Bartzokas praises Sfairopoulos: 'His teams are always perfectly prepared' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

With the aim to return to winning ways, following their defeat by Fenerbahce last Thursday, Olympiacos Piraeus will be hosted by Maccabi Tel Aviv in a EuroLeague Round 22 game. In its last continental showdown, the Greek side saw head coach Giorgos Bartzokas get ejected with two consecutive technical fouls. The experienced tactician believes that his players will be ready to face another challenge since they also had a Greek League game last Saturday.

Free throws this season

78%13,1Points made:13,1Accuracy:77,6%Place in standings:5Record max:22Record min:5Most made FTs:Tyler DorseyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"In the game against Ionikos, we showed that we're on the right path," Bartzokas said at the Athens International Airport, before Olympiacos flew out to Tel Aviv.

"We played with intensity. That's what we missed in Istanbul and now want to repeat. We are clearly in better shape than we were a week ago, as is the case with all teams. The first game after COVID is always difficult," he commented.Asked about Maccabi's playing style and how Olympiacos are going to deal with it, Bartzokas said that his team disposes of "a combination of quality and toughness. Maccabi are not a team that likes to run in transition, but when they play with enthusiasm, they put more players into the equation.

This time, things are going to be harder for us because Maccabi are in a difficult position after a series of unsuccessful results and now they want to push in order to make the playoffs."Giorgos Bartzokas and Maccabi coach Giannis Sfairopoulos have a lot of things in common, apart from sharing the same country of origin. Sfairopoulos succeeded Bartzokas at Panionios in 2012 and then at Olympiacos in 2014 when the team's current coach resigned.

"Giannis' teams are always perfectly prepared. He leaves nothing to chance. His teams have a common component, so we expect them to be tough defensively," Bartzokas initially said and added:

"This year's Maccabi roster is a little different from the previous seasons. The structure of their game is very much about isolation, they're not a team that uses much passing game.""The COVID break is no longer an excuse for us," Thomas Walkup made clear.

"It is something that everyone faces anyway", the American guard stressed. "We had a bad away game and now we have to get back on the right track and win the next one."Referring to Maccabi, Walkup commented: "They play with a lot of energy, they're also tough defensively at home and this is something we will have to match. When we do that, then we can talk about tactics and all the rest.

If we start thinking about mismatches or whatever, it will be pointless. Getting the ball where it needs to go and playing tough defense is always the first - and the rest follows," the 29-year-old concluded.

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