After struggling following an injury, Los Blancos' swingman is back on track
Now healthy, Dzanan Musa took Real Madrid to another level in Round 17
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Real Madrid won one of its biggest and most important games of the season, topping AS Monaco 94-72 at WiZink Center in Round 17. In an all-around team performance, Dzanan Musa stood out and played a very strong game.
Musa was active in the 23 minutes he spent on the floor, going past the 20-point mark for the first time this season. He finished the game with 22 points on 5-of-8 two-point shooting and 3-of-4 on three-pointers, plus 5 rebounds and a season-high 5 assists for a PIR of 26.
His performance went beyond numbers, however. Musa attacked the rim at every opportunity, finding easy points in transition and looking for backdoor layups. Of course, Musa was also deadly from beyond the arc and his overall activity paid off with a great performance in a must-win game for Real.
"I had a difficult injury. It didn't seem like it, but just against Zalgiris, it was the first game that I didn't feel the pain, and I'm back with full confidence," Musa said after the game. "I am happy that I could do this for my team, that I could be back in my best form."
Musa missed four games due to injury, from Rounds 7 to 10. In the next four games after this injury, he averaged 8.0 points on 50% two-point shooting and 33.3% from deep, which led to a PIR average of 9.8. After that game that Musa mentioned, against Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 15, he has been his usual, dangerous self. Musa has boosted his numbers to 16.3 points on 12 of 16 two-point shooting (75%) and 4-of-9 on threes (44.4%) for a PIR of 19.0.
Musa was full of confidence after the game, as his team has been able to beat the competition's leader, Paris Basketball and then Monaco, in consecutive games this week. Real now has an 8-9 record at the regular season's halfway mark.
"Even though the standings don't say so, I think we are one of the top three teams in the EuroLeague and we will show that, but we have to go step by step because this is a long season," Musa said. "The EuroLeague has never been better, so we've got to keep working. It's not easy, but I think that with our talent and our coaching staff, we can reach the playoffs and the Final Four."
Musa got plenty of help from Real's second unit. In less than 16 minutes, playmaker Facu Campazzo had 12 points, 4 assists and 5 fouls drawn for a PIR of 21, while missing just one shot. Usman Garuba, also back after being sidelined for the better part of the season, had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 17.
Everything points out to a good second half of the season for Los Blancos due to their depth and experience. Of course, time will tell.