ATHENS — Olympiacos inflicted a third defeat of the EuroLeague season on Anadolu Efes with an emphatic 89-66 victory at SUNEL Arena in the fourth round, as Efes head coach Pablo Laso insisted his side must adapt to life without Mike James.
Efes travelled to Athens without their leading player, who is expected to be sidelined for seven to nine months after sustaining a torn Achilles tendon during the away fixture against Crvena Zvezda. Despite the significant absence, Laso was adamant it could not serve as an excuse for the performance. "Psychologically, this is certainly something we have to accept. We need to understand and accept that Mike James will not be coming back. This is a very significant loss for the club, the team and his teammates. Losing such a player, especially at the beginning of the season when you are trying to establish your system of play, is naturally a major blow," Laso said.
"But we cannot think, 'Okay, everything is over.' That would be ridiculous. It would be very wrong for me to come here and say, 'We lost Mike, so this defeat is normal.' That is not how I think. I have to be critical of my players," he added.
Laso stressed that Efes must now evolve as a collective, stating: "We will be without a very important player. But we have to become a better basketball team than the one we showed on the court today." The result leaves Efes searching for a response after a difficult start, following Olympiacos' emphatic 89-66 win over Efes in Athens.