I have often written here that I like buzzwords and therefore use them often…

Charlie Chaplin had therefore summarized the quintessence of life in a quote: “Simplicity is not an easy thing”!

And so yesterday (August 12) evening in Neo Faliro, Thomas Walkup proved how right “Sarlo” was by discussing the significance of Olympiakos’ win against Bayern Munich…

“You never complain about a win in the EuroLeague”!

In fact, this statement, not just simple but simplistic, is the essence of the benefit that the Piraeus people received yesterday (8/12) and which is already reserved for the further benefits that will follow again next Friday (15/12) as well Home, against Valencia…

The cold nights and the ugly victories

Now that the mercury has dropped, it is obvious that every victory becomes a piece of fat needed for the cold winter nights!

And when a team has a long-term goal, ugly wins are ultimately preferable to nicer losses!

Yesterday (August 12th) against Bayern, Olympiacos Piraeus adopted its logic.as well as”in the sense that from one point on he played as much as was necessary to achieve the seventh victory, which, in addition to the importance of the score, also has the psychological dimension of…

I mean this because it’s one thing to wake up in the morning and see your boss behind the line and another to squirm under it!

The line separates the eight teams from the rest, with this case being very relevant since, on the one hand, there are still 21 games left and, on the other hand, according to the new formula, only the first six teams take part directly in the playoffs, while the next four take part via the newly established play -in tournament will qualify.

The rest of Attica Prefecture and the example of the Lakers

I’m opening a bracket here that has value, namely the added value of this additional phase, which, by the way, was a… constant request from Ettore Messina.

It’s not just the (formerly named) rest of Attica Prefecture that plays in play-ins!

To back that up, let me remind you that last year (2022-23) the Lakers were ranked 7th in the NBA West and saved their post-season berth by beating the Timberwolves in overtime in the play-ins. Defeated the match and out. They almost blew up the bank!

They beat the Grizzlies 4-2, then handed an early vacation voucher to the (defending champion) Warriors, also 4-2, before being defeated by the eventual champion Nuggets.

I close the bracket here and return to the other side of the Atlantic…

The current loss in the isoma and the game in Bologna

Currently, after the 13th matchday, there are ten teams in the EuroLeague standings from 4th to 13th place: Baskonia and Monaco with 8-5, Partizan, Olympiacos, Valencia, Maccabi and Efes with 7-6, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce and Bayern with 6-7.

Destruction of the body indeed!

After the three wins in a row (Maccabi, Red Star, Zalgiris), the Piraeus suffered two defeats in a row (Monaco, Real) and are 2-0 (Bayern, Valencia) before the upcoming week of the devil, which they are the first away will meet in Bologna and then in Lyon.

For many different reasons, I believe, however early it may be, that next Tuesday’s game against Virtus is one of the most crucial in this sequence, without of course becoming borderline…

But it has significance as Olympiacos looks to rebuild momentum and put themselves in a position of power without feeling the need or being pressured because they were 9-4 this time last year.

Lasso, spanoulis and rivers!

On the other hand, another competition, other teams, another and Olympiacos Piraeus, which, as Pablo Lasso commented yesterday, “Lost in talent, but still competitive”.

Not only did the Basque coach mention the departure of Vezenkov and Sluka, he also brought up Spanoulis, making up for not bringing in… Easi Law or even David Rivers in the same suggestion!

However, is he right in his reasoning, and George knows this better than anyone and is exaggerating? Boartzokas: Teams diversify and change. So it’s important that they hide their weaknesses, strengthen their strengths and continue to score goals.

Bartzokas, the ataman and “just your only sign”

I do not claim to be the unsolicited advocate of Bartzokas or Ataman, but the fact that Olympiacos played in two consecutive Final 4s (2022, 2023), while Efes reached three consecutive Finals (2019, 2021, 2022) and even reached the replay , This does not mean that Piraeus and the Turkish coach have signed a forever contract with the success.

Bartzokas has a strange situation to deal with, as pieces of his puzzle are constantly missing: a Sikma, a McKissick, a Fal, a Milutinov, a Williams-Goss, a Mitrou-Long, in which he is still not allowed to take part because Petrusev, the sat on the bench yesterday, looked at his coach and hummed an old Antipa song…

“Just a sign from you”!

He will see this sign very soon, either as a five or as a four, after all – as Bartzokas emphasized yesterday – the goal of Olympiakos after so many setbacks, failures and new additions is the accession process.

The third worst attack, Vezenkov and Slukas

Another requirement is of course the increase in productivity, which requires improving his offensive function so that he doesn’t score with the dropper…

After matchday 13, Piraeus has the third-worst attack with an average of 78.0 points, behind only Alba Berlin (76.7) and Valencia (75.1).

To put things in perspective, last year Olympiacos, which finished the regular season in first place with a 24-10 record, averaged 84.0 points on offense and 75.8 points on defense.

Why Olympiacos doesn’t score points with great language skills is another priest’s gospel!

Firstly, two players have left who greatly facilitated the flow of the attack last year: MVP Sasha Vezhenkov (17.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.9 asp), who already had the place thanks to his ability to play without the ball and inside freed up the movement on the weak side and Kostas Slukas (11.0p., 2.1p., 5.6as.), who combined execution with creation and “made” things for himself and his teammates by improving their performances per minute.

The absence of Williams-Goss and waps tired minutes

Olympiacos’ productivity has been hit this season by the absence of the injured Nigel Williams-Goss, who averaged 10.7 points and 2.5 assists in six games before being sidelined.

This event affected both the functioning of the team and the image of some of his teammates, especially Tomas Walkap, who (as Bartzokas has often pointed out) lost his freshness after participating in the World Cup and showed signs of lactic acid in a worrying way Extent and was… afflicted by fatigue.

The Texas Marines fight for an average of 30 minutes, some of which are very… tiring!!!

Therefore, the return of Williams-Goss and the addition of Mitro-Long are expected to improve the offensive function and increase the productivity of the Red and Whites.

On the contrary, the top defense

On the contrary – and because every coin has two sides – they, together with Real, represent the top defense of the competition with a passive value of only 74.7 points, followed by Valencia (75.5) and Armani Milano (76.7).

Given his past and the way he earned his EuroLeague accolades, this year’s image is indeed a return to factory settings!

In addition, Olympiakos is fourth in assists (19.0), receives a very good mark in error rate (11.3 errors), seventh in accurate three-point shots (19.0), 12th in the rankings (88.2 points ) and 13th in rebounds (32.5).