The dominant Mitoglou, Olympiakos’ zero points in the post and the invisible Hernangomet

THE Panathinaikos bared his teeth in SEF against it Olympic And managed to achieve a great victory with 54-66 in the 4th game of the Stoiximan Basket League.

The “Greens” blocked the “Red-Whites” with their defense, They found their X factor in the person of Dinos Mitoglou and they achieved a well-deserved victory.

The Sportish analyzes the victory of the “Cloverleaf” with the help of Hudl Instat.

Mitoglou dominated on both ends of the floor

Dinos Mitoglou is the only Panathinaikos player who can compete in both big player positions, giving Ergin Ataman flexibility.

This was more than evident in the SEF Derby, where he scored 20 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes and 2 seconds of play, thus competing in both high positions. Of those, he spent 28 minutes and 23 seconds as power forward and 3 minutes and 39 seconds as center. Mitoglou did damage by playing both outside-in and inside-out.

Here’s how he scored against Olympiacos:

According to Hudl Instat, the international striker/center was the main defender in 12 attacks by the “Red and Whites” and only conceded 10 points, which corresponds to 0.83 points per passive possession. His four international appearances stand out in the statistics, but it is his behavior in defense with Panathinaikos substitutions in positions 1-4 that makes the difference. Speaking of defense.

Walkup’s lockdown against PnR and Olympiakos’ zero points against Post

It is known that the reference point at Olympiakos is the presence of Milutinov and Fal in the center position. The ability of the two big “red and white” players to reach the post – but also to shoot on goal – is an important part of their philosophy. Before From the derby it was emphasized that post defense will play an important role in the development of the game. This is how the “Greens” managed not to score a point in post-up situations!

According to Hudl Instat, Olympiacos only attempted to attack the post three times without scoring a point. To be precise, the “Red and Whites” took only one shot (by Milutinov) and made two errors (one by Fal and one by Papanikolaou, who passed to Peters when the American hit the post). But how did Panathinaikos prevent creation? Olympiakos’ post “It seems strange to me, but it was because of the way he defended the pick and roll on the walkup.”

The “Greens” decided on a flat/drop from the naturalized guard and gave him the shot. In this way they avoided changing umbrellas while their center was always close to the basket. At the same time, the “Greens” blocked the aisles by playing as a group with the other players. Somehow any chance of a pass hitting the post was thwarted. Here is an example:

Walkup engages in a pick and roll with Fal, leaving Lessor behind.

Walkup has a chance to shoot, but he hesitates, waiting for Fall to roll in as the “green” defense closes.

Walkup passes to Fal on the move.

The landlord steals the ball.

Walkup hesitated. He has taken on a larger role for Olympiakos this year, but is still more of a creator than a doer and not an elite shooter off the dribble, which Panathinaikos had been banking on. Here’s another Olympiacos attack:

Walkup sets up pick and roll with Fal, keeping Lessor inside the three-point cube.

Walkup shoots to the basket, Lessor is at the peak of the shots and Mitoglou concentrates on Fal’s shot, freeing Peters in the corner and closing the spaces.

Walkup makes a terribly difficult shot with three opponents and misses.

Walkup finally scored with an offensive rebound during this phase. This was also his only basket of the game as he finished the game with 2 points on 1/8 shooting, 3 assists and 7 fouls. The defense of the “Greens” tired the naturalized guard. At the same time, the “clover” closed the venues and left Olympiacos no room to “feed” their big players.

The only way out for Olympiacos was Nigel Williams-Goss, who kept his team in the game. Then Ergin Ataman played another card.

Juancho about Williams-Goss and the high number of +13

For almost 35 minutes, Olympiacos were in the game thanks to their defense and the inspiration of Williams-Goss in attack. The “Greens” had decided to defend with ICE (that is, they cut off the central corridor) in the pick and roll, which involved all Olympiakos guards except Walkap. This made it difficult for Olympiakos (as they are a defense that also blocks the pass at the post), with Williams-Goss being the only player who had an answer to this.

The American did the so-called dribbling several times when receiving a screen. This means that after receiving the screen, he paused his dribble and waited with the defender on his hip before heading to the basket. This often resulted in Olympiakos giving him a second guard on the way to the basket, creating space, which is something the Reds generally do this year with both Williams-Goss and walkup. Check out an example:

My goodness Milutinov wants to pick and roll, but Slukas plays ICE and doesn’t let him in the middle.

Williams-Goss counters to the screen, Sluka on his hip, waiting for Milutinov.

Milutinov gives Williams-Goss a second screen and keeps Balcerovski in check.

Williams-Goss scores

Williams-Goss offered solutions to Olympiacos in one way or another. He was the only Red and White player to score in a pick-and-roll situation (7 points in 5 possessions, while all of his teammates had 0 points in 4 possessions). Seeing this, Ergin Ataman decided to change his strategy. He was already playing on the floor with the trio Hernangomet, Mitoglou, Lessor, throwing the 2.06 m tall Spaniard over the 1.91 m tall Williams-Goss and now decided to move to all screens.

This final decision by the Turkish coach ruled out the game for Panathinaikos in defense. With Hernangometh following him everywhere, Williams-Goss struggled. As if that wasn’t enough, Mitoglou or Lessor pounced on him in transition when he got a screen. Since at the same time the space was limited because Panathinaikos closed the racket, Olympiakos also lost its last attack. The game was over.

According to Hudl Instat, the “Greens” had +13 when Hernangomet, Mitoglou and Lessor were on the floor under the basket. Panathinaikos’ great form suffocated Olympiakos after closing spaces and restricting its movement and had the problem of being made huge by the ‘Red-Whites” 6/23 threes.

A real derby

Panathinaikos was the worthy winner. The “Greens” pinned Olympiakos with their defense, they cut off his creation in the pick and roll, causing walkup to shoot, while in general they let the “Red-Whites” take the shot, not letting the ball pass them and Fal, Milutinov, which wiped out Olympiacos’ big advantage.

Panathinaikos now sees a big confidence boost after this win. At the same time, it shows that his players are gradually slipping into roles and gaining a foothold. Mitoglou’s leadership – who is probably Panathinaikos’ most important player this year – Hernangometh’s flashes (even in defense, which he is not famous for) Guy’s shots, these are things he can keep, even though he knows it is with Sloukas At some point things will look up and there is a lot to expect from many.

On the other hand, Olympiacos Piraeus showed that it does not have a clear head. The 4/16 shots and 12 turnovers with 12 assists show this, as does the fact that he only made two post attacks for practically the entire game (one each against Milutinov and Fal), which is theoretically his strength. Brazdeikis also showed that he still cannot be with his teammates, McKissick will be sorely missed. The image of Williams-Goss (who is constantly improving) is a sign of optimism, but the Red and Whites need to find ways to be more productive in attack.

At the end of the day, Panathinaikos got a great win – and a confidence boost – and Olympiacos stood in the mirror after the game and stared at their (attacking) problems. There will be more derbies. Both opponents have a lot of room for improvement. This time, however, the ball landed on the green.

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