The black cloud of Laso's Madrid

Laso's Real Madrid has been misconfigured and he cannot find the key to reset it.

The Whites, immersed in a galloping crisis of identity, game and results, linked in Belgrade against Red Star their fourth consecutive defeat in the Euroleague, with an unprecedented average of 57 points per game —when in seven of the previous 10 seasons they closed their statistics on the border of 85 points and never fell below 79—.

Dry and unwise as it is not remembered in the last decade, the Madrid team has nine defeats in the last 16 games (three of them, disappointing against Barça), seven in the last 10 if the photo is closer.

This Thursday, at the WiZink Center (8:45 p.m., DAZN), Ettore Messina and Sergio Rodríguez's Olimpia Milan will be the thermometer to measure Madrid fever.

Laso's team, which led the ACB and the Euroleague until January 23, had won the Super Cup and chained a sequence of 21 wins in 22 games, has become an unrecognizable team after a month and a half of growing mist until the black cloud.

In the attempt to stop a hegemonic Barça in the direct duel (10 wins for the azulgrana in 13 classics with Jasikevicius), Madrid lost its rhythm, solidity, automatisms, style, solvency and, above all, the aim.

MORE INFORMATION

Historical collapse of Real Madrid in the Euroleague

Among the nine defeats in 45 days, three stand out with starving figures: with 51, 59 and 47 points.

A consequence, fundamentally, of the shortcomings in the creation of play and the hole in the perimeter: 6 of 30 in triples against Fenerbahçe (20%), 4 of 23 against Barça in the Cup final (17%), and 1 of 15 against Zalgiris (6.7%, in the Whites' worst ever score in the Euroleague) respectively.

On Sunday, against Baskonia, 4 of 24 (17%), with only 48 points at stake and 24 free throws.

And on Tuesday in Belgrade, another ode to nonsense with 9 of 37 in triples (24%).

"To work together to be more successful and change this dynamic", launched Llull after losing to Estrella Roja.

“The word is work and nothing else.

Part of the defeat happens for me, so that said: work, work and work, "said Rudy,

The lack of points and leadership has turned the Real Madrid record at the start of the season, of 34 wins and four losses, into the current 41-13.

In these weeks, the powerful inside game headed by Yabusele and Tavares (deactivated in the classics) has languished as fundamental support, the perimeter has shown its lack of arguments, and the engine room has been flooded with doubts.

No trace of the foundational idea of

, driven by fast-paced exteriors, nor of the solidity of the first months of competition, based on the interior towers.

Based on chest blows, Laso's men managed to compete in the Cup final in Granada, but the blanket that sheltered a brave defense could not cover an alarmingly weak attack.

In the search for a strategic title, the coach ruled out Williams-Goss, tried with Abalde as a base to boost the ball out and stop the Barça creation, and established a help defense with Taylor and the

holding Calathes.

He did not reach the trophy and, in exchange, left Williams-Goss and Heurtel mired in distrust - Alocén was also injured along the way.

Madrid is now looking for a way out of the loop without generators or plungers in the game.

Despite everything, the Whites are second in the Euroleague (20-7 to Barça's 21-5) and first in the ACB (17-5 to Barça's 16-4, with the best winning percentage).

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