Bartzokas: 'We want to play at full speed, EuroLeague is tougher than the NBA' / News - Basketnews.com

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Giorgos Bartzokas spoke about the new Olympiacos Piraeus team, the return to the Greek League, and the additions of Fall and Dorsey.

In the context of the EuroLeague Media Day of the “Reds", the Greek coach was optimistic that his team will be considerably improved compared to last year.

"The philosophy of each coach is based on the evolution of basketball. I think that coaches who have been practicing the profession for years if they are not eager to adjust to what's happening in basketball, such as changing rules, evolving sportsmanship, improving the speed of execution, will stay behind. We want to play at full speed, adapt our game to the requirements of the EuroLeague. In my opinion, it is the league with the most athleticism. It's the toughest league in terms of how you use your body. It's tougher than the NBA and all the coaches and players who come from America have attested to that."

Bartzokas also referred to the new elements added to the team: "What I said last year is that Olympiacos needed to enter a new era. Vassilis Spanoulis quit, Giorgos Printezis is 36. The two best players of previous years are near to or have reached the end. Olympiacos must create a new treaty. It's a process that can't be done in a year. Olympiacos is a must-win team. But you cannot change the whole team and create another team, which is functional, within a year. This takes some time. We think we will be better than last year.”

On Fall's addition: "It's false that I was looking for undersized bigs. I was looking for fast tall guys. But they go to the NBA. So you adapt to some cases of shorter players. On the other hand, there is a shift in European basketball in terms of size. For example, last year Real Madrid played with Tavares and Poirier together. This year we were lucky and signed Fall, who can help us.”

On Tyler Dorsey: "Upon returning to the Greek League, we wanted to get a Greek player. Tyler has never played in Greece, but he has a passport. Right now we're happy with our roster. We have a satisfactory number of good players. Our gymnast tells us that considering the number of games we have in the Euroleague and based on statistics, two players will be sitting out in every game. There is also the coronavirus pandemic. Last year some of our players got sick, like me. It's a difficult virus. Athletes are young and overcome it more easily, but it is difficult.”

On the return of the fans and playing the Greek League again, after two years: "There are no sports without fans. For us at Olympiacos, you know how important it is. No matter where we play, it's crowded. I know my assistants won't have any time off all year. We really wanted to return to the Greek League and claim titles. I wish our season would drag on a lot in both Europe and Greece and we could end up playing the last games in all competitions."

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