Can we get REVENGE against Real Madrid?!

Is he going to do it again? Erzonia to tie it up on the buzzer! Mario Erzonia ties it up on the buzzer! 3, 2, Larkins in the hoop, up, over, can't get the roll, comes back to his right, Erzonia wants the 3, Erzonia, Super Mario! John tries to hit a 3 from deep and he drills it with 1.9 seconds to go and it's a 4-point game. You just see the disappointment a lot of these guys face. They walk off the floor.

This week we have a big revenge match in Spain. It was actually one of the longest games in EuroLeague, 4 overtimes, and we couldn't pull it off last year. So this year we're trying to go back there and actually get the win this time. We even stole one of their weapons, Vincent Poirier, big man who was dunking, blocking shots. But before that, we have a double week, which we play Baskonia first. So Let's go with the win at Baskonia and then go and get revenge in Madrid. Come on, let's go. Actually, I just realized, yes, it's double week in EuroLeague, but in Turkish League we just had a game Sunday in Mersin. Then we have the double week in Spain with Baskonia, Madrid. Then we come back the following Sunday and play Fenerbahçe. So it's actually 4 games in 7 days.

Daddy, is I'm going to come with you?

Not this time. You need to go on a trip with us, huh? So I was thinking on the plane is that a lot of players on our team have played for Baskonia. So you have Darius Thompson, he played here 2 years ago. Shane played here, Roddy played here, Vince played here. That's 4 guys. So a lot of players have played here. But now we're about to go to film. Got coach to send us breakdowns of the film of each player. So basically the same stuff I watch on the thing. But like I said before, when I'm watching, um, film, I'm watching just for tendencies and exactly to see how they've been scoring their last buckets. Because I know for me personally, if something's gonna work in the last game, then I'm gonna use the same thing, right? So I'm trying to think of— try to use a little bit of psychology in it. I don't know if I said this before, but no matter who I'm playing, it's always an opportunity to get better. And I haven't watched the film from Mersin Sport, a Turkish game we played. I know we have a game today against, uh, Baskonia, but right now I'm watching the film and taking notes on what I see. And because every game and every practice is an opportunity to get better, I'm not gonna tell you to play name, but I'm just going to tell you a basic concept that I see here that I could have been better at. So I come off, I get the DHO, and they've screened, they hedge, they want me to make a decision, get off the ball. But this guy is the guy I need to be reading. Paco Cruz, actually my favorite non-EuroLeague player. He's so nice. But so right here, one dribble back, boom, right here. Because now he has to make a decision— either shot, playoff closeout, or pass inside because he can steal his guy. He's late, but I dribble it too long. Second dribble is too much. So watch, come off, boom, right here, turn around, boom, throw it to Uh, that's the read. I mean, it's obvious, so I got to see that better. I still get it, so I still get a good shot, but it could have been easier.

Start a tricky road trip. Tonight they are in Vitoria, and in 48 hours they'll be in Madrid, the capital city of Spain. Well, the ball's in the air and we are underway. Elijah Bryant gets his first touch in the ball game, and his runner is good. Bryant weaves Hook pass to Poirier, who does a great job. Poirier in traffic, great pass from Elijah Bryant. That's a bomb, got it! Baldwin, I mean, pardon, Elijah Bryant. And look at the strong hands and the concentration of Elijah Bryant. And the and-1 to come. Bryant again, another and one. Bryant, easy, wide open three. Bryant from the elbow, smooth. Elijah Bryant, leading scorer, 16 points. Baskonia have plenty of fouls to get Bryant.

Got it!

Elijah Bryant stands tall and look at this, gets to the window and look at the concentration. 18 points, 6 assists. Elijah Bryant With 20 points, a PIR of 30, clutch free throws, and a huge pressure basket down the stretch. What a win here for FS.

You gotta win, that's all that matters. Wasn't pretty. There's some things that I did well, there's some things that I didn't do well. Key is, as in any game, is to learn from it, enjoy it, and then move on. Because we got tomorrow, we travel to Madrid, then we got another game, then we play Fener. On Sunday. So hey, overseas basketball isn't for the weak, that's for sure. It's— there's a lot of blessings in it, but it's hard work, and anything worth having in life will be hard work. So time to get some rest. All right, so these are essential when traveling for me. So they're called recovery tights. Um, basically, I mean, they're like tights, right? So you just— they keep your body squeezed to keep the lactic acid out, which is really good uh, when traveling. So these I always have, especially on double weeks or quad weeks, to say the least. All right, so we made it to Madrid. Was he confused all those people were there? Ready?

Who's winning?

Seller. Let me see your best move no one can stop. Anywhere. Right there. You catch it. You got 7 seconds. We're down by 2. Oh, hell no. All right, best move. Down by 2. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. Hey, why you got your headphones on? I just did it. Take them out again. Show me your best move. Show me your best move. I don't want to move. Show me your best move. My best move? Yeah. Give me the ball. Good morning, chat. Like I said, we're at Madrid. The last game I told you guys I rolled my ankle a little bit, so I've been trying to do some exercises to warm it up. Just like tweaked it a little bit. It's a little swollen, but that's how the season goes. Got some treatment on it, um, yesterday. I didn't get treatment on it, I did some exercises. I'm gonna get some treatment on it for the game today. I'm not— I can't show you my toes because y'all gonna roast me. You probably already seen them. All right, let's go. I just realized I'm not teaching you guys right. I told you my ankle was sprained, but I need to tell my subconscious my ankle is 100% healthy. What you tell your subconscious is what is going to happen. So my ankle's 100% healthy. Let's go.

A 4-overtime game here last year that I think I'll never forget. And so much just competition between these two teams. What I've been waiting for. Let's get it on, fellas. Oh my, Bryant with a floater, nothing but nets. Elijah Bryant taking advantage of Capasso. He's got to get to the basket. Bryant, left hand, up, over, foul. Basket! Elijah Bryant with the left hand with 0.7 on the clock. Jordan 1 from 3, 27-point lead. Up top, Poitier finally gets the one he wanted. Back door, Isaiah, are you kidding me? Over all three defenders. Mario, take it up. Oh, Thompson! That's one of the best defensive plays you'll see in the EuroLeague. Memphis with a monumental sweep of Spain, and they capitalized on both Victories! Two huge victories for Anadolu Evers Istanbul on the road in a double week.

We got the dubs, man. My first win in my career in EuroLeague at Madrid, and we almost smoked it. Literally, I don't know why we come out so flat in the third quarters, but my man Darius was literally Russell Westbrook down again. Two dimes Boom. Then he had the block on Herzogian. Herzogian did punch all 3 of us though on the reverse dunk. We won, um, that's the main thing that matters. But there are some things that did good, there are some things that did bad. Um, I'll watch the film tomorrow, learn from it. It's all the top of my head. I'm thinking, why would I try to float to Varas knowing he volleyball spiked my joint on the Eurostep? Like, tell me what you guys think. I don't know, like I'm going to Eurostep and that my natural motion is boom, boom. If I hit him in the mouth, it's not like on purpose. So like, how am I supposed to— anyways, but we got the win. Um, we're leaving tomorrow, man. We're up 20-something. We almost smoked it. We gotta figure out a way to figure out, fix this third quarter, but got the win. That's all that matters. All right, so we finally made it back to Istanbul. And for me, as you know, nutrition is a big thing for me. When I come home and Jane's throwing down like this— butternut squash soup, gluten-free cheddar biscuits, paleo vegetable rice, steak. One more thing, wait. Eggnog chia seed pudding. When I'm watching these games, like we're playing fitter the next game, and this is the last game that they played. So these are probably the most strategic stuff they're going to do against us as a team. So I'm seeing— we know not what Nigel's gonna do, he's gonna take advantage of this, of his mismatch. But I'm seeing their tendencies on defense, I'm seeing who played well last game to try to think of what type of headspace they're in. So if I can maybe go under a screen because a person hasn't been hitting their shots the last few games. Those are the type of things I'm trying to pick up on. Guys, I did not feel like getting the ice tub. I'm not gonna even lie to you. So what I did to trick myself or to give myself something to look forward to, I had these sitting out here— dates with Gi— to kind of say, when you finish the ice tub, this is your reward. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get it done. We're at the hotel, um, today we play Fenner. Turkish League game. This is our 4th game in 7 days, actually 4 games on the road. That's why I was doing red light last night. And then— that's crazy, man. Life's crazy. If you think it, if you believe it, it can happen. What you got? Oh! We lost the game, but we didn't lose the fight because we learned from it. It just wasn't a good game. We— they played better. We never really got a grasp for the game. What I will say is this, I wanna show the real real of like, literally, game ends at 11, I come home, I eat late, freaking kids get up at 7, taking kids to school, exhausted, tired. But family is everything to me, so I wouldn't want it any other way. And I love it, I love my boys. I love my boys and my future boys and girls. But I thank you guys for joining me on this, this quad week of 4 games in 7 days. And please let me know in the comments if there's anything you guys want to see or questions you have. And remember, it's consistency over intensity. God bless.