-20 with Fal on the bench, James-Lee and Hall’s incredible +35

There are times when you… see evil coming and just can’t do anything about it. How hypnotized. That’s exactly what Olympiacos suffered against Monaco. He let himself be carried away by the rhythm of the Monegasques, didn’t react and suffered a bitter defeat with 92:72.

Monaco is a special team. Extremely dangerous, any team can bend down and play a … American-French basketball at home. A basketball that easily charms, misleads and finally seduces the opponent, something that Olympiakos found good and became a plaything of his whims. But how did he get there?

-20 with Fal on the bench

It doesn’t take long to understand that Olympiakos lost the game in the second period. There Monaco suddenly stepped on the gas and, with a partial score of 29:9, came away 48:31 and finally retained the upper hand in the game, as this difference could not be reversed.

It was no accident that Monaco’s breakout came with Mustafa Fal on the bench. And one look at the “+/-” of the Olympiacos players is enough to understand the wild Frenchman’s impact on the game, on a night that had 18 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes and 50 seconds. According to InStat Scout, all Olympiacos players had a negative sign at “+/-” except two: Giorgos Printezis (who only played 2 minutes) and Fal, who had zero in the same category. Normally, in the 14 minutes and 10 seconds that Fal was on the bench, Monaco scored 20 points more than Olympiakos, as well as that of the last difference! And that takes the conversation to the next level

Martin -23 and Hall’s incredible +35

At the beginning of the second period there were two phases that more or less foretold what would follow. In a Monaco attack, Doda Hall played pick and roll, receiving an alley-oop pass and nailing it to the Olympiakos basket. In the next stage, Hassan Martin also played pick and roll, he accepted a pass but saw Hall throw it and cut it. It wasn’t visible then, but this sequence of phases was a miniature of their duel.

Hassan Martin stayed on the ground for just 9 minutes and remained absent. During that time, however, he managed to score -23 on the “+/-” system, the worst among his teammates. Hall, on the other hand, stayed on the ground for 19 minutes, had 12 points (10 of them in pick and roll situations), had +35 in the “+/-” system, in an unimaginable number.

It’s totally unfair to target Martin in this case. The American is not responsible for Olympiacos’ image. Martin was unlucky that Sloukas left early in the second third for a foul, losing the player who “fed” him in attack while in defense saw Monaco tag him in pick and roll and exposed him while the guards scored a goal, either playing flat (staying behind) or (from 15′) using substitutions. On the other hand, it is difficult not to mention its negative sign.

Lee and James broke up Olympiacos’ regional defenses

One thing was clear before the game: Olympiacos should not be seduced by the rhythm of the French. But that’s a lot easier said than done. Monaco’s style is particular, it has peripherals constantly playing one-on-one and making draw decisions, something that can also easily seduce the opponent. When it happened.

The duo of James and Lee were the ones who dictated developments. The former had 25 points and 4 assists (from which another 9 points came), while the latter had 13 points and 5 assists from which another 11 points came. Both “killed” Olympiakos, with James constantly playing against each other and shooting from the periphery while Lee scored 10 of his 13 points in pick-and-roll situations. Here is their audience shot chart

Olympiacos never found an answer in the American duo. He did not find an answer from Dwayne Bacon (15 points), who also “hurts” him with personal actions.

Olympiakos ran more than he should and persevered

According to InStat Scout, Olympiakos scored 17 points (surprise) in transition mode if he scores 8 points in each game in such a situation. Except for the 15 points he scored in catch and shoot situations (in 21 attempts), he never scored more than 10 points in any other situation.

Here’s the root of the problem for the “Red-Whites” in this game: Olympiacos aren’t designed to win points on the open field, nor to play one-pass basketball. The “Red-Whites” have some players who are offensively gifted (Dorsey, Vezenkov, McKissick, Sloukas) but cannot win due to points on the field and individual talent. They rely on the solid structure they’ve built, their defence, good ball control, goal-oriented play. In other words, they rely on everything they didn’t do against Monaco. That is why they were defeated.

Olympiakos ran more than he should and… persevered. He got carried away by the logic of quick attacks, he “got stuck” on the ball in the half of the Monaco defense, he fired a lot of hasty shots. He lost his rhythm and couldn’t return.

The decisive final

The way to 4th place remains open for Olympiakos. The “Red-Whites” are still lucky enough to finish the regular season in a high position with home advantage in the playoffs. They have also shown in the recent past that they react well after defeats. And they have to do that now.

Olympiacos lost a game to a side capable of hurting anyone. The question is what did they learn from that for tomorrow’s game (25/3) against Villeurbanne, a team that plays in a similar style even if they don’t have the talent of the Monegasques. The answer is given where it is naturally always given: on the floor.