Road to perfection: Olympiacos players address team's flaws, reveal their dreams for 2023 / News - Basketnews.com

Olympiacos are tied for first in the EuroLeague standings, displaying exquisite numbers in several statistical categories and registering new records. However, all their losses are marked by a common pattern. Coach Giorgos Bartzokas and players Kostas Papanikolaou, Moustapha Fall, and Shaquielle McKissic weighed in on what can lead an excellent team to perfection.

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

At the beginning of the season,Olympiacos Piraeuswasn't the team that dominated the EuroLeague Power Rankings. Some thought they overperformed last year when they reached the Final Four, others argued that Tyler Dorsey was irreplaceable.

Shaquielle McKissic

MIN:14.83PTS:5.88 (52.43%)REB:0.94As:1.29ST:0.88BL:0TO:0.82GM:17ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

The majority had the Greek side fighting for a playoff spot whilst prioritizing clubs with bigger budgets and high-profile transfer moves.

Yet, the Reds had an astounding start, winning all their three games in Spain (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Baskonia), boasting a resounding 4-0 record, including the home win vs. Zalgiris Kaunas.

What happened after that? Two straight home losses and a 3-4 record that owed little to the team's early feats.

It wasn't exactly a fall from grace. It was coming to terms with the idea that even a well-oiled machine can malfunction and realizing that having a team based on the collective and not the individual doesn't come without certain limitations.

Winning or losing, Olympiacos have looked like a different team ever since their sensational start.

Their wins are almost invariably accompanied by textbook basketball: exemplary passing, shots falling from every angle and in any way possible, complete domination in the paint, and a defense capable of bullying the most accomplished and gifted scorers.

That's why the three-time continental champs have come to dominate several statistical categories in the EuroLeague.

Giorgos Bartzokas' team is great on the front part of the court, starting from their exemplary ball distribution (22.7 assists) and expanding on points scored (86.7) and overall offensive rating (1.22 points per possession).

The fact that they lead the league in steals (8.6) and points off turnovers (18.1) shows that they're capable of putting pressure on the ball and capitalizing on their stops.

Moustapha Fall

Team:Olympiacos PiraeusPosition:CAge:30Height:218 cmWeight:124 kgBirth place:Paris, FranceProfileNewsStatistics

Those two numbers have brought Olympiacos close to the top (2nd place) of the defensive ratings as well (1.09 points per possession).

"I think our defense is everything. Being physical is very important," Shaquille McKissic told BasketNews after Olympiacos' easy win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan last Friday.

In that game, Olympiacos scored 35 points off turnovers out of their total 82 points (42.7%), a league-high since 2007. They also scored 14 second-chance points and 10 fast-break points.

Thomas Walkup led all scorers with 10 points off turnovers.

"We trust Thomas Walkup to go up and bother people," MacKissic said.

"He does that easily. We're junkyard dogs, as he says. Our team has got worker bees and honey bees. Thomas and I enjoy being worker bees.

If we could go out and score 30 points every game, that would be nice! But that's not the reality. We have guys that can do that really well. So, we'll leave it to them."

Credit Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

On the other hand, Moustapha Fall warns: "We need to step up on defense. Last year, we were playing better in that department," the French big man told BasketNews.

When they lose, Olympiacos usually project the same image. But not for 40 minutes, not even for 35. They stick to their principles for a period oscillating between 25 and 30 minutes, and then they become a different kind of team; one that places its hopes on hero ball and is oblivious to the principles that have worked miracles for them.

Basically, that's the reason Olympiacos are in a five-time tie (11-6) with AS Monaco and the three Spanish teams they've beaten on the road.

If it hadn't been for those lapses, the Greek squad might have been a lock for first place even before 2023 set in.

In the match against Anadolu Efes, the Reds wasted their good momentum and ran out of steam in the last period. Two minutes before the end of the third quarter, Olympiacos were up 53-46, but the hosts went off to a 12-0 run that turned the tables.

In Istanbul, Olympiacos had their worst defensive night in this year's EuroLeague, conceding 1.14 points per possession while allowing 0.97 points per possession before that game.

Sloukas and Walkup, who dictate the game pace to a big extent, made bad decisions, Sasha Vezenkov was trying to play hero ball, passing played second fiddle to executing, defensive rotations broke down, unforced turnovers became all the more frequent, and even open looks didn't turn into baskets.

In Tel Aviv vs. Maccabi, the Greek side looked even more confident, leading by as many as 11 (63-52), before allowing the hosts to score 21 points in six minutes (73-71).

Against Valencia Basket at home, the team coached by Giorgos Bartzokas was up 71-58 at the end of the third quarter before collapsing (11-25) in the final stretch. When Crvena Zvezda came to Piraeus, Olympiacos were up 44-33 but then had to overcome a double-digit margin, ultimately conceding 49 points in the second half.

Of course, the most telling example of the team's lack of stability came in Lyon.

Olympiacos were cruising in the first 23 minutes, leading by 20 (51-31). They only scored 24 points in the remaining 17 minutes while LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne were making one shot after another.

Amine Noua's game-winner came as divine retribution since Sasha Vezenkov decided to jump to the ball from the strong side, allowing Nando De Colo to find his open teammate.

By Round 14 and before they lost to Red Star at home, Olympiacos were by far the league's best team in the first quarter and the first half (+8.5) but had a negative balance in the third (-0.2) and a borderline positive (+0.6) in the last one.

Shaq McKissic puts it simply.

"When teams play us, they must try to stick with us in the first quarter. Because if they don't, things can change fast," he pointed out with a smile.

However, considering almost all of their losses thus far, even the one to AS Monaco at home when they were up 37-33 at half-time, Olympiacos have displayed the same strengths and weaknesses.

They enter the floor with good defensive reflexes, energy, and excellent shooting percentages. It all amounts to nothing in the last quarter when the Reds usually falter.

Asked about the insisting symptoms that his team has displayed over and over again, Giorgos Bartzokasdidn't try to shy away from the problem. However, he seemed to look only at one side of the equation - the games that Olympiacos won, most of which were blowouts.

"Those we've lost are five, and the ones we've won nine. In the nine matches we won, that didn't happen," he told the media before the game vs. Zvezda on December 22.

"Journalists and public opinion - and rightfully so - are used to looking at that side of things. We're analyzing it and thinking about what we can do better," Bartzokas admitted.

"But what I want to tell you is that Olympiacos impose their way of playing. Some of the games end well, and some don't. I don't think anyone expects, realistically, that we will win all the games. If anyone believes it, he must be a die-hard Olympiacos fan, and I accept it," Bartzokas noted.

"Of course, we are looking to improve, to have a better approach, make better decisions. This goes for coaches and players alike. We want to improve and learn from our mistakes.

But we can't dwell on the games we didn't finish while we were ahead. We have to understand how other teams play and that they also have talent. Also, we cannot play at such a level for 40 minutes. We will try, but we are not yet at a point in time where we can do it," the Greek coach conceded.

If one were to point to the main weaknesses that really stand out and are essentially to blame for the losses suffered, those would be weak perimeter defense and an underperforming second unit.

It has happened many times during the season, especially from November onwards, but coach Bartzokas has rarely been able to find a remedy. To a certain extent, that makes perfect sense because until very recently, only a handful of players did the heavy lifting every night.

Bartzokas rarely gives second and third chances to players with little or no contribution in a given game. That's why the Greek tactician usually makes the minimum number of changes when finishing a closed game.

Hence, it's easy to notice Olympiacos' opponents display more energy than the Greeks down the stretch.

Somehow, Olympiacos always end up doing battle having the same players on the court when games are decided, as Bartzokas and fans expect them to be infallible and maintain their concentration at 100%.

Sometimes they will succeed, sometimes, they won't, and the scenario will keep repeating itself.

"Sometimes, it's the lineup that changes a lot," center Moustapha Fall thinks.

"After that, we lose the rhythm and give confidence to our opponents. As soon as they gain confidence, even if we get back with our main guys, it's too late. So, we just need to find a way to get more from our bench players and come back right away."

Olympiacos is a team that has shown that it can follow games at a quick pace and with high scores. But, as has been the case in some of their outings, nothing good can come out of being unable to defend.

Apart from the three guards (Kostas Sloukas, Thomas Walkup, Giannoulis Larentzakis), who have carried the team thus far and some considerable flashes from Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos are vulnerable when the opponent team effectively presses the ball and stops their passing game.

Papanikolaou, the team's captain, thinks that Olympiacos have room for improvement.

"Our ups and downs is the part we have to look at and work on," he said.

"I think it's a matter of concentration. In the game vs. Panathinaikos, we were highly concentrated for 35 minutes. I don't think it has anything to do with the arena or the opponent. Nobody wants to play badly, it's about how the game goes."

The 32-year-old forward brought up the game vs. ASVEL, where Olympiacos had what he called "a disastrous third quarter" that allowed the hosts to return to the game.

"I don't think anyone wants to get it all wrong and mess things up. It's how the game develops and how the momentum changes sometimes," Papanikolaou stressed.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

The two-time EuroLeague winner and former Houston Rockets player admits he can only speculate on why his side suffers those breakdowns late in games.

"I don't have a specific answer to tell the truth," he conceded.

"I think sometimes we stop being compact on defense, but we also cease to play the right way on offense. When a game gets out of control, players tend to look at themselves instead of the team. That can give momentum to the opposing team.

Hence, with 4-5 easy baskets, all the pressure is transferred to the other side. It's hard to pick it up after that."

Looking at Olympiacos' numbers, it becomes clear that the Reds need to work on the offensive rebounds (currently 14th with 9.2 per game). On the defensive end, despite them boasting the best rating, conceding only 109.2 points per 100 possessions, there's a lot of room for improvement.

Opponent teams shoot 55.7% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the arc. That makes Olympiacos the second-most vulnerable EuroLeague team in perimeter defense.

What's most worrisome is that 61.8% of their opponents' FG were assisted. That means Bartzokas' players mostly concede easy baskets, something that has become evident in their losses.

"We're on a good track. We just have to be more focused in some parts of games," Moustapha Fall argued.

"Even against Panathinaikos (editor's note: an easy 95-71 win), there was a point where we were going down. We stopped playing together, started to rush shots, and didn't play defense. We always have some lapses like that. If we clean this up, we're going to be fine."

It's no secret that Olympiacos' top player has been Sasha Vezenkov. The Bulgarian forward presents a good case for the MVP award, but his impact seems to fade in the fourth quarter.

In total, he scores 28.9% of Olympiacos points when he is on the floor. However, during the last quarter, he scores around 14.4% of his team's points.

Against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on January 6, he scored 5 points in the fourth quarter and hit one 3-point shot.

That was the first time after 16 appearances this season that Vezenkov, a prolific scorer (18.5 ppg) and shooter (45.7% from distance with 2.3 shots made per contest), buried a long-distance shot after the 31st minute.

It would be pointless to expect all the active players to contribute the same to the team's progress. Olympiacos need to get more out of their non-Greek players (with the exceptions of Thomas Walkup and Moustapha Fall), especially now that games are gaining more weight.

Lately, both Isaiah Canaan and Alec Peters have seen their efforts bear some fruit, while Joel Bolomboy and Tarik Black have occasionally provided some help.

As for Shaq McKissic, while he's not having his best season in the red-and-white jersey (5.9 points per game) and he doesn't remotely resemble the dynamic player he used to be until last season, the derby against PAO kind of helped him to get back on track.

The American forward has a unique way of transforming into Panathinaikos' nemesis at rival games. He can be effective whenever he relishes the chance to run the open court. On 5-5, however, he keeps struggling, and his poor (6/35 - 17%) 3-point accuracy doesn't help much.

Nevertheless, McKissic is hopeful that Olympiacos can find a way to get even better and sort out the issues that have cost them at least five defeats so far.

"We're in a good momentum if you look at our games. We've been leading in a lot of them. We just need to learn how to finish," he noted.

"I think we'll figure that out. Game by game, the coach will find the right rotations that can finish games. It's an easy fix. I would rather this happen over and over again at the beginning of the season than happen in the playoffs or the Final Four. Now, we have the time to fix it," he pointed out.

What the Reds are missing from time to time is some more score from the perimeter. A player who can perform in spot-up situations taking advantage of Sloukas and Walkup, and who will be able to create his shot at the moments when the offensive flow becomes static.

Without a slasher who can play one-on-one and given the wear and tear from the limited rotation, Olympiacos can be easy prey to any team possessing a minimum of offensive talent.

Be that as it may, everyone at Olympiacos' camp looks forward to besting one of the all-time great seasons in the club's history.

"Since last year, we have had a very good team, and we're all confident that we can win everywhere and against everyone," Papanikolaou said.

The Trikala-born Greek international calls 2022 "a great year for Olympiacos," as the squad won three domestic titles (Cup, league, and Super Cup), went to the Final Four, and didn't qualify for the final game at the last shot, which Vasilije Micic made for Efes.

"It has been a magical year, and we hope that 2023 will be just as beautiful," Papanikolaou added, but without going any further.

"I've got many dreams, but I will try to keep them to myself," he concluded.

"It was a pretty successful season," Mous Fall thinks. "The club hadn't won both domestic titles for more than 20 years."

Credit Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

However, what Olympiacos are still missing and have been coveting for some months now is another trophy.

"My personal goal is to win EuroLeague one day," Fall said.

"I don't know if it's going to happen now or in the future. That's my goal, and I hope to achieve it.

I feel like when you go to the Final Four, everyone can win. You just have to be ready at the right time. You never know what's going to happen. Some people might be injured or in good shape. Our main goal is to qualify, and we'll see."

Shaquielle McKissic has only one wish ahead of 2023. His goal is identical to Fall's.

"That's all I dream about. I was dreaming of us making the Final Four last year, and now we've got an upgrade."

If Olympiacos upgrade their game in the same way their players are leveling up their dreams, the gregarious forward and his teammates will be in for a real treat.

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