THE Olympic could beat him again this year Panathinaikos. In the end, however, the “red-whites” were forced out by the extremely competitive “greens”. You found a way to winIn Her 13th consecutive win in the last two years and 6th this season.

The game was a real derby. THE Panathinaikos has been widely read, pointing to the right, came – again – close to victory. In the end, however, Olympiakos’ chemistry at critical points and some big hitters made the difference.

The Sportish Analysis using InStat Scout The Victory of Olympiacos.

Spain Pick and Roll has once again provided the solution

It was December 30th, in the first round match, when Olympiacos defeated Panathinaikos 71-95 on Round 16 of EuroLeague in OAKAin the first preliminary round, relies heavily on “Spain Pick and Roll”, in a game where a perimeter first does a pick and roll with their big one and a third player appears and either shields the big one or takes a screen from it and goes to the perimeter (ss this action is called a screener screener). Since then 3 months have passed. Panathinaikos has improved in defense. However, Olympiacos still plays this game perfectly.

In yesterday’s game (March 31), the “Red-Whites” (especially in the second half) again relied heavily on Spain’s pick and roll, with Walkup (13 assists, of which Olympiacos had 29 points) acting in the role of ball handler. Here is the first example:

Walkup calls for Fal’s screen, with Vezenkov ready to either screen or go diagonally to the 3-pointer

Walkup drives to the basket, Fal rolls in, and Vezenkov goes to the 3-pointer

Fal pins the ball

Later in the 3rd period, Olympiacos performed the same play with McKissick in a second screener role. Here it is:

Walkup takes over Fal’s screen while McKissick is ready to screen Fal

Fal changes his viewpoint and fades Walkup out again

Fal rolls to the basket and McKissick drives to the perimeter. Walkup matches Fal

Fal scores

But since every game must have variations, Olympiacos went a different route, this time with a second screener, Papanikolaou:

Walkup takes over the screen from Fal, with Papanikolaou on the Frenchman’s back.

Papanikolaou goes to the perimeter, but Fal doesn’t roll all the way in, instead remaining within firing range to shield Papanikolaou

Fal deflects the ball to Papanikolaou

Papanikolaou hits a threesome

Panathinaikos occasionally had the right reactions to this piece. But the thing about Spain Pick and Roll is that it gives a team a lot of options. It is not possible for an opponent to stop everything. Especially when the offensive team has built chemistry and everyone knows their role, which shows one small detail:

Each stage involved a different Olympiakos player as a second screener (Vezenkov, McKissick, Papanikolaou) and another Panathinaikos defender (Williams, Kalaitzakis, Bohorides). When a team is equally comfortable playing the same game with different players, problems arise for any defense.

The other approach to defending with turnovers and points from interceptions

The two teams decided from the start of the game to defend the ball with substitutions in almost all screens (Olympiacos also made it off the ball to Tomas). The question was how they would break that defense. Panathinaikos opted to hit mostly from the outside in, pulling Fal too far from the threesome (at 9 yards) to attack him, causing an imbalance and finding several shots. Olympiacos switched to the logic of the post-up (playing with their backs).

The “Red-Whites” opted on several occasions to play pick and roll with Vezhenkov (19 points) taking the change (with Paris Lee, 23 points short, tagging him) and sinking into the basket. That’s when Walkup often praised him over the American, giving Vezenkov away 8 points that way. But the Bulgarian wasn’t the only one to post.

In general, the “Red-Whites” hit the post (they got 12 points this way), which has a comparative advantage over Panathinaikos. They have two players in the squad (Wokap, Sloukas) who can give the introductory pass to the player who scores. Panathinaikos doesn’t have that player, so they hit Olympiakos’ move from outside to inside multiple times with kick-out phases (penetration and perimeter pass).

The situation is different in Olympiakos’ post-up game: the “Red-Whites” could touch the ball on the “drawing board” and force Panathinaikos to help, which freed up ball defenses and constant cuts. Somehow Olympiacos got a total of 20 (!) points from cuts in the basket.

Gudaitis’ +12, Manzoukas and the Measured Bacon

Panathinaikos played to its strengths. And that’s why he stayed in the match throughout the game. The “Greens” throttled the tempo where they wanted, played together in defense, and relied on their size in the perimeter. But mostly they played with maturity – with the exception of the disastrous third period, where the score was 24:10 in Olympiakos’ favour.

Arturas Gudaitis was Panathinaikos’ tank and had +12 in the +/- system. The Lithuanian had some trouble defending in the pick and roll while being exposed by Black in the open field. But the point was that he was dangerous up front, pushing with his offensive rebounds and making big saves in the 4th period. Not coincidentally, his best stretch came with Lefty Mandzukic, who had a more consistent defender on his side than Williams. The young forward took his fair share of shots, hitting Sluka at the post and pulling the defence. He did the right thing.

However, the main thing for Panathinaikos is that they took what the defense of Olympiakos gave them. Hero Ball hasn’t thrived for the Greens in the recent past and they’ve opted for more measured options. They had more screen systems again, they passed the ball to Bacon on the move, the American was ready to pass. Bacon had 14 points and 5 assists, from which Panathinaikos got another 14 points. Add to that Lee’s 6 assists (of which the Greens grabbed another 14 points) and you can understand how Panathinaikos managed to stay close to goal – hit Olympiakos’ changes from the outside in.

Walkup’s shot and Black puts the finishing touches

Panathinaikos cut many of Olympiakos’ options. But he couldn’t keep one player: Tarik Black (21 points). The American was the one who provided solutions when Olympiacos needed them. According to InStat Scout, Black scored:
Cuts in the basket: 5 points in 2 possessions
Pick and roll: 5 points in 2 possessions
Post (Return leg): 2 points for 2 possessions
crossing (Stunt): 4 points for 2 possessions
Offensive rebound: 3 points in 1 possession

Black’s dunks in the bat posed a problem for the Panathinaikos Defense, mainly because the “Greens” decided to mark the pick and roll in the “2v2” logic (i.e. only with the players directly involved in the phase were involved and the marked ball handlers and the screener). What does that mean; That they generally avoided helping with a third player to prevent Olympiacos from moving the ball and finding an extra pass. But Black is the best Olympiacos player in pick and roll, but also in “locking” his opponent near the basket after substitution and posting. That’s why he did so much damage on the pick and roll, and ended up forcing Panathinaikos to make a costly mistake:

In one of the most crucial attacks of the game, when Papanikolaou played pick and roll with Black at 75-72, Lee instinctively closed in the basket to cover the American. But he released Walkup in the corner, who scored a three to make it 78-72. A round later, when the score was 78-73, Walkup again played pick and roll with Black. On the weak side, however, was Vezenkov and Grigonis stuck to the logic of not helping the American role. Black found space again and scored a basket and a foul. The game was over.

Olympiakos got a mustard from the fly

On a night when Olympiacos were 3/17 from 3 points, they found a way to victory because they chose to…put aside sexy basketball and seek power. The “Red-Whites” hit Panathinaikos mercilessly with the changes. They attacked the “painting” with anger, they wanted to go through the wall that Panathinaikos built for its defense, and not with three-pointers around them. They almost became obsessed with it and in the end they were confirmed and moved…out of the blue to claim victory.

Panathinaikos has again shown that it is making progress. The Greens seem to have found a defensive identity since Walter’s injury, relying on their many half-height bodies. They still have a long way to go and their defensive rotations need work, but they are showing improvement. At the same time, Panathinaikos seems to read the game better now. Every player (even Bacon) seems to be looking for the best option rather than the… option they like. The ball moves better, conditions are created. The “Greens” also try to hit the misses, but the lack of a good passer seems to hurt them.

At the end of the day, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos offered the world another tough game. The “Red-Whites” ended up relying – once again – on their chemistry, automation and their Read and Response Attack (Read and React) to punish the “Greens”. But Panathinaikos was always there. The “Clover” looks more and more competitive. The “eternal” derbies are now becoming more and more competitive, more and more difficult.