December is becoming very long for Barça. The tight schedule, with matches every two or three days at most, has affected the incipient Blaugrana project. The balance in the last month of the year leaves more doubts than certainties, with five victories and six defeats, the last overwhelming one on the Unicaja court (91-71). Until this December, the Catalan team had only been defeated in five games.
Roger Grimau's men live immersed in a roller coaster, with hopeful triumphs, such as against Fenerbahçe and Baskonia, and notable disappointments, such as the duel lost against the then bottom of the Euroleague, Alba Berlin. After once again showing their worst face at the Martín Carpena in Málaga, the Barcelona fans need to show their best version this Friday against one of the European bones, Monaco, on the last day of the first round of the Euroleague.
“In December we did not play our game. You have to work more. The calendar is what it is, very difficult. We have to move forward with the game in Monaco and hope that this gives us confidence again for the games we have at home,” said Tomás Satoransky, called to be one of the team's leaders.
The visit to the Principality will be the farewell to 2023, but without having practically digested the grapes, Barça will face two other very demanding matches next week at the Palau, first against Real Madrid and then against Baskonia, both from the continental competition. Three games in just seven days that should be a turning point, a reaction that gives peace of mind to the section and scares away ghosts. The tour de force will end on January 7 with the Endesa League duel against Obradoiro, last in the first round, which should serve to certify the seeding status in the Cup.
The objective in the following matches is to leave behind the irregularity that has marked the team's path in the last month, with constant disconnections in matches that have squandered the chances of victory. Stability is presumed essential to give solidity to the foundations of the new stage. Grimau, with no experience on the elite bench until his arrival at the Palau, has the difficult task of fighting for titles with fewer goals than his predecessor.
The budget cut, with a salary reduction of more than 20%, is being noticed in the team's rotation. Nicolás Laprovittola, a free verse in previous years, is the only lighthouse in the offensive field when the ball is burning. If the Argentine is not inspired, the team usually short-circuits. Willy Hernangómez and Jabari Parker, accustomed to the NBA style, have combined great performances with moments of error. For their part, Joel Parra and Darío Brizuela, the other new faces of the team, have emerged slowly in this first stretch of the season.
Grimau has brought fresh air to the locker room with a more offensive and happy basketball, less constricted. The players, as they have expressed several times, enjoy the new style, but the lack of defensive discipline is being too heavy a burden. Barça scores an average of 84 points per game, the fourth most successful in the Euroleague and the third in the ACB, but concedes 79 on average between the two competitions, the club's worst defensive figure since the 2017-18 season.
“I couldn't explain very well. When we stop being accurate and moving the ball well we fall too far down,” said Grimau after the debacle in Malaga. Solutions from the bench to defend better and the step forward of several players are necessary.
