Basketball
A big rise begins for Panathinaikos
The trophy went to the overall best team, who finally mustered all their energy and Giannis Fileris explains why Panathinaikos’ losing final in Heraklion is the start of a big upswing.
Olympiakos has quenched his thirst for a title with his all-out return in the final leg of the finals, celebrating the cup and Panathinaikos need to find a way to lift their heads while keeping their eyes on the fight for the championship finals in the long run. It won’t be easy, the year is big, there are 11 Euroleague games in which the “Greens” have raised a white flag for a long time. And in the end, losing that title could prove heavier on the shoulders of the special PAO team, which isn’t made of…steel anyway.
Proof of his fourth-quarter meltdown as Olympiacos changed gears. While Wookup and McKissick mustered plenty of energy in the critical period, Panathinaikos, who showed he could control the game despite the ‘Red-Whites’ improvement, melted like butter. This isn’t the first time he’s had it this year. Dead zones are a constant phenomenon, he has paid dearly for them and may well pay for them in the future.
Watch out for differences. By the 30th, Panathinaikos had managed – thanks to his eruption at the end of the second period – to refute all predictions about Olympiakos’ superiority and the balance in the two parts of the field (not as good as in the first part) as Olympiakos essentially forbidden to attack close to the basket) even had a lead of 13 points.
Yes, the ‘Red-Whites’ seemed to have found solutions to exploit their greats (first Fal, then Martin), but PAO found solutions with patience and good ball circulation. Finishing the third ten minutes with a difference of +9, the “Greens” had 16/23d, 8/23tr, 19 rebounds, 14 assists and only 4 errors (none in the third period).
If you look at the final statistics sheet, it becomes clear that everything went wrong for the “Greens” in the last ten minutes. The tank dried up and while Olympiakos jumped closer, Panathinaikos was worried, afraid, failed.
In the fourth third he scored only 6 points, also from free throws. Overall, Priftis players had 0/7 two points, 0/8 three points, and 6/6 shots. They made as many mistakes as they had throughout the game, the ball stopped circling (just one assist) and they fell awkwardly, in a final that seemed to be in their hands as it unfolded.
Dependence on Nedovic
Of course, Panathinaikos seems to be completely dependent on Nemanja Nedovic’s score. As long as the Serb had a connection to the basket and put down big shots like those in front of Vezenkov, Fal and Papanikolaou, PAO controlled the game. When Nedovic started to get tired, but Wokap couldn’t catch his breath either, the “Greens” suddenly had a problem.
From the 4/9 threes of the first part, “Nendo” broke the baskets with 0/6 in the second part and again tried crazy shots with a big curve, but this time without finding the target. And if in the third third the “Greens” found goals from Okaro White and Macon with their good circulation, in the fourth period the mind was blurred, the basket was reduced and all shots ended in the same way. Iron and mostly a rebound from Olympiakos.
Suddenly Panathinaikos started showing us all his weaknesses.
- Stefan Jovic, heavy, cannot follow such rhythms without energy, is aimless in attack and vulnerable in defense. It is logical. The Serb wasn’t on the field for a year, it’s not easy for him to find pressure and rhythm through long-term games. His fall will require patience as Panathinaikos can benefit from his presence in the long run.
- Macon had a chance to move forward. But he also lost in hasty decisions, he was misplaced, he stumbled into the opposing defense several times and in the end stuck to what he had offered in the first 30 minutes.
- Neither Evans nor White made a difference, Priftis turned to see if he had any solutions and saw that Hugaz still didn’t give him time to join in, Manjuka’s raw face and the center of limited missions, Kavvada. In the absence of Papapetros, Panathinaikos was essentially down to seven players considering Bohoridis played a little early, was penalized with three fouls and never returned.
Papagiannis is better
Comparatively the best of all from Panathinaikos was George Papagiannis. In the first half he dominated the racquet, after Olympiakos got into the racquet a bit, Fal saw him as his shadow at least three times and seemed to have things completely under control. His third foul put him on the bench and when he came back he did everything he could to avoid the worst. He collected rebounds, gave passes, only he … did not take the ball.
The player, who didn’t miss a shot for PAO (5/5, two points), didn’t get a single assist in the last third. He could have used more, but his team’s peripherals had suffered a general execution and creation blackout.
Olympiacos are a better team than Panathinaikos anyway. From the moment the “Greens” started retreating without finding a solution, it was only a matter of time before the Reds went forward. The difference in quality can be seen in a single fact that essentially decided the outcome of the final.
To change the course of the game and win it, Bartzokas sacrificed Sloukas’ participation in the last third. Theoretically the most experienced and best player. Could Pritis do something similar? So “park” Nedovic on the bench and let the others win?
He wants courage
The trophy was a big goal for Panathinaikos, who lost. It would make the continuation enormously easier, it would even forgive heavy defeats in the Euroleague with opponents who will burn for the victories. He might sweep all of Panathinaikos’ problems under the rug as a title win over the theoretically superior Olympiakos would put everything aside.
Now there’s a climb ahead of him, he needs to find motivation to finish the Euroleague with dignity and go into the league playoffs where the question will be much more agonizing because to clinch the title he needs to win the Olympics three times.
PS: The awards ceremony scenes with the players of Panathinaikos and Olympiakos congratulating each other were the best that could be expected in another Final Four, with smiles, with fans of all teams and once when we finally didn’t… the foreigners envied.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
Nine games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 27-28.
“San Antonio” hosted “Utah” and suffered a sensational defeat.
Spurs had a good first quarter, during which they made a 15:2 spurt to take an 11-point lead at 30:19, but failed to build on it or at least maintain it. In the second quarter, the Jazz responded with a 25:5 attack and took the lead 62:51 with the same 11 points. Utah then kept the opponent at bay for more than 10 points until the middle of the fourth quarter, when Spurs equalized the score – 106:106, thanks to a 14:2 breakthrough. However, the home team could not achieve this success and failed at the end of the match. In the last three minutes of the game, San Antonio scored 2 points and lost them with a score of 2:11 and had a score of 114:127 throughout the match.
Svyatoslav Mikhayyuk He was in Utah’s starting five and stayed on the field for 14 minutes, during which time he scored 3 points (1/1 three-pointers), also made 1 rebound and 1 assist with 1 loss and 1 foul.
The most productive player of the match was Vembanyama, who brought 32 points to Spurs, but this did not help them achieve positive results. Jazz has 29 points from Markkanen and 28 points from George.
“Chicago” lost at home to “Milwaukee”, where Giannis Antetokounmpo returned.
The Bucks gained a minimal advantage in the first quarter and then gradually increased it, eventually winning all quarters of the match and winning with a score of 103:112.
In this game, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player, scoring 29 points for Milwaukee. Portis also scored a double-double for the guest team with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
NBA. Regular season, December 28
San Antonio – Utah – 114:127 (40:32, 20:38, 27:28, 27:29)
San Antonio: Vembanyama (32 + 7 rebounds + 5 blocks), Castle (20 + 7 assists), Vassell (11), Shempeni (4), Barnes (3) – start; K. Johnson (27 + 10 rebounds), Harper (7 + 7 rebounds + 12 assists), Cornet (7 + 8 rebounds), Brian (3), Sohan (0), McLaughlin (0), Waters (0).
Utah: Markkanen (29), George (28 + 6 assists), Nurkic (16 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Sensabaugh (11), Mikhailyuk (3) – start; Clayton (17), Williams (8), Collier (7), Filippovski (6 + 6 assists), Hendricks (2).
Chicago – Milwaukee – 103:112 (26:28, 24:26, 30:31, 23:27)
Chicago: White (16 + 5 losses), Vucevic (16 + 7 rebounds), Giddy (13 + 7 rebounds + 9 assists), Okoro (10), Buzelis (8) – start; Dosunmu (11), Collins (10 + 10 rebounds), Herter (7), Smith (6 + 10 rebounds), Jones (6 + 6 assists), Williams (0).
Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (29 + 8 rebounds), Rollins (20 + 7 rebounds), Turner (13), Porter (8 + 9 assists), Green (6) – start; Portis (17 + 11 rebounds), Kuzma (12), Sims (4), G. Harris (3).
Sacramento-Dallas-113:107 (31:23, 28:21, 29:33, 25:30)
sacramento: Westbrook (21 + 9 assists), Ellis (21), Reynaud (19), DeRozan (9 + 6 assists), Achiuwa (5 + 9 rebounds) – start; Schroeder (10), McDermott (9), Clifford (8+9 rebounds), Monk (7), Cardwell (4+8 rebounds).
dallas: Flagg (23 + 5 turnovers), Washington (17 + 4 blocks), Gafford (11 + 7 rebounds), Christie (9 + 7 rebounds), Nembhard (9) – start; Thompson (14), Marshall (11), Russell (7), Hardy (5), Powell (1 + 11 rebounds), Caleb Martin (0), Cisse (0).
New Orleans – Phoenix – 114:123 (33:32, 22:33, 30:28, 29:30)
New Orleans: Murphy (24), Quinn (21 + 11 rebounds), Fiers (18 + 8 rebounds), Bay (17), McGowens (0) – start; Williamson (22), Alvarado (7), Missy (4 + 8 rebounds), Poole (1), Peavy (0).
Phoenix: Booker (20), Brooks (18), Gillespie (17 + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), O’Neal (15), Ighodaro (8 + 10 rebounds) – start; Goodwin (16 + 9 rebounds), Buey (12), Williams (10 + 8 rebounds), Fleming (5), Richards (2), Livers (0).
Orlando-Denver-127:126 (23:31, 25:31, 36:31, 43:33)
orlando: Black (38), Bane (24 + 6 assists), Carter (18 + 7 rebounds), Banchero (12 + 6 assists), Jones (0 + 6 assists) – start; da Silva (17), Kane (7), Isaac (5), Richardson (4), Penda (2), Howard (0).
Denver: Jokic (34 + 21 rebounds + 12 assists), J. Murray (24), Hardaway (20), Watson (15), Jones (14) – start; Strother (13), Valanciunas (4), B. Brown (2), Pickett (0).
Atlanta – New York – 125:128 (27:33, 28:35, 34:30, 36:30)
of Atlanta: Okongwu (31 + 14 rebounds), Johnson (20 + 9 rebounds + 12 assists), Daniels (13 + 8 rebounds + 9 assists), Young (9 + 10 assists + 5 turnovers), Risache (4) – start; Alexander-Walker (25), Newell (12), Krejci (9), Kennard (2), Guay (0).
New York: Towns (36 + 16 rebounds), Brunson (34), Anunoby (15 + 10 rebounds), Bridges (14 + 8 assists), Diawara (5) – start; McCullar (13 + 8 rebounds), Robinson (6 + 9 rebounds), Clarkson (3), Colic (2).
Miami – Indiana – 142:116 (29:28, 30:32, 39:34, 44:22)
Miami: Wiggins (28), Powell (23), Larsson (16 + 7 assists), Weir (15 + 7 rebounds), Mitchell (0) – start; Jaques (28), Jovic (19 + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), Smith (5), Yakucionis (4), Johnson (2), Fontecchio (2), Gardner (0).
indiana: Siakam (33 + 7 rebounds + 5 losses), Maturin (25 + 5 losses), Nembhard (15 + 16 assists), Huff (11), Furphy (9 + 7 rebounds) – start; Nesmith (9), Jackson (4), Walker (3), Bradley (3), Jones (2), Potter (2), Thompson (0), Peter (0).
Minnesota – Brooklyn – 107:123 (30:33, 33:29, 23:36, 21:25)
Minnesota: Edwards (28 + 7 rebounds), McDaniels (16), Randle (13 + 11 assists), DiVincenzo (11 + 6 assists), Gobert (6 + 8 rebounds) – start; Reed (13), Dillingham (7), Clark (6), Hyland (4), Juzeng (3), Beranger (0), Miller (0).
Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 10 rebounds), Claxton (14), Clowney (11), Demin (7), Menn (2) – start; Thomas (30), Wolf (11), Sharpe (10), Powell (7), Traore (4), Wilson (0).
Houston – Cleveland – 117:100 (32:24, 28:22, 30:17, 27:37)
Houston: Durant (30 + 7 assists), Smith (15 + 7 rebounds), Thompson (13 + 9 rebounds), Eason (9), Adams (9 + 8 rebounds) – start; Sheppard (18 + 8 assists + 5 steals), Okogie (8), Capela (4 + 8 rebounds), Davison (3), Green (3), Finney-Smith (3), A. Holiday (2), Tate (0).
cleveland: Mitchell (16 + 6 assists), Merrill (13), Garland (12), Wade (6), Allen (6) – starts; Tyson (23 + 15 rebounds), Proctor (7), Bryant (7 + 7 rebounds), E. Mobley (4), Hunter (2), Porter (2), Ball (2).
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
The Brooklyn Nets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in an away match of the NBA regular season.
The meeting in Minneapolis ended with a score of 123:107 (33:30, 29:33, 36:23, 25:21) in favor of the guests. The most productive players of the match were Nets guard Cameron Thomas (30 points) and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (28).
Brooklyn’s Russian point guard Egor Demin scored seven points, made three assists and two rebounds in 26 minutes on the floor.
Brooklyn has won four of its last five games. Demin’s team takes 13th place in the Eastern Conference (10 wins/19 losses). Minnesota (20/12) is in sixth position in the West.
Results of other matches of the game day:
Sacramento Kings – Dallas Mavericks – 113:107
New Orleans Pelicans – Phoenix Suns – 114:123
Orlando Magic – Denver Nuggets – 127:126
Chicago Bulls – Milwaukee Bucks – 103:112
San Antonio Spurs – Utah Jazz – 114:127
Miami Heat – Indiana Pacers – 142:116
Houston Rockets – Cleveland Cavaliers – 117:100
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.
Greek “Panathinaikos” The team faced serious personnel problems due to the flu epidemic.
Eight players and three members of the coaching staff were immediately diagnosed with influenza A with severe symptoms.
Panathinaikos has shown good form in recent matches, but flu A has spread to Greece and has affected the team, which will most likely lead to the postponement of the Greek championship match against Maroussi, scheduled for December 27.
The problem is not only related to the championship match, but also to the derby against Olympiacos in the Euroleague, which is scheduled for January 2, as the epidemic prevents the team’s normal preparations.
Since many players have severe symptoms, no one can say for sure how the disease will progress and when everyone will be healthy.
The names of the sick people have not been disclosed at this time.
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.
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