The Paris guard was on fire once again in Round 11, this time on the road at Efes
TJ Shorts presented his November MVP credentials at Efes
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 34
Group Regular Season
l
w
w
l
w
w
w
w
w
w
If it wasn't already clear, it's time to talk about TJ Shorts. On Thursday night, Paris Basketball topped Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-93 to grab its seventh straight win, and Shorts had another sensational performance to further strengthen his case to take home the November MVP award.
Shorts was once again everywhere, finishing the game with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 fouls drawn and a PIR of 26. On his way to his second double-double of the season, he delivered when it mattered most, scoring eight points in the final quarter and sealing the outcome with a highly-contested mid-range jumper over Derek Willis in the final minute.
It has been a fantastic month for Paris and Shorts. Despite its lack of experience at this level, Paris comes off back-to-back road victories against FC Barcelona and Efes in less than a week. Shorts has had a big impact all month long, too. In the last four games, which count for this month's MVP award, Shorts averages 19.8 points, 8.3 assists, 8.0 fouls drawn and a PIR of 25.3. Impressive stuff.
After hitting 1-of-14 three-pointers in the opening seven games, Shorts has buried 4 of his last 5 attempts (80.0%), fixing his only issue on the offensive end. After the game, Shorts said that his team's next-game mentality is one of the biggest keys to its remarkable season.
"Every time I step onto the basketball court, it's a blessing and I will never take that for granted," Shorts told EuroLeague in the post-game interview. "We are just taking it game by game. Nobody is thinking about this streak that we are on. We are just trying to continue to play good basketball, play the basketball that we like. And so far it's resulting in wins, and we are hoping to continue like this."
It's worth remembering that Shorts was the EuroCup MVP and EuroCup Finals MVP last season. He could add a EuroLeague MVP of the Month award to his trophy case by the end of November, but according to Shorts, the credit goes to a lot of people, not just him.
"My coaches put me in good positions. My teammates make my life easy," he added. "The big men that are screening for me, my shooters that are hitting shots, none of this is possible with the people who are around me. So obviously, you see me out there, but it's a testament to the whole team to just help me be me."