Basketball
Sloukas with 42 points and the element that makes him unique
Stefanos Makris uses InStat Scout to analyze Olympiakos’ win over Anantolou Efes. The 42 points that Sloukas offers and the feature that makes him unique in Europe, Fal’s defense in Efes’ guards and Dorsey’s shots.
Olympiacos scored one of his biggest, if not his biggest, wins in the EuroLeague that year, beating Anantolou Efes 87-85. Kostas Sloukas’ buzzer-beater sent him to seventh heaven and kept him in the playoffs. And he showed the metal of the team.
Only Olympiacos and Costas Sloukas can do that when they win the year
The “Red-Whites” played one of the most important games of the season and lost Thomas Wookup before the game. They did not play a stealth war against the ό nuclear weapons that Anadolu Efes has in the region. They approached the game at their own pace, adjusting where necessary, doing what was necessary. In the end, they saw the two players who defined the whole game, Mustafa Fal in defense and Costas Sloukas in attack, to bring victory. But we’ll get there too. The question is how Olympiacos got to this point.
The different rotation due to Wookup and the 2nd period
With Wokap out of the game just before the Yambol, George Bartzokas had to change the rotation. The first step was logic: he passed Kostas Sloukas in the top five. It was a decision and it brought some expected results.
Olympiacos built their entire first-half game on Kostas Sloukas’ ability to create for his teammates. He came in with a bang, read the game correctly, saw the National Guard beat Timbor Plays in pick and roll and either scored after a dribble or passed at the right moment with Olympiakos making a difference. The trouble would come later, however, when he passed on the bench.
In Olympiacos’ regular rotation, Sloukas is the one who comes off the bench first and holds the team during the second period. From the moment he started as a key player, he was on the bench in the second half. This meant that Olympiacos changed his approach and lost an important part of his creation. George Bartzokas mostly gave the ball to Sakil McKissick’s hands, while Printezis was fed quite often at the post. Both gave solutions and retained Olympiakos. The “Red-Whites”, on the other hand, became predictable, Efes found a rhythm and the game got down to business again.
The “feeding” of Plais, Mitsic and Sloukas
Anadolu Efes is a team that has the tremendous luxury of often competing with three creators/performers on stage due to the presence of Mitsic, Larkin, Simon, Boboa and Bryant. To think that it is easy to stop the Turkish team in pick and roll situations is utopian. It can limit it. And Olympiacos did a relatively good job. But he couldn’t stop them all.
Efes wanted to tag Fal. But not in the traditional way. She wanted to get him out of the basket. To a degree he did, especially in the third period thanks to Mitsic’s class and Timber Plays’ ability in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations. The Serb was the one who launched most of the attacks, but Plais was often the recipient of his assists. As a result, the German Olympiakos ‘hurt’ with a mid-range shot in pick-and-pop situations, but also hit every miss on substitutions through his huge body. However, this did not bother Olympiacos to the full extent. Because as long as Plais was shooting, it meant that the Efes guardsmen weren’t shooting – and couldn’t find a rhythm.
While Olympiakos struggled in defence, Sloukas was the one who carried him in attack with companion Sasha Vezenkov. Sloukas finished the game with 23 points, but the difference was evident in another number: his assists offered Olympiakos another 19 points. In total, the international guard was responsible for 42 points for the Piraeus team. He was the one who leveled things out when Mitsic (12 points, 13 assists) suffered a loss.
The role of Dorsey and the “Rock” Fal
With the game going into overtime, Sloukas was tired. But then it became clear how valuable it is to be on the team of a player who has the ability to create your own shot. In other words, the value of Dorsey (19 points) was seen, coming out before a critical point in overtime and giving points with personal actions.
According to InStat Scout, Dorsey offered a total of 8 points (on 7 possessions) in pick and roll situations in which he shot, 4 points (on 4 possessions) in handoff situations, and 2 points (on 1 possession). Catch-and-drive situations (where he was released and attempted after a dribble). That’s 14 points from personal action, which is gold when a match goes to the point.
At the same time, none of that would have mattered if Mustafa Fal hadn’t covered the basket on the other side. According to InStat Scout, the French center has been called 8 times to tag Anantolo Efes’ rival guards (one at a time) in isolation situations. In these professions he received a total of 2 (!) points. Six of those possessions came at the end of the fourth period and overtime when the Efes guard took aim at him.
Here is the graphic showing the shots Fal had to take in one-on-one situations in the game:
Anadolu Efes’ guard shoots at Fal in one-on-one situations
INSTAT SCOUT
Somehow we reach the final cast.
The last defense and what makes Sloukas truly unique
At 84-85, Efes had the attack. Mitzic “counted” Fal, played one-on-one with him, went all the way into the basket and missed. In the development phase, Sloukas took the ball, ran in the transition phase and passed to McKissick. The American faked and eventually had to return the ball to Sloukas, who first made an excuse and then shot, giving Olympiakos the win.
Fal’s role in the final basket and his one-on-one skills have already been analyzed. Now it’s time to shed some light on one of Slouka’s finely tuned traits, despite being one of the best players in Europe, if not the best. What is that? The way he moves once he passes the ball. So those tenths of a second in which Sloukas’ defender relaxes because the ball has just left his hands. And it’s in those tenths of a second that Sloukas has the instinct, class and basketball experience to break free, to get the ball back.
Most people love Sloukas’ shot after a dribble, that he has an extremely good view of the field, that he’s not afraid to make the big throw. All of this applies. However, it is questionable whether there are more than 2-3 players in Europe who can “give and go” better than him to ask the ball immediately for execution. It is this skill that helps him lose his balance with his personal opponent so he can either rush to the basket or shoot straight. And that ability and instinct helped him to be in the right place at the right time (following his own pass) after creating an imbalance in Efes’ defense in the final attack in front of goal.
A great win
Olympiacos has achieved a great victory. He’s back forever. He endured the absence of Wookup, who came to the worst possible game due to Efes’ conditions and squad. And he showed that he has character.
The “red and white” made a belly when they appeared after the coronavirus cases. Now, however, they seem to be feeling the pressure. Automation. Cooperation is better, defense is more coordinated, concentration is back. If they keep going like this, only good things can happen.
Costas Sloukas spoke in front of the Sportish camera about the big hit against Anantolou Efes and Olympiakos’ first goal of the season:
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
Six games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 28-29.
Toronto hosted Golden State and earned a hard-fought overtime victory.
The Raptors had a better first quarter, during which they broke away from their opponent by 10 points (33:23), but the Warriors leveled this difference quite quickly and by the end of the second quarter they were already +6 – 56:50. However, they were unable to maintain their advantage, at least until the big break when the home team took the lead at 65:64.
In the third quarter, Golden State took the initiative and took the lead by 12 points (95:83), but at the end of the quarter, Toronto made an 8:0 move, reducing the gap to 4 points (96:100). However, the guest team started the fourth quarter better and stayed two or three shots away from their opponents. This continued until the middle of the quarter, and then Toronto slowly began to close the gap, tying the score at 120:120 47 seconds before the siren, thanks to Quickley’s three-pointer. Podzemski then hit a two-pointer to put the Warriors back in front, but Barnes responded with a two-pointer with 24 seconds left in the quarter, sending the game into overtime. The home team started the match with a score of 10:0 and then calmly maintained its advantage with a score of 141:127 and scored 5 points in 5 minutes.
Barnes recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists for Toronto. The most productive player of the match was Curry, but the 39 points he scored did not help the guest team win.
The Clippers hosted Detroit and won a sensational victory.
The home team was ahead by 19 points (33:14) in the first quarter, and then remained ahead throughout the entire match, reaching its maximum advantage of 26 points (95:69) at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Before the end of the game, the opponent regained half of this handicap, but this did not help the Pistons fully return to the game. As a result, the Clippers earned a landslide victory with a score of 112:99.
The most productive player of the match was Leonard, who achieved a double-double by scoring 55 points and collecting 11 rebounds, which was almost half of the Clippers’ entire set.
The Lakers defeated Sacramento after a series of underachievement.
Özernye, who took the initiative from the beginning of the game, gradually increased his advantage, won all quarters of the match and was defeated with a score of 125:101.
For the Lakers, Doncic scored 34 points and Ayton had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
NBA. Regular season, December 29
Toronto – Golden State – 141:127 Overtime (33:29, 32:35, 31:36, 26:22, 19:5)
toronto: Quickley (27 + 7 assists + 5 turnovers), Ingram (26 + 6 assists), Barnes (23 + 25 rebounds + 10 assists), Barrett (12 + 7 rebounds), Agbaji (10) – start; Walter (18), Mamukelashvili (13), Shed (8 + 8 assists), Dick (4), Temple (0), Bettle (0), Mobo (0).
Golden State: Curry (39), Dr. Green (21 + 7 assists), Butler (19), Pist (8), Moody (3) – start; Podzemski (13), Richard (10 + 7 rebounds + 5 steals), Horford (7 + 7 rebounds), Payton II (4), Hield (3).
Clippers – Detroit – 112:99 (33:20, 27:22, 32:27, 20:30)
cutting machines: Leonard (55 + 11 rebounds + 5 steals), Harden (28 + 7 assists), Batum (12), B. Lopez (7 + 7 rebounds), Dunn (5) – start; D. Jones (3), Niederhauser (2), Miller (0), Sanders (0).
of Detroit: Cunningham (27 + 9 assists), Düren (18 + 14 rebounds), Harris (6), Thompson (6), D. Robinson (5) – start; Ivey (11), Stewart (8), Green (7), LeVert (4), Holland (4), Reed (3), Jenkins (0).
Lakers-Sacramento-125:101 (30:24, 38:29, 31:27, 26:21)
Lakers: Doncic (34 + 7 assists + 5 turnovers), James (24), Hachimura (12), Ayton (11 + 11 rebounds), Smart (0) – start; Smith (21), Larevia (11), Vanderbilt (5), Knecht (3), Thiero (2), Kleber (2), James Jr. (0), Timmy (0).
sacramento: DeRozan (22), Reynaud (16 + 10 rebounds), Westbrook (13 + 6 turnovers), Achiuwa (5), Ellis (2) – start; Schroeder (11 + 7 assists), Monk (11), Clifford (11), Cardwell (7 + 7 rebounds), McDermott (3).
Oklahoma – Philadelphia – 129:104 (32:29, 32:33, 38:24, 27:18)
Oklahoma: Holmgren (29 + 9 rebounds + 4 blocks + 6 turnovers), Gilgeous-Alexander (27), Jaylen Williams (14 + 6 assists), Hartenstein (5), Dort (3) – start; Wiggins (15), Mitchell (13), Wallace (9), Caruso (7), Carlson (4), K. Williams (3), Joe (0), Youngblood (0).
Philadelphia: Maxey (28), George (12), Edgecombe (10), Drummond (4), Barlow (2) – start; Grimes (13), Edwards (12), Bona (11 + 8 rebounds + 4 blocks), McCain (10), Walker (2).
Washington – Memphis – 116:112 (25:27, 35:32, 24:29, 32:24)
washington: Sarr (20 + 9 rebounds + 6 blocks), McCollum (16), Johnson (14), Coulibaly (14 + 8 rebounds), Middleton (10) – start; Bagley (14 + 7 rebounds), Carrington (12 + 7 assists + 8 turnovers), Champigne (10 + 12 rebounds), Brenham (6), Watkins (0), Riley (0).
Memphis: Jaren Jackson (31 + 8 rebounds + 4 blocks), Morant (21 + 7 assists), Aldama (14 + 10 rebounds + 5 steals), Coward (11), Wells (11 + 7 rebounds) – start; Spencer (8 + 7 assists), Jackson (5), Caldwell-Pope (4), Koloko (4 + 7 rebounds), Prosper (3).
Portland – Boston – 114:108 (31:30, 24:33, 31:22, 28:23)
Portland: Sharpe (26), Avdija (24 + 7 rebounds + 10 assists + 5 turnovers), Kamara (20), Clingan (18 + 18 rebounds), Murray (5) – start; Love (18 + 5 losses), Yang Hansen (3), Rooper (0), Sissoko (0).
Boston: Brown (37 + 7 rebounds + 6 turnovers), White (12 + 5 steals), Queta (11 + 8 rebounds), Pritchard (9), Walsh (5) – start; Simons (13), Gonzalez (13), Garza (5), Houser (3), Scheierman (0).
tournament tables
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Every day at 9 am, Ukrainians commemorate the people who lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war. Today Sport.ua pays tribute to the outstanding Ukrainian basketball player of two EuroBaskets participants, Viktor Kobzisty, who was killed exactly two years ago, on December 29, 2023, supposedly by a Russian missile deep in the lines in Lviv. The man will remain 44 years old forever.
The legend of “Budivelnik”
Viktor Kobzisty was born on March 7, 1979 in Kremenchug, Poltava region. As a child, Victor played hockey and football. I quit football before because I was too high for this game. Later, Kobzisty quit hockey and focused on basketball. Victor, who studied at Kremenchug children’s and youth school No. 2, was considered one of the most talented players of his age in Ukraine.
After graduating from nine secondary school classes, Kobzisty entered the Kremenchug Pedagogical School named after Makarenko and in 1995, at the age of 16, he became a player of Kremenchug Neftekhim, where he made his debut in professional competitions. In 1996, Victor moved to Russian Samara, where he played only in the second team. Due to the fact that the club management rejected the offer to accept Russian citizenship.
In 1999, Kobzisty returned to Ukraine and signed a contract with CSKA Kiev, with which he became the silver medalist of the championship and the winner of the national cup in his first season. The army team finished the next championship in third place, after which Kobzisty moved to the ranks of Mariupol Azovmash.
In 2001, Victor tried playing abroad again – he went to Bulgaria, where he spent a season as a member of Yambolgazy. In the same year, Kobzisty played in the EuroBasket final as part of the Ukrainian national team.
Victor returned to Ukraine in 2002 and immediately became the leader of the Kyiv Budivelnik in the broadest sense. The legendary club was going through difficult times at that time, but the young people gathered in the team led by Kobzisty showed incredible thirst and attracted the attention of the fans with their fighting character. Victor spent four brilliant seasons with the Kyiv team.
And although “Budivelnik” was not among the leaders at that time, Kobzisty regularly received calls from the Ukrainian national teams. In particular, he played with the national team in the second EuroBasket of his career in 2005 and with the student team in two World Universiades. In 2005, Ukrainians won the silver medal, for which Kobzisty received the title of international master of sports. In 2006, Victor moved to Dnepr, but in 2008 he returned to Budivelnik and with him became the champion of Ukraine for the first time in 2011, after which he ended his playing career.
Coaching activities
Completing his performances, Kobzisty became assistant head coach of Budivelnik in 2011 and worked as an assistant to Josep Berrocal, Zvezdan Mitrovic and Ainars Bagatskis until 2014. Later, Victor took over as head of Dnepr-Azot from Kamensky, with whom he worked for a year.
In 2015, Kobzisty became president of Kremen from his hometown Kremenchug, and in 2017-2018 he played several matches for the club’s second team in the first division. He held this position until 2020 and also served as president of the club’s children and youth sports school.
In 2021, Victor was invited to work at the Lviv City Basketball Federation, and from 2023 he worked as the head coach of the women’s club Dynamo from Kiev, which plays in the Ukrainian Super League.
Death
Viktor Kobzisty also came to Lviv at the end of 2023 on basketball-related matters. He rented an apartment on Gnat Khotkevich Street in the Sykhov residential area. And it was this house that was hit by a Russian missile on December 29. One person died then. Victor Kobzisty.
Victor was buried in his hometown of Kremenchug on January 2, 2024. The funeral took place in St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the basketball player found eternal peace at the Svishtovsky cemetery.
Family
Victor and his wife raised two children. One of the sons, Alexander, now 22, followed in his father’s footsteps and is now also a basketball player. He played on Ukraine’s youth and junior national teams, made his national team debut, and currently plays for the University of Oregon team in the NCAA.
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in a home game of the NBA regular season.
The meeting in Toronto ended with a score of 141:127 OT (33:29, 32:35, 31:36, 26:21, 19:5).
Toronto small forward Scotty Barnes spent more than 42 minutes on the floor and scored a triple-double: 23 points, 10 assists and 25 rebounds.
Golden State guard Stephen Curry scored 39 points.
Toronto (19 wins/14 losses) ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference. Golden State (16/16) is in eighth position in the West.
Results of other matches of the game day:
Oklahoma City Thunder – Philadelphia 76ers – 129:104
Washington Wizards – Memphis Grizzlies – 116:112
Portland Trail Blazers – Boston Celtics – 114:108
Los Angeles Clippers – Detroit Pistons – 112:99
Los Angeles Lakers – Sacramento Kings – 125:101
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has been writing for a news website since 2015. My work primarily focuses on sports news, but I have also written about other topics such as technology and the arts. I have an extensive background in journalism, having worked as a reporter for a local newspaper before moving to a news website.
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