Groundhog Day for Olympiakos, which also has an advantage

Last year, at such a time, Olympiacos started losing oil again. The coronavirus, two or three injuries (mainly Papanikolaou) made him more fragile than he was, which led to his collapse and his elimination from the “8” of the playoffs. Will the Bartzokas team also implement the same project this year? We asked the “red and white” coach if and after from the belt against the Red Star (third loss in a row in the Euroleague) feels like last year’s revival.

“To the fact that we played in an empty stadium, maybe yes,” replied the 57-year-old coach, who saw the unbeaten Olympiakos fall at SEF while the stands were less than 1,000 of his team’s friends. That warm atmosphere of the previous games where people got into the equation and the opponent left beaten.

Would Asteras lose with 6-7k on the field? In perhaps the most critical phase of the game, after his own miss (cut by Fal), wouldn’t Kalinic save the ball for White to score an incredible basket? At 2:23 to go, Olympiakos had the opportunity – if they took the ball – to go out onto the open field and go forward with a basket and complete the counterattack of the last third. However, instead of 69-68, it became 67-70 with the time of the Serbian attack, almost when it expires. The visitors witnessed a fourth and crucial Olympiacos comeback.

We don’t know if people caused more trouble for the ‘Red-Whites’ opponents, but it would have been different if all three absent due to Covid (Papanikolaou-Printezis) and injury (McKissick) had played.

But you can’t stand on the excuses. Yes we will agree with Bartzokas, in terms of fans the situation is different as the doors are open throughout the rest of Europe but the coronavirus has been no exception and has hit everyone. Obviously, infecting two or three players is one thing and another… eleven, as happened at Olympiakos, but with Covid it was known in advance that there will be problems (for everyone) this year as well.

We remind you that Piraeus has chosen a “light” squad of 13 players, while even the foreigner they added mid-season (Quincy Aisi) has made progress but comes from an absence of a year and no more can play than five to ten minutes.

The danger of bringing him down…

So what’s the risk of Olympiacos suffering the same as last year? Suddenly he seems fragile and has to cope with a series of defeats. You know winning is easy to deal with. Everything is fine, nobody has a complaint, even if it is covered by general euphoria. However, defeat requires first calm and then unity.

The balance is always delicate, it requires diplomacy, but also shedding the (micro) egos whose influence swells to a lopsided result.

Olympiacos has yet to claim a European victory at the start of 2022, with three consecutive defeats (never before this year has there been such a streak), which could be even more if we consider that a double test against Real Madrid is on Spanish soil follows Madrid and Basconia. He doesn’t want the record to crumple, confidence to plummet and stress to become… a virus like Covid.

… and why he’s optimistic that not everything will happen in the past year

On the other hand, if we study well what has happened so far, how Olympiacos plays, but also an important parameter, Piraeus can be optimistic that they will not suffer last year. It is their participation in national competitions that gives them the opportunity to be “forgotten” by the dynamics of the Euroleague and more easily regain their self-confidence and, to some extent, their strengths.

The solutions come through the games and that’s what Olympiacos needs to focus on. Don’t forget he has to win the first title of the year (Cup) next month which if he wins it will give him a big boost for the toughest (and most consistent) European games coming in March. Olympiacos have won a national title since 2016 and a success in Heraklion makes life easier for them.

Until then, of course, he must remember the beginning of the year, rediscover the fun and above all the energy that he lacks (logically due to the Covid cases) and return to important European victories. He will also need the support of his people, who will slowly return to SEF, but also away trips, which are… very few this year.

Qualification remains a goal

Bartzokas pointed out that qualifying for the playoffs remains Olympiacos’ main goal in the Euroleague. He’s right to point this out because sometimes in our exaggeration we forget the true dynamic of the event, how much the Greek teams have withdrawn and we’re talking about the last four and other glorious moments.

The truth is that qualifying for the Eight is no easy feat. Compared to last year there is of course a clear difference, which we recently analyzed and which leads to a place in the playoffs with 18 (of 20) wins at the limit.

This does not mean that everything will be easy. If they were, teams like Fener and Efes, who are even lower down, would not have lost so much ground so easily to CSKA Moscow, who are now equal to Piraeus. The year is big for everyone. The marathon continues and in the end Bartzokas and players hope that they will not end up experiencing Groundhog Day like Bill Murray in the famous film where he slept and woke up experiencing exactly the same things every day…