Priftis: “Papagianni, Mekon and Jovic’s situation needs management”

Panathinaikos traveled without Nemanja Nedovic and Ioannis Papapetrou for Barcelona for tomorrow’s (3/2) game against Barcelona (10:00 p.m., Novasports Prime and LIVE from Sportish) for the 25th game of the EuroLeague, with Dimitris Priftis pointing out the problems of FC Barcelona “Green”.

Asked about George Papagiannis’ condition, the veteran coach stressed that Panathinaikos needed to properly manage the case of the international centre, as well as those of Daryl Mackon and Stefan Jovic, to avoid problems in the future.

Dimitris Priftis in detail:

For the game against Barcelona: “We’ll see some things in the video and follow some tactics that we hope will give us a chance to get close to them. Barcelona are really a very good team who read the game correctly and play with energy. We have about 4-5 things to think about to defend ourselves. They have very good ball movement while also playing excellent defense. It’s going to be a difficult game.

For the way the Catalans play: “You can score in any position. You have a game of low post, with peripherals, with large, but also with their four. They have Choose n pop play with their fives, have a very good playset and play with patience and good reading. We need energy, but also focus.”

Whether Panathinaikos can surprise the “blaugrana”: ““We have to approach the game the right way and present ourselves at the lowest possible cost to stay close.”

For the management of George Papagiannis who has just returned from injury: “There are several things we can do now. It’s not just George, it’s Daryl, but it’s Stefan who needs time. “Your situation needs some management.”

For his part, Leonidas Kaselakis explained: “Barcelona are a complete team and tomorrow’s game will be very difficult. “It’s a challenging game for us and we have to be serious and focused to say we’re ‘present’ in games like this.”

For Nikola Mirotic: “Mirotic is a very good player but we will focus on our game so that Barcelona can face our own positives. “We’re not just going to try to ‘kill’ their game to give them a hard time.”

For the absence of Papapetros: “The group is having a strange post-coronavirus transition. Finding your rhythm is not easy for an athlete. For better or for worse, these are excuses. We must focus on the present. “Obviously our captain’s absence is great, but we need to see who is available to find Barcelona’s weaknesses and beat them.”