The pick and pop of Panathinaikos, hard rock for Olympiakos

The Panathinaikos strike within the SEF was particularly strong. Whether it will shake Olympiakos, we will find out in the next duels of the two centuries and the development of the championship.

However, for the first time in the two years of absolute dominance of the “Red and Whites”, Bartzoka’s team finds itself in a disadvantageous position. The “green” victory puts them in second place in the Stoiximan Basket League standings, with a significant handicap of 12 formed with the final result.

However, the defeat also brought with it a lot of reflection. Ultimately, it was less the defeat than the performance in the doubles that left the most question marks.

For the second time in two weeks, Olympiacos Piraeus failed to break the 55-point mark. At Milan he missed 14:15 basket shots. Against Panathinaikos he generally broke baskets and shot at abysmal rates, mostly from the foul line where he finished the game with 4/16!

You can’t win a game with twelve missed throws, especially when you shoot so poorly (41% twos and 26.1% tr). Somehow the opponent can beat him, even if Olympiakos’ defense works well overall. Armani gave him 65 and Panathinaikos 66.

Simple calculations suggest that the “red and white” team’s greatest weapon, namely their excellent defense, is being significantly underused because their offense simply suffers for it. Is it stress? Is it the lack of preparation and injuries that prevent the team from training and playing in full formation? Is it because of the lack of a goalscorer that Olympiakos Piraeus may still be looking for? It could be everything together.

The bottom line is that Olympiacos seems to be struggling, can’t move the ball well (12 assists in both games in which it scored less than 60 points) and is making a lot – and easy – mistakes.

Mitoglou like Smilagic

However, the defeat against PAO highlighted another weakness for Olympiacos. The game against Partizan and the way the Serbs attacked in the second half and passed the ball to Smilagic was – possibly – a guide for Ergin Ataman. Replacing Smilagic was Dinos Mitoglou, who did most of the damage, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the second half.

The international striker and midfielder took advantage of his good long-range shooting and flexibility, with the pick-and-pops he played (mainly with Sluka) becoming tough play for Olympiakos. At Milan, Nikola Mirotic was the one who made it his mission to operate from a distance. A foursome that can also play on “3”.

Mitoglou, of course, who is a more complete player than Smaigalic, made other shots besides the shot from the place that Fal and Milutinov could hardly reach (i.e. when Ataman put him on “5”). He grabbed rebounds (10), made great defenses (4 steals) and proved to be a dominant figure in the game.

This is no joke, but Olympiacos would like to have Luke Sikmas in this match where Mitoglou had to hit both inside and outside the stick. The blonde American, who has been on the pitch for almost a month, could be the “red and white” answer to the light plans of Ataman, who had studied very well how he would leave Faliro as a winner.

Yes OK. It is unlikely that the Sikmas we have seen so far in Olympiakos have made life difficult for the angry Mitoglou, but that is not his true picture. His injury set him back, he didn’t even have time to adapt to the conditions of a completely different team than Alba, in which he felt – and was – a natural leader. However, his return will settle any questions about whether he will help Olympiakos or not, as Alec Peters cannot always play in red, among other things…

And what about McKissick?

Shaquille McKissick is also missing from Olympiacos. Especially in the derby with Panathinaikos, where the American has a special tradition. His ability to play vertically, his one-on-one actions, his speed and his good defense have unsettled the “green” United Kingdom on several occasions. The “Red-Whites” game changer has remained – almost completely – silent since the beginning of the year.

It appears that McKissick has a serious knee problem and his recovery will be delayed for at least another two weeks, as was said in the SEF press room in an interview with Giorgos Bartzokas.

Will the 33-year-old guard remain inactive, or will Olympiacos Piraeus go on the attack and start other scenarios that slowly take hold without this also involving a change of players? Perhaps it is an addition, although there are already many foreigners and only six play in the Greek league…

Winning is the answer

In the event of such a defeat, the teams find an answer through victories in the following games. There is already a test in Istanbul, against Fener. The dynamism of the Turkish team, especially in its area, is self-evident, but there are also the events of last year’s playoffs with the difficulties that Olympiacos Piraeus had against the two half-sized strikers Hayes-Davies and Pierre.

It will require a very big recovery effort, there is not much time left (the game is on Thursday), but returning to “Olympiakos Basketball”, regardless of the result, is the main commitment. Of course, at this point it is not possible for the team to play forty minutes, fly around the court and score 80-85 points with +20 assists, but it is also unacceptable to end their games with such poor performances as yesterday (and that of Milan).

The plus of the evening was the applause from the audience at the end of the game. This is something Olympiacos deserves because of their success and the basketball they have played over the last three years. The support for the team was very warm, as befits a group that gave the same audience very great moments. It can’t all be written off because there was a really bad night and a loss. The year is very long and there is room and time for dynamic returns.

All in all, the derby had an undisputed winner (Panathinaikos), a very poor spectacle, but also an impressive atmosphere given the size, as was the case in OAKA at the EuroLeague premiere. Between you and me, Olympiakos Piraeus and PAO will eventually get bored playing this year…