Erdem Can: 'Small details determine the result'

Anadolu Efes Head Coach Erdem Can made statements following the loss against Fenerbahçe Beko.

Erdem Can said, "At the end of the day, of course, small details decide the outcome of the game. We are trying to get better. We are trying to rebuild ourselves. Small details determine the game at the end of the day."

PRESS CONFERENCE

Erdem Can spoke at the press conference held after the match played at the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall.

Erdem Can said, "My players fought incredibly hard until the last second. They stayed true to the game plan. We were quite aggressive on defense. Small details determined the result. We couldn't capitalize on some open shots on offense. In such tough games, a single possession can be decisive. I think this is our 5th game where we stayed under 30 percent in three-point shooting. Missing open shots also disrupts our rhythm. As you know, some of our players are returning from injury. We are trying to restructure them into our game plan. My players fought very well. The EuroLeague is a long marathon. Everything can change very quickly. We will be better."

''PHYSICAL SMALL FORWARDS ARE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR''

Continuing his remarks, the successful coach said, "Mike Daum is actually our power forward, but all our small forwards are injured, and our opponent plays with big small forwards. Having physical small forwards is an important factor in the EuroLeague. We are playing Daum out of his original position. This leads to a lack of a playmaker on the court. At the same time, because we are on the court with a converted power forward who has no shooting threat, we get a bit tired in terms of floor spacing. The biggest factor in not being able to bring out a second guard is having to keep a third big man on the court due to matchups. For guards to get into a rhythm, making shots is an important factor. Unless there is outside shooting accuracy, the opponent packs the paint more. In the first half, we were playing with a two-point percentage of 20 out of 25, but this percentage dropped because the rotation was narrow. When you have a percentage like 4 out of 20 in outside shooting, this naturally affects the creators and the guards. A guard's scoring ability is directly proportional to how well you open up the floor. This is not an element we haven't seen. The dynamics on the court can lead you to not being able to act in any other way."

''THIS IS THE MAIN FRAMEWORK''

Finally, Erdem Can evaluated, "Players like Ante Zizic and Tibor Pleiss are players who occupy a certain volume in the rotation. We need to use them. When there is a need, as we said, we use the power forward as a small forward. At the beginning of the game, Elijah Bryant and Rodrigue Beaubois picked up 2 early fouls. Our guard rotation has already returned from injury. We have to use Tibor and Ante so that the players stay fresh at the end of the game. These are players with volume who are important in the rotation. You expect a return on that volume on the court. Since he hasn't fully returned from injury yet... People might have an expectation like; a player is playing, let him play for 40 minutes, unfortunately, the dynamics inside are not like that. Because we couldn't make that rotation, our big man made mistakes on defense and offense due to the effect of fatigue. This is the main framework."