Olympiacos was unsuccessful against Alba in Berlin. The “Red-Whites” underperformed and suffered a 75-90 defeat, missing an opportunity to “catch” Armani in third place overall.

Olympiacos was not having a good day. He was seduced by the rhythm of the Germans, let the periphery of the German team find rhythm and finally paid for it. But how did he get there?

His worst night of the year and the “wound” in Pick and Roll

The 90 points conceded by Olympiacos is not their worst performance this year as it remains the 94 points conceded by Fenerbahce. However, according to the numbers, the Piraeus side had their worst defensive night of the year against Alba.

According to InStat Scout, against Olympiakos, Alba recorded his best performance of the year with 1.21 points per game – and also the worst defensive performance of Giorgos Bartzokas’ side. The worst defensive performance of the “Red-Whites” until yesterday (October 3rd) was the 1.18 points per possession he suffered in the defeat against Fenerbahce, the 1.14 points per possession he suffered in the victory over Bayern in the past week had gotten worse immediately.

Olympiacos was a step slower in his reactions, which can be seen in his behavior in three specific defensive situations. That is, defense in catch and shoot (shot from a standing position), in pick and roll where the pilot shoots and isolates (one on one).

Special:
– Olympiacos has received 1.03 points per possession in catch-and-shoot situations this season. Against Alba he conceded 1.42 points per possession.
– Olympiacos will only get 0.88 points per possession this year in pick and roll if the ball operator shoots. Against Alba he conceded 2 points per possession.
– Olympiacos receive 0.76 points per possession in isolation situations this year. Against Alba he conceded 1.67 points per possession.

With his defense so low in three crucial parts of the game – which are linked as catch and shoot and isolation are often just the continuation of a pick and roll situation – Olympiacos had to do fabulous things on the other side of the floor to win. And he didn’t. The question, however, is how Alba managed to score in three areas that are – in theory – Olympiacos’ strengths in defence.

The transition and deactivation of Fal

Alba is a special team. She may not win often, but her style of play can embarrass any opponent. The reason for this is that he chooses to play permanently in the “reds” and attack the transition (in surprise situations) by constantly running even when he gets a basket. The Germans often attack in the first 8 seconds as they did against Olympiakos. When the shots come in and the team builds confidence, it becomes difficult for the opposition.

Alba is a team that just doesn’t suit Olympiacos. It was not for nothing that he had forced the Piraeus team in the first round to bow 87:83 in the final. At his headquarters, however, he managed to do the damage. And the reason was that it practically falls out of the equation of Mustafa Fal, who had dominated the first round match and didn’t show it at first glance.

The Germans have a special quartet of Groß (Lamers, Sikma, Da Silva and Timan, Kumanje just took time out because of Fal). They’re a flexible quartet, with everyone running well on the field, threatening in pick-and-pop situations (Perimeter Shoot after a screen), being a positive passer when short rolling after a screen (Sikma is basically a great passer ) while in catch and go situations they can put the ball on the ground to attack the basket. In other words, they have all the elements that can put Fal in a difficult position because whenever he was asked to cover one of the Lamers or Da Silva, he had to be on the periphery and not near the basket. In other words, it was way out of his comfort zone and couldn’t be that efficient.

With Alba constantly leading the field and Olympiakos drawn to that logic, the Frenchman was forced to play at a pace that didn’t suit him. As if that wasn’t enough, he was called upon to hunt down the tall enemies in the periphery and stay away from the “painted” ones, opening up spaces for the Alba periphery rooms. The Frenchman is quite fast for his size, he plays a good defense in pick and roll. But at 2.18 meters tall, he’s still a guy who feels more comfortable at the basket. So, no matter how efficient he was in attack, no matter how much he has the ability to change the balance on defense, he doesn’t stop playing at a pace that didn’t suit him and that was wearing him out.

Lo and Smith did the damage in Pick and Roll

With Fal out of action, Alba was able to beat Olympiakos with the Lo Smith duo. That is, two guards with greatness who can create their own shot.

Pacemaker was Lo, who set a career record with 27 points. At the same time, however, he launched his own numbers. Specifically, the German guard scored 2 points per possession in pick and roll when he scores 1.02 points per possession in such a situation this year, but also 1.75 points per possession in one-on-one situations (1, 07 this year). Here’s his shot chart from the game with Olympiakos:

Lo and Smith did what they wanted. They found places with Fal outside the basket, they scored in second surprise situations, found the Olympiacos defense unbalanced and “injured” the “Red-Whites”, either by goals or for their teammates.

The constant loneliness of Vezenkov and Sluka in creation

At the same time, with the defense weaker than expected, Olympiakos found his attack unstable. With the exception of Sasha Vezenkov, there was no other constant threat, as Alba’s pressing defense and his decision to assist the 45-degree player’s central pick and roll – as in the first-round match – caused problems at Olympic when Costas was Sloukas not involved in it.

Sloukas was the only one who could read the German defense correctly. He might not have been a good manager, but he gave 10 assists – most of them to Hassan Martin in pick-and-roll situations – from which Olympiacos scored 22 points. At the same time, however, it became clear, especially in the second half, that Olympiacos had no other chance of scoring than Sloukas’ inspiration. Somehow he became predictable and ended up losing.

One step back, but nothing is lost… not yet

Olympiacos missed a big chance to move up to third place. He got into Alba’s rhythm, didn’t play his own game and paid for it. The fact that the German team – as it turns out – does not suit him is one side of the coin. The other is that he couldn’t get the game to stand up.

The “Red-Whites” took a step back. But they haven’t lost anything yet. They still hope for 3rd place in the EuroLeague. But what they need to do is find pressure again and focus on their strengths. If they do that, the situation will improve. If they don’t, they risk being re-exposed in the future. Either way, they can still take matters into their own hands. Of course, it is enough for them to improve their concentration.