The red-white readiness and the green landing: Five points from Olympiacos-Panathinaikos

THE Olympic taught a… harsh lesson to Panathinaikosas he defeated him with characteristic ease and 75-51, winning the Super Cup and his sixth consecutive domestic title.

It may be that the first “derby of the ages” came very early in the season and does not give pressure for… final criticism, but surely each team can draw some useful conclusions, in view of the next games between them that start immediately.

Five points from the Super Cup final:

The readiness of Olympiakos: It looks like a superficial reading of the match, however the high degree of readiness of Olympiakos is the main reason for their victory. The “red and whites” took to the floor their last year’s image with an even better defense, showing that despite the few additions and subtractions they have already achieved a very high degree of chemistry. The latter plays a role not only in the attack, but also in the defense, as the rotations of the “red and white” were flawless with Panathinaikos rarely finding a weakness or a miss match to take advantage of. The “greens”, for their part, were completely disjointed on both sides of the floor. In attack in particular, there was a huge lack of automation and collaboration, with their efforts resulting in unorthodox options, as evidenced by just 7 assists in 40 minutes.

The “Lernaean Hydra” by Bartzokas: We saw it last year as well, it continues this year as well. His Olympiacos Giorgos Bartzokas it is a group with pluralism and altruism, words that the Greek coach himself often uses when describing it. The “red and white” distributed the ball excellently with 19 assists, while they had 4 double figures (Larentzakis, Kanaan, Milutinov, Papanikolaou). Even the players who didn’t assist in the scoring, however, gave a lot of things that led to the positive result. THE Walkup he was limited to 2 points, but he was a real “maestro” with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. THE Sikma he helped a lot with his 9 rebounds (4 offensive), while Olympiacos was +20 with him on the floor, which is the top performance of the game. The ability of the Piraeus to take a lot from many is one of their key characteristics, and it is made even more “powerful” by the chemistry they have achieved.

High pressure: If anything characterized his players Panathinaikou in the match was failure and nervousness. The “greens” showed a lack of clarity from the start, and seemed to have a… rush to score, taking many hasty and inexplicable choices. Their mental unpreparedness can be explained by the high pressure his players are currently facing Panathinaikou to prove things. After three very difficult years, the excitement for the start of this season was great, as was the need of the friends in the team for a return to the titles and also to the victories against the “eternal” rival, who has lost only 1 of the last 18 derby. This must-win mentality, however, especially this early in the season, is certain to have stressed the “greens” more than it should have, in a game that didn’t consider anything so… important.

Landing as something positive: The only positive that can arise for him Panathinaikos from this particular encounter is exactly this landing. The “explosion” of enthusiasm that exists, or rather existed, in the “green camp” is not something negative, however it is very important for the friends of the team to understand how difficult is what Panathinaikos is currently attempting. The players there are quality, the skill on the bench too, however the transition from last place Euroleague and consecutive domestic failures in the championship is a difficult path, which will require patience and above all a lack of exaggeration, in any direction. The important thing is for the “greens” to work with a low head and calmness, without thinking that they have to satisfy the excessive demands of their fans every day, at least based on the season.

We have a lot to see: The euphoria of his fans Olympiakou but also the disappointment of these Panathinaikou is currently on a high, however this was only the first derby of the season and the second official match for both. There is a difficult and demanding season ahead, with the two “eternal” aiming for the championship in Greece and Europe. Chances are that in a few months both of them will have a completely different face compared to now, so jumping to conclusions so early is not advisable and may backfire. Olympiacos will have the opportunity to extend its streak against the big rival, but Panathinaikos will also have multiple opportunities to prove that the Super Cup final was an unfortunate moment. There will be many derbies, in fact if… the universe conspires we may see up to 17 this season! Starting next Friday for the Euroleague (6/10)…