Jeremy Evans was the second most productive player for Khimki in the overtime defeat to Olympiacos in Piraeus. The high-flying center scored 17 points, being perfect on the field with 7/7 FG and 2/2 free throws. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and made 2 blocks.
Evans has quite an impact being a great presence in the paint, especially on defense. Khimki is conceding 100.5 points per 100 possesions, when Evans is on the floor, while averaging a +4.8 plus/minus.
The veteran center played in the NBA for almost six years, he was the Slam Dunk Contest champion in 2012 and until today he remains a high flying “big” with a great touch around the rim.
The ex-Utah Jazz center talked to Talkbasket, after the overtime loss to Olympiacos in “Peace and Friendship Stadium”. Khimki lost a 9-point lead in the last 2′ and scored only two points in the overtime.
The Russians bounced back from the “tough” loss with a win against Zalgiris and did what exactly Evans said to Talkbasket on Wednesday during our conversation, finished “strong”!
“We just go back to practice.We got a quick turnaround, we play again in two days. We just got to get back to it.We made certain mistakes, we got to be more careful, be better finishing the games. We got to be more focused when it comes down to the end.”
The Russians scored 26 points in the last quarter against Zalgiris on Friday night and improved their record to 8-7 with Alexey Sved having 25 points. This performance followed a 36-point game in Piraeus with the Russian taking 31 attempts against the defense of the “Reds”.
In a question concerning the great reliance in the offensive game of Alexey Sved, Evans said: “He does what he does, we used to it. Tonight he was “on”, so why not keep feeding him.We know he is gonna shoot the ball. Scoring! That’s what he does here for this team.We knew will come into this that’s why we get into it”.
After a successful season in Turkey, Evans considered coming to Greece last summer admitting that he talked to David Blatt, pointing out that “you never know what the future holds. You know. I talked to coach Blatt and thought about coming here. I kept my option open.
I love to come here and play, it’s a great city. I’ve been here a few times visiting a couple of teammates. It’s nice!!!”
