Foul, one… Fasoula’s pass and the packed Olympiacos are ready for a full counterattack

Olympiacos were almost desperate to win in Lyon, as Giorgos Bartzokas admitted after the game. He took it, breathed, reached a record 50% and will have a Merry Christmas. This time he wasn’t satisfied with his very good defense, which works flawlessly in almost all games anyway. He attacked powerfully, scored 85 points and finished the game with 66.7% 2-point shooting and 42.3% 3-point shooting. In some parts of the game he was fun, in others he couldn’t avoid mistakes, but overall he was much better and easily achieved the double in the end.

Isaiah Cannon ensured crucial points were scored as Villeurbanne threatened with their stubborn comebacks, Alec Peters was the standard bearer at the start and end of the game, William Goss did a good job scoring and creating, Shaquille McKissick was the man of the game game in the first half, but what stood out among them was the tremendous form of Mustafa Fal.

The…unsmiling, but so big, looked like an icebreaker. Although he only scored one basket with the seven assists he provided, he was responsible for another 17 points for his team. This time, however, he wasn’t content with just handing out finished points to his teammates. His long arms and his timing on opponents’ attempts worked perfectly.

The unapproachable… fake

Not one, not two, but eight cuts (!) from “Moose” theoretically prevented 16 points at the expense of his team. They were much more, because he changed three or four more shots, stole balls and became an absolute scarecrow for the French. The eight blocks are the second-best record in EuroLeague history and the most by an Olympiacos player in the competition. Dino Raja had five interceptions in a game against Verona since 2000.

But if we want to save and make good comparisons, we will remember another great who also wore the number 10 and whose long arms frightened opponents. He also started at Fasoulas. Not Fal. Or maybe…fake? A historic block from “Pani” in the third play-off game against Bologna had sent Olympiacos into the quarter-finals in Tel Aviv.

The leading Greek center of all time left his mark at Olympiakos in the 90s. It is no exaggeration to say that Fal’s influence on the current Red-White team is even greater. When Eleftherios Venizelos arrived in the summer of 2021, most agreed he would add volume and height to the bat and play some quality minutes.

Nobody could have imagined his enormous development and how well he fit into the basketball that Olympiacos has been playing for three years under the guidance of Giorgos Bartzokas. It’s no lie that Olympiakos’ Fal is a completely different player than his Villeurbanne or French national team counterpart.

What he does in the “red and white” number 10 jersey can only be compared to the achievements of Fasoula, who, as the icing on the cake, lacks his unique ability to pass. Fal is a 216 cm tall playmaker with an enormous sense of space. Every time his teammate is free, he knows how to move to get free, how to throw the pass for an easy basket or a three-point shot.

He was so crucial in Lyon’s brand new arena that Fal stayed on the floor for almost 34 minutes (33:58 to be exact). Milutinov was quickly charged with two fouls, Sikma played late in the second period and Fal sat breathless the entire second half. Not only did he not get tired, but he persisted until the end, playing the same tough defense and chasing one block after another…

The return of the scorers…

But we said. This time Olympiacos were not satisfied with their good defensive performances. The return of his two goalscorers to full performance gave him the breathing space he was looking for in attack. Kanan scored 19 points in 30 minutes and hit crucial shots, especially as Villeurbanne closed in, while Alec Peters added 17 points in an excellent performance, avenging his not-so-good night in Bologna.

Of course, the performance of the team’s two top scorers in every game is crucial for Olympiakos. And yes, the opponents have sensed it, they know where to focus their defense, but it’s not just… their thing. Firstly because Olympiacos can create systems for the execution of the two sharp shooters and secondly because the squad is fuller this time around

… and Shaquille McKissick

As his coach pointed out, Olympiacos Piraeus now has more solutions. Shaquille McKissick’s effort in the second period proved to be a catalyst. The dashing American will be sorely missed. The man who gives energy and intensity and can attack vertically better than any other “Red-White” had the best quarter of the year. He scored 13p, had 2/2d, 2/4tr and 3/3b in this period, while also playing the well-known very dynamic defense on the ball and breaking down both Villeurbanne’s attack and defense.

McKissick, like Fal, has been a valuable link in the successes of the last three years and Olympiacos desperately needs him in the future because he is unique in changing the balance and thwarting every defensive plan of the opponents.

But it’s not just him. Nigel Williams Goss has been added to Barzoka’s arsenal. Walkup can and should renew his air, my goodness will give him time as was the original plan. NWG still not ready, hesitates in execution, sometimes makes wrong decisions, but finished the game with 11p, 7 assists, 4/8 assists and only 1 error. Coming soon, the best…

The top of the thread

Olympiacos is looking for the end of this season’s thread and as long as it keeps winning, it will find it eventually. The next games are very crucial. The one in Berlin with Alba, a team with almost the same record but slightly better than Villerban, and the two that follow at the start of the new year (and the second round) in the SEF with Monaco and Milan.

Don’t forget that the “Red-Whites” are also adding new names to their squad, among other things. Petrusev is taking his time and playing in the “4” like a… Peters from last year, while Naz Mitrou Long is coming soon to take a spot for the Greek League.

With the expatriate guard in the 12th league, Sikma may also play in the Euroleague in addition to the Greek league. But the fact is that Olympiacos, full of players and solutions, guarantees a better second round. For now, however, he wants to have a Happy New Year after a Merry Christmas and beat Alba in Berlin two days before being eliminated from 2023…