La Laguna Tenerife’s coach, Jaka Lakovic, has highlighted control of defensive rebounds and defence in transition as two of the key factors in beating Monbus Obradoiro this Sunday.
The Slovenian coach pointed out at a press conference on Saturday that the Galician side is the team in the Liga Endesa that «grabs the most offensive rebounds», averaging 16 per match, and highlighted Soriano’s contribution, having grabbed 12 in the last two matches, six per match.
«We all need to ensure we secure our defensive rebounds, not just the big men, but the perimeter players need to be there and involved too,» explained Lakovic, who also warned of the threat posed by Childress on the pick-and-roll and Soriano’s presence in the paint, two of the opposition’s key offensive threats.
La Laguna, Tenerife: Concentration and teamwork still need improving
The Aurinegro coach has acknowledged that his team still needs to improve «certain aspects» despite their strong start to the season, and pointed out that the first half against Skyliners Frankfurt highlighted the importance of «starting matches with maximum concentration», following a «sluggish» and «slow» start which they managed to turn around after the break.
Lakovic emphasised that one of his team’s strengths is their ability to «play as a unit» and pointed out that the team «struggles when it relies on individual solutions», which is why he believes it is essential to «maintain the connection between players during matches».
Lakovic is relying on experienced key players during the adaptation process
Regarding the process of settling in since taking over as manager, he acknowledged that they still need time to «develop the desired automatic responses», a point he has emphasised throughout these first few weeks of the season, although he highlighted the continuity of «a large part of the squad» and noted that their prior familiarity with the team’s playing systems «has helped ensure that positive results have come quickly».
Finally, he highlighted the importance of the dressing room leaders in the team’s response against the Skyliners, where the players‘ own words at half-time «carried particular weight», as it was they themselves who took control of the situation and turned the match around when they came out of the dressing room.
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