Paris Lee: 'I feel like there's another gear to us' / News - Basketnews.com

Paris Lee talked about Panathinaikos' loss to Olympiacos in Piraeus and the elements that made the difference for both sides.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

On Monday night, Panathinaikos Athens came close to beating their main rivals Olympiacos Piraeus and snapping their 32-game winning streak in the Greek league.

Paris Lee

Team:Panathinaikos AthensPosition:PGAge:27Height:183 cmWeight:84 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The Greens came back from -10 (14-24), led by 7 (36-29) thanks to a partial score of 22-5, and midway through the third quarter, they were down again by 5 (42-47).

Then, Paris Lee came up with two consecutive long-distance 3-point shots to hand PAO another lead and shake up things in a derby full of ups and downs. The former Monaco guard stole the ball from Kostas Sloukas, making it a two-point game (65-63) with 20 seconds left on the clock.

Eventually, the battle was lost for Dejan Radonjic's squad, but Lee had one of his better games in the season, posting 13 points, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 3 steals.

The American point guard thinks that his team is on the right track, but - despite the overall good performance, especially on the defensive end - a defeat needs no embellishment and should be treated as it is.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

"We got to just take the loss for now and see them when they come to us," Lee stoically said after the game near Panathinaikos' locker room at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

"It's tough to say that right now, but I think we're progressing the right way," he continued.

"I feel like there's is another gear to us. We have two great scorers in Dwayne Bacon and Derrick Williams, a good point guard in Nate Wolters, and many role players - including myself - that have embraced their roles. We're trying to get better day by day."

As a matter of fact, Panathinaikos have racked up three straight wins in EuroLeague for the first time since 2020. They seem to be in their best momentum since the season kicked off, but in all likelihood, they'll end up behind Olympiacos in the Greek league standings.

Paris Lee

MIN:24.51PTS:8.27 (40.57%)REB:1.91As:2.73ST:1.09BL:0TO:1.36GM:11ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

If that should happen, the Greens would only have to blame their terrible opening night against Aris, not the derby in Piraeus.

"Our focus is on the next game (against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan)," Lee maintains.

"I don't think we should be mad about this game. We didn't get the result that we wanted, but we still didn't play badly."

Lee, 27, as well as his PAO teammate, Dwayne Bacon, have played more games against Olympiacos in the past couple of seasons than any player on the Greens' roster, except for Giorgos Papagiannis.

Last year, the two Americans spearheaded Monaco's attempts at making their first-ever EuroLeague Final Four.

However, the Greek side came out victorious after a fierce five-game playoff series that soon became an instant classic. Having just played his maiden Greek derby, Lee recalls the series and can draw some comparisons.

"For sure, it reminded me of that series," he confirmed. "I feel like that Game 5 was a little more intense, to be honest. But tonight, we had the first good game of our long derby season."

At certain points during the game, Olympiacos looked like they'd geared up for good, leaving their main rivals behind. But whenever the team coached by Giorgos Bartzokas seemed to gain some confidence, Panathinaikos took advantage of their bad decisions.

"We started fighting, changing the rhythm a little bit,' Lee explained.

"I tried to come in and bring a little more energy and pressure on the ball. Sometimes, we start flat, but we had a 7-point lead in the second quarter. We got to be better with our lead," he noted.

That last quote from Lee could have easily come out of Bartzokas' mouth. Olympiacos have wasted big leads several times in their EuroLeague contests - and the game against PAO had all the intensity, albeit not the quality, of a top-level match.

Lee thinks Olympiacos managed to respond and close the derby in the final minutes because they "are a great team."

"They just made adjustments. I feel like we did good. We just have to clean up some details and a few turnovers, and we'll be fine," he argued.

"It's tough when Nate's not on the court, to be honest," he further admitted.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

Wolters was PAO's most notable absentee when the two sides locked horns two months ago in Rhodes for the Greek Super Cup final. But that looks like ancient history now. The six-time EuroLeague champs have grown into a solid playoff contender and a serious threat to Olympiacos' aspirations for a domestic repeat.

If Bartzokas and Radonjic stressed that their teams missed many open shots on Panathinaikos' end of the stick, Derrick Williams and Dwayne Bacon went both scoreless for almost 18 minutes in the second half.

Still, the Greens stayed in contention, and when Bacon came around and released himself from Thomas Walkup's supervision, the hosts' six-point (65-59) advantage came close to vanishing.

"It was tough for us that Derrick and Dwayne didn't score, but Nate and I found a way to balance it out so they could get touches," Lee said.

"They're our best scorers. So, we've got to make sure we find a way to get them going and keep them going."

Credit Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS

Lee pointed out that his team's approach was to "just come out and play hard."

"We wanted to match their intensity. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game," he noted.

In this vein, Bartzokas observed that Panathinaikos came to Piraeus to play their game without pressure, as opposed to his players who were misfiring from the perimeter. He even used an example of Bacon's circus 3-pointer off the glass that cut down Olympiacos' lead to one (67-66).

Credit Vangelis Stolis

Speaking on behalf of his teammates is something Lee isn't authorized to do. Still, describing how he prepared himself for that contest, he partly confirmed coach Bartzokas' interpretation.

"It's just another game," he said with a tone of nonchalance.

"That's how I look at it. It's a big derby game, but if you look at it like that, you're going to just put pressure on yourself."

As the two Greek powerhouses are yet to square off in EuroLeague territory and the Reds have almost secured the home-court advantage for the Greek playoffs, Lee and Panathinaikos will need a good deal of that attitude going forward.

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