Basketball
Former captain of Nigeria’s national men’s basketball team Ime Udoka is happy to have finally secured his first win as a head coach in the National Basketball Association after leading the Boston Celtics to their maiden win of the on-going season.
The Celtics, 17-time winners of the NBA championship, defeated the Rockets 107-97 on Sunday night in Houston to record their first win of the 2021/2022 season.
“It’s special,” Udoka told the media after the game. “Got the water shower in there from the guys and the game ball. I told the guys it’s overdue, it took you too long to get it.
“Thank Jaylen (Brown) and Romeo (Langford) for helping, seeing as how they sat out tonight. It’s good to get a win, not just for the first, but to get us rolling on the right foot. Played the right way tonight, defended how we could after that first quarter,” added Udoka, a former NBA player himself, who paid his dues as an assistant coach for years, including stints with the Spurs, 76ers and Nets.
Although Udoka made mention of how long it took to get his first win, it didn’t take that long. Three games to be exact. But it probably felt like an eternity from Udoka’s vantage point after starting the season off with back-to-back losses.
“I can only imagine being a head coach,” said Celtics star Jayson Tatum, “first head-coaching job in the NBA, just to get that off your back, get the first one out the way. I’m sure it means a lot to him, his family. I’m happy for him.”
Tatum did his part to help Udoka get the win, as he poured in a season-high 31 points.
Al Horford also came up big with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three steals and three blocks.
Dennis Schroder logged 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Grant Williams matched Schroder’s scoring mark while knocking down a career-high five 3-pointers.
It was a performance level that was conspicuously absent during Boston’s 33-point loss to the Toronto Raptors last Friday.
“I would say overall, that’s who we are,” Udoka said of the toughness that the Celtics displayed at Houston. “That’s who we’ve been in the preseason, and all the practices are spirited and competitive. So I look at that [loss to the Raptors] as more of an aberration than the norm.
“We got back to what we did tonight, which is compete at a high level, matched this young team’s energy and really shared the ball and defended well. So that’s what we’re looking for: consistency going forward. And we brought it well tonight.”
More important to Udoka than the win is the momentum that he hopes to build from it, as his team take on Charlotte Monday night.
“It’s good to get a win, not just for the first, but to get us rolling on the right foot. As for the memento that almost rolled away, I may look at the ball someday. But it’s on to Charlotte now,” added the 44-year-old, referring to the game ball that was handed to him at the end of Sunday night’s game.
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- Chelsea’s most important player under Tuchel’s watch.
Chelsea
N’Golo Kante has been picked as Chelsea’s most important player under the reign of Thomas Tuchel as the club’s manager.
Former Blues midfielder, Joe Cole believes the Frenchman is Chelsea’s most important man, but added that even if he’s injured, they can cope without him.
Chelsea defeated Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Wednesday, with goals from Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech giving them all three points and helping the Stamford Bridge landlords to stay top of the table.
Tuchel made six changes to the starting XI that drew with Manchester United last time.
Kante missed the match with United on Sunday after suffering a knee injury in the Champions League against Juventus last week and could not make it to the Premier League clash against Watford.
Cole noted that Chelsea have enough players to cover for anyone who is injured in any position, with the team still playing at the same level.
“This team, even without N’Golo Kante who is in my opinion the most important player, when he’s out the team Loftus-Cheek comes in, Saul tonight, and the level doesn’t drop,” Cole said on Amazon Prime
N’Golo Kante would hopefully return to action when Chelsea tackle Londob rivals, West Ham on Saturday.
The Frenchman was one of the 30 players who contended for the controversial 2021 Ballon d’Or award.
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- Quote Of The Day
“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
– Bobby Unser - Iker Casillas criticizes Messi’s seventh Ballon d’Or win.
Ballon d’Or
Real Madrid legend, Iker Casillas, has criticized the decision to hand Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
Casillas claimed Messi is one of the five best footballers of all time, but the Ballon d’ Or organizers must start to take note of who is the best player in a given season.
Recall with The Eleven that France Football, organizers of the Ballon d’Or, named Messi as the winner of this year’s award on Monday night in Paris ahead of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea’s Jorginho.
“I find it more and more difficult to believe in these football awards,” Casillas wrote on Twitter.
“For me, Messi is one of the five best footballers of all time but they must start to take note of who is the best player in a given season.
“It’s not that difficult. Others just make it difficult,” he concluded.
Casillas played against Messi in different El Clasico during his time at Real Madrid.
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- Ballon d’Or: PSG reacts to Messi’s win.
Ballon d’Or
Paris Saint-Germain chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has congratulated Lionel Messi after he won his seventh Ballon d’Or award on Monday night.
Messi finished ahead of Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea’s Jorginho, to claim the prize.
“I would like to warmly congratulate Leo. It is a great pride for the club that one of our players has won the most prestigious and coveted title.
“Leo marks the history of football a little more. Like all our supporters around the world, we are delighted to see one of the greatest players of all time playing in the PSG kit,” Al-Khelaifi said.
Messi only signed Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer from Barcelona during the summer.
The Argentina captain has now added to his 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 trophies, after winning the Copa America for the first time with his country in July.
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- Ballon d’Or: “I’ll help you win” – Vinicius Jr pledges to Benzema.
Ballon d’Or
Real Madrid foreword, Vinicius Junior, has made promises to his teammate and “friend” Karim Benzema after the Frenchman lost out of the 2021 Ballon d’Or award on Monday.
Vinicius said he would help Benzema, who he described as his best friend on the pitch, win the Ballon d’Or “because we are very close and we always look to link up.”
Speaking with Marca on Tuesday, the 21-year-old Brazil International also stressed that he wants to achieve a lot of success at Real Madrid.
Benzema narrowly missed out on the 2021 Ballon d’Or award, finishing in fourth place, behind Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowksi, Jorginho.
Vinicius wants to help the Frenchma win France Football’s prize before he retires.
“He’s impressive. He makes everything difficult look easy,” he told Marca.
“He’s a great footballer, I love playing with him and I want to help him stay here for a long time and do my best to help him win the Ballon d’Or one day.”
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