Nigel Hayes-Davis: “We Need to Be More Consistent Defensively, Starting with Me”

Fenerbahce Beko’s star player Nigel Hayes-Davis reflected on the team’s victory over Partizan in the seventh round of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, where Fenerbahce Beko concluded the double-game week with two wins.

In the game against Partizan, Hayes-Davis played 29 minutes and posted 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. After the game, he shared his thoughts:

“I wanted to play aggressively from the beginning. In the Maccabi game, I got into early foul trouble, made some silly fouls, and couldn’t play as much in the first half. Tonight, I wanted to be aggressive from the start. I had a few of my shots blocked, but like I said, I tried to stay aggressive. Coach told us to play with more pace and to ‘push the ball,’ so we focused on that today. Still, we need to improve defensively, and I especially need to be better.

“Partizan targeted me on defense, and that’s not a good feeling. It’s not a great look for the team’s best player and leader to be scored on. So, we needed to be more consistent on defense. If we want to transition from being a good team to a great one, we need to stay disciplined defensively, and that starts with me improving in this area.”