Ataman praises Lountzis, blasts his star players after loss to Olympiacos / News - Basketnews.com

Ergin Ataman sang Michalis Lountzis' praises, as the Greek guard stepped up big-time in Olympiacos' win over the back-to-back EuroLeague champs, while heavily criticizing Will Clyburn and Vasilije Micic on their performances.

Credit: Screen capture Credit Screen capture

Anadolu Efes Istanbul suffered their 12th loss in the EuroLeague season in Piraeus, where hosts Olympiacos prevailed by 76-70.

Player of the Game EFF 21 Aleksandr Vezenkov Points 23 Accuracy 9-16 Rebounds 3 Assists 3

For coach Ergin Ataman, the main points of reference in his postgame presser were two: Michalis Lountzis and his star players' contribution, with a special emphasis on two names.

But first, the coach of the back-to-back EuroLeague champs had some harsh words to say about the game's quality.

"I suffered on the bench watching this basketball. Many people, even Greek people that support Olympiacos, suffered," Ataman lamented before emphasizing Michalis Lountzis' showing.

The Greek international stepped up on a night when Kostas Sloukas was out with injury and Thomas Walkup (two points on 1/4 FGs, plus 7 rebounds and 5 assists) didn't give the offensive push he displayed in the Reds' previous game vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

Lountzis scored 11 points in the first half, braking his all-time scoring record, and added another two in the second part. He finished with 13, in addition to 7 rebounds, 2 steals and as many turnovers and a PIR of 18. It was -hands down- his career-best performance.

"Basketball was terrible from both sides, but I want to give congratulations to [Michalis] Lountzis, who had averaged one point and sometimes he didn't make the roster," Ataman noted.

"Tonight, he did an excellent job for Olympiacos, who were without Sloukas. [Sasha] Vezenkov in the second half found some difficult shots."

The experienced tactician said he couldn't grasp why his team went off the wrong foot, being down 0-8 after the first 90 seconds of the game and 6-18 towards the end of the first quarter.

Free throws this season

83%13,3Points made:13,3Accuracy:82,5%Place in standings:12Record max:24Record min:4Most made FTs:Vasilije MicicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

After all, it was Efes' fourth loss in the last five contests. Conversely, it was Olympiacos' fifth consecutive win.

"We didn't have concentration and played terribly on offense," Ataman continued.

"I congratulate my team on not giving up in the last quarter, with young player Erten Gazi putting in some energy."

Efes could have trimmed the deficit to just three points had Rodrigue Beaubois made a corner three with half a minute left to play. But the Frenchman missed, and Olympiacos held on to their six-point lead to the end.

After giving props to the 25-year-old Turkish international, Ataman criticized his team's go-to guys.

Shane Larkin went scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points on 2/9 from the field, plus 4/4 FTs, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers.

But Vasilije Micic and Will Clyburn didn't rise to the occasion either.

The Serbian guard scored 10 points on 4/11 FGs, dished out 4 dimes and had 2 turnovers in 25 minutes. His impact on the game was minimal. Will Clyburn had 8 points on 4/13 FGs and 5 rebounds. That makes a total of 28 points scored by Efes' trio of main guys.

"We didn't get anything offensively from our star players," the 57-year-old expert commented.

Credit Giuseppe Cottini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

"Everyone's talking about us having very good players, star players, but we need them to play in this kind of games- not in Turkish league games against weak teams."

What's more, Ataman decided to become more specific when referring to those who didn't live up to expectations.

"I'm talking about Will Clyburn and Vasilije Micic. We need these guys to give us score in this game," he argued.

"That's all. Our situation in EuroLeague isn't good right now," he concluded.

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.