The Lokomotiv Kuban center shared his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of Loko's upcoming opponent, CSKA.
- What are main strengths of CSKA?
- I think they've got good team chemistry. Every player that steps on the court for CSKA is aggressive and willing to attack. They're a little bit unpredictable, but I think they have great team chemistry running their offense. They keep playing whether they get down or up, so we just have to figure out how we can play as consistently as possible and get a good shot on the board and get good stops throughout the game.
- And what about their weaknesses?
- Like every team, they have some. They're well coached with how they cover everybody's mistakes, but they have a few weaknesses on defense that we've got to explore. That's just us trying to stay aggressive and attack every option in our offense and not get so stagnant.
- You will probably play a lot personally against Livio Jean-Charles and Luka Mitrović. Can you say several words about these players?
- These are well-established players. Luka came from Serbia and EuroLeague, so he brings a quality of experience. Jean-Charles has been there four years already, getting two championships. Just their experience and trying to measure it up. For me personally, just trying to stay consistent. Consistent as possible on offense and consistent as possible on defense.
- What can be an advantage for Loko?
- I think we need to outrun CSKA. We need to attack them a lot in transition. We're a little younger and more athletic, so I think we need to use that to our advantage. We just have to be grimy. We have to be like dogs. We have to go in there every game and fight and scratch and foul and just play hard on defense and offense. I think we can out-tough them.
- From the start of the season, you've come a long way from being “the ceiling guy” to one of the most beloved players by Loko fans. How do you take it?
- I can understand that. I've been playing against Lokomotiv for many years. Not just me playing in Russia, but teams that I've played in other countries: Italy, Greece, France. But once I sign a contract and I write my name and my number is on that jersey, that's the love I have for that team. I'm always going to play extremely hard for the team and care about the fans and care about the city. That's just me. I'm not really surprised about that. I love the fans and the fans love me back and I appreciate that.
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