Real Madrid are the hottest team in Europe and their most talked-about player is a guard averaging 7.9 points. That contradiction is the whole story behind Nick Smith Jr.’s social-media answer to critics this morning.
The facts first. In Real Madrid’s 122-86 win at Hiopos Lleida, Smith finished with seven points on 2-of-4 from two and 1-of-5 from three, four turnovers and a PIR of minus three. He then posted a direct reply to his critics, insisting he feels no pressure and that the team’s improvement is all that matters. Real Madrid have now won eight straight across the EuroLeague and the Liga Endesa after opening the continental season with three straight defeats.
Look at the role rather than the result. Seven EuroLeague games, roughly fourteen minutes a night, 50 percent inside the arc and 46.7 percent from three. That is a clean, low-volume shot diet: catch-and-shoot threes, second-side attacks, almost no primary creation. A 22-year-old adjusting to European spacing does not get rhythm in six-minute bursts, and the -3 rating against Lleida came mostly from turnovers, not from missed shots.
The tactical test arrives this week. Real Madrid travel to Baskonia on Tuesday and host Fenerbahce on Thursday, two games that will decide how much the second unit can be trusted in a double round. Fenerbahce’s drop coverage punishes guards who cannot punish a late close-out, and a switch-heavy defence hunts the smallest defender. Smith’s value in that matchup is simple: knock down the open three, protect the ball, and hold up on the defensive end.
For a player on his first European contract, minutes are the currency. Real Madrid do not need him to win a game in October. They need him to be playable in April.
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