Bartzokas: “There will be a rotation based on the numbers and not the value of the players”

Olympiacos was competing on Sunday afternoon for the Stoiximan GBL against Mars, welcomes her Armani Milan on Tuesday and travels to Turkey on Friday to face her Effects.

The “devil’s week» of the new Euroleague also started George Bartzokas he realizes that as it happens in all teams, in his too there is no special time for preparation…

“The team is as ready as it can be, in the sense that last night (13/10) we were playing (against Aris) and we basically have only one day to prepare the game. But this applies to all groups, it is the same regime. There is no special time for preparation. The goal – more so – is to stay true to our principles and improve our game every day” he initially told Media Day and added of Fal and Milutinov:

“Everyone has to get in good shape. Fal has indeed shown signs which mainly have to do with better ball movement, but also with the fact that he is a very big target. He can easily receive the ball and create from the inside out.

Also in defense he is very focused on the plan and does what the coach wants. Nikola will have his first training session with the team today (14/10), let’s see how he is doing… I hope he will quickly get to a good level, but it’s better to draw conclusions when we see them on the field”.

Regarding the back-to-back matches, he had this to say: “We don’t like consecutive games but this is the regime and these are the data we have. As coaches we have to think about which team we have in front of us. Milan is a team with a very good coach and a lot of talent.

A team with operators who are very aggressive in the basket and with two forwards like LeDay and Mirotic who can score easily and usually finish the matches with these formations, that is, playing together without a center. This creates a peculiar situation for how to defend yourself. We expect a difficult game. The matches are continuous and very important since the beginning of the year, of course we expect the world to help us now that our team needs victories more than good performances”.

Asked about the differences between the Greek and European matches, coach Bartzokas said: “I think we all have to adapt to the fact that as European basketball goes more to NBA standards with back to back games, the preparation time for coaches is one day, basically no day.

Also the players have to manage the intensity of a Euroleague game, as it tires their body and mind and in the next match they think that by putting in less effort they can win. Which usually happens, but when it doesn’t it’s a problem. In the NBA, losing a regular season game is not that much of a problem. But here it is. This is a transition to the NBA schedule but without the same requirements. Now every victory counts a lot”.

On the roster and player management, he commented: “This is a discussion that has been going on since the beginning of the year. Not all players will play in all games. It will be rotated not based on their value, but based on the numbers now. They may judge a match when they have played little or nothing in the previous one. We will manage it as it should because it is a joint decision of the management and mine, since last year the injuries cost us. It will take a period for the players to get used to it, but it will be good.”.

As for the period he expects to see Olympiacos at 100%, he emphasized: “If we’re talking about the roster, when Keenan Evans comes in, but because that’s a long shot, I think we’re showing improvement from game to game. First of all, let’s be tough in defense, as we should. We have talent in attack and we must not exaggerate our decisions and play as simply as possible. The expectations and requirements for our team are high.

We have only lost one game against Fenerbahçe in Istanbul in which we were in until the third quarter. Sometimes we’ve played pretty well, sometimes not so much. We have won the first title of the year. I personally am demanding with the players, but we have to focus on the fact that it is a team that needs to be built and will develop during the year”.