Chus Mateo's side has been rock solid at home, but a very different team away from the Spanish capital
Real Madrid was its best version of itself at home versus Virtus
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3 Dk okuma
Regular Season
Round 9 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Real Madrid snapped a three-game losing streak with a 98-86 win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Tuesday. Things are definitely different for Los Blancos at WiZink Center this season.
Real is 0-5 on the road this season. For comparison, the team only lost four regular season road games last season. On the other hand, Real is 4-0 at home and playing really well. Against Virtus, Real played a strong game with great accuracy, focus and outstanding ball circulation.
Los Blancos shot the ball well, making 62.7% of all shots inside the arc and 42.9% from downtown. It outrebounded Virtus 39-26, getting 27 defensive rebounds and only allowing Virtus to grab 6 offensive boards. In other words, Real grabbed 81.8% of all rebounds under its rim. Virtus only got 62.5% of all rebounds under its basket.
Real finished the game with 24 assists and just 9 turnovers. Facu Campazzo made it happen, getting 9 assists with 0 turnovers and amassing a PIR of 27 in less than 24 games. Campazzo's assist-to-turnover ratio is downright outstanding at home. In four games, he's dished 32 assists and picked up just 3 turnovers for a ratio of 10.67. On the road, Campazzo had 29 assists and 12 turnovers, a ratio of 2.42, which is great but much lower than at WiZink Center.
"I think we played with more hustle on defense, and I think that when we worry about our defense, [we get] open shots on offense and are more fluid in the game, and even more focused," Campazzo said after the game. "We have to handle that, to try to play better away, because if we only win the game, we won't get anything. We have to improve in our away games, and I think that is going to be our main goal."
Indeed, Real was able to run the floor, used its size advantage in the paint and that led to a well-balanced offense. As many as five players scored in double digits, led by Mario Hezonja's season-high 20 points. Walter Tavares and Serge Ibaka combined for 25 points on 7 of 13 two-pointers. Xavier Rathan-Mayes provided the fireworks from downtown, hitting 5 three-pointers on his way to a career-high 17 points.
Asked about Real's differences at home and on the road, Hezonja was crystal clear. He seems to have identified his team's problem and it is a question of working on it.
"Defense. The tenacity that we had defensively, starting to take care of business defensively when there was time. In many of these road games, we wanted to make that push but it was just not possible, we were not doing it. So we need to really focus on that side to get stops, to get easy rebounds, and that pushes our offensive game, and it is much easier to play."