Efes won in Kaunas, against Zalgiris. Kai Jones finished 4 for 4 from the field, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, in 19 minutes. Noted.
The figure that occupies me is elsewhere. Over the last year, in the EuroLeague and the Turkish league, he took 145 shots. He missed 10. According to BasketNews, that’s 93.1%. In the EuroLeague alone, 66 for 72.
At our place, the scoresheet has a box for points and one for fouls. Missed shots, nobody writes them down. You hear them. The floor that sticks in January makes them louder, but they don’t get written.
All the same, I ruled a line in my folder, in red biro, a column for him. Ten lines over twelve months, across 73 games since he arrived in Europe. That’s fewer than the misspelt names I correct in one season. I’m not making a comparison. I’m counting.
Another line: over the last twelve months he has taken only six shots outside the paint. The paint is his column. He doesn’t spill over. I appreciate someone who stays in his column.
He told BasketNews he had learned to read the game. I read the sheet. We each have our trade.
Tonight I put the folder away with the column almost empty. Missed shots, Kaunas: zero. It’s on the sheet.
It’s true, we checked: BasketNews.
