target will be Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 14 on Friday night.