Olympiacos: The seven keys to pass Monaco and go to the final

The big time is coming. The most important, until the next, game this season for him Olympic is the semi-final against Monaco on Friday in the Final 4 of Kaunas.

The team’s two regular season losses company of mike james they made the “red and white” wiser. What his team should and shouldn’t do Giorgos Bartzokas so as not to… do evil against the Monegasques? sport-fm.gr answers:

-Watch out for rebounds: Monaco is first in offensive rebounds in the EuroLeague with 12.3 per game, while taking 34% of available offensive rebounds. Three or even four players from each five go with… times in the claims, with Hall, Brown, Moneke, Diallo and Motiejunas having appeal in this part. Olympiacos will need to cut down on opponents’ extra possessions and certainly the fact that they were the second team in defensive rebounds averaging 24.1 and winning 72% of their contests is encouraging.

-The exploitation of Fal and Black: Olympiakos is clearly superior to Monaco in the “5” position and must strike with its centers. Fal has no opponent to look him in the eye, in height and strength, and likewise Black, since Motiejunas is slow and bad at dealing with the pick-and-roll, while Hall, although very capable above the rim, does not have the strength to to “push” the two tall Olympiacos. It is, therefore, necessary for Piraeus to “feed” their tall players and get a score, but also creation (mainly from Fal) from position “5”. Monaco will probably try in several places to go to… against formations that will have Brown in the “5”, but even there the “red and whites” will have to exploit the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of the rational formation with normal centers.

-The defense in the short three: Needless to say, how important James, Okobo and Lloyd are to Monaco’s game. The three of them manage the majority of holdings having 25.4%, 21.1% and 20.3% respectively in Usage. In this year’s victory in SEF (76-81) they had a combined 53 points and 14 assists, while in the one in the Principality (64-60), where the injured Lloyd was missing, James and Okobo had 25 points and 10 assists. Tomas Walkup is not… enough to mark them all and Olympiakos’ first defensive zone will need help from Papanikolaou, McKissick, Larentzaki, Kanaan and Sluka. The usual defense with changes by Giorgos Bartzokas may not be able to respond to the marking of the three explosive guards, which is why a step up is required from everyone in the personal defense.

-Helps to Sluka and Vezenkov: Sloukas and Vezenkov are the players that Olympiakos’ attack relies on more than anyone else. It’s obvious that Monaco’s defense will adjust to them and look to give them the least they can. The experienced international guard will need good screens to stand out from his more athletic opponents, at times he will need to be relieved of the burden of bringing the ball down, and he will need to guard against unnecessary wear and tear on defense in order to unleash his virtues in creation and execution. The latter will be asked to deal with the excellent defender John Brown, who limited him a lot in the two matches of the regular season, having a total of 17 points with a few, just 13, attempts (3/6 two-pointers, 3/7 three-pointers). Quick and safe ball movement will allow Vezenkov to move as he knows off ball, make cuts on the racquet and get the shots he likes to be impactful on offense.

-The X-Factors: Logic says that in such a crucial game, Giorgos Bartzokas will close the rotation, as he did in Game 5 against Fenerbahce. Certain players will need to put in overtime on the court by logging 30+ minutes in the top five. However, this does not mean that Olympiacos does not need the others. Larentzakis, Peters, Black, even Boloboi or Lountzis who play even less, should provide energy, shots and even fouls whenever they are used. After all, in the Final 4 (and not only) the teams are always so well prepared for the obvious protagonists of the opponents, that often the players that few expect make the difference.

-The necessary risk of the three-pointer: If there is one thing Olympiacos can offer in Monaco, always with a degree of risk, it is the three points. The Principality’s team has a flaw in the long shot, since this year they were the worst in three-pointers with 30.9%, which also explains why they make only 34.1% of their attacks from behind 6.75m. (Olympiacos, respectively, 43.9%) and why she gets only 24.2% of her points from three-pointers (Olympiacos, respectively, 35%). It’s unlikely, however, that we’ll see Giorgos Bartzokas zone in to challenge Monaco’s players to shoot and at the same time limit the lanes to the basket.

-The surplus of experience and the… mind games: Olympiacos clearly outperforms Monaco in Final 4 performances. Slukas reaches 10, Papanikolaou 7, Bartzokas 4, Boloboi 3 and the rest have last year’s experience with the exception of rookies Kanaan, Black and Papas. On the contrary, Monaco only have James with experience, even bitter, in 2016 with Baskonia, while for all the rest, including Obradovic, it will be the first. The “red and white” should take advantage of the normal “crash” that their opponents will have, at least in the beginning, transferring more pressure and nervousness to the opposite side.