Zalgiris Kaunas head coach Andrea Trinchieri spoke at the press conference after his team’s victory against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, where they defeated the Turkish team 85-72.
Trinchieri spoke about Lonnie Walker’s inability to adapt to the physicality of the EuroLeague.
“Every player is very important, but I don’t want to have a system that depends on one player. Lonnie gave us wings in the first half. He could not find a way to play against a very physical defense, which I would say was even at the limit of fouling, holding, pushing, and hitting. He is not used to this, and we won a game with him on the bench,” Trinchieri argued.
Zalgiris Kaunas’ coach went on to describe what his role is in such situations when players are in the adaptation phase. How he can help Lonnie Walker IV.
“This is a team sport, we are a team, and we found the weapons to win. Of course, my job will be to show him the clips, show him the film of the game, and show him where he can improve,” Trinchieri noted.
Trinchieri then went into detail and compared Lonnie with Kendrick Nunn in terms of how fast the adaptation phase is going between the two.
“I just want to remind you, at the beginning of December, Kendrick Nunn was not the Kendrick Nunn he is now. And to tell you the truth, Lonnie is ahead of schedule, a lot ahead of schedule. Ups and downs will be there. 85 percent of the things he is facing, he has never faced in his life. The thing that I like is that he is humble, he plays hard, he makes mistakes. Sometimes he is over-dribbling, okay, but he is able to put his talent to the service of the team,” he concluded.