Bartzokas reflects on Peters' absence, admits his own mistakes after loss to Valencia / News - Basketnews.com

Giorgos Bartzokas broke down the reasons for Olympiacos' home loss to Valencia, mentioning his players' mindset on offense, Alec Peters' absence, and the poor contribution of those coming off injuries. He also conceded that he should have managed the rotation differently.

Credit: Stefanos Kyriazis/NurPhoto via Getty Images Credit Stefanos Kyriazis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Shooting only 34.5% from the field against Valencia Basket on Friday night, Olympiacos Piraeus experienced what head coach Giorgos Bartzokas described as one of his team's 'worst performances in the last three years.'

Player of the Game EFF 16 Stefan Jovic Points 12 Accuracy 5-7 Rebounds 4 Assists 2

The Reds only scored 56 points, suffered their seventh loss in the EuroLeague season and fourth at home against Spanish teams, dropping to a 7-7 record ahead of the last double-week of 2023.

At the same time, Olympiacos committed 15 turnovers and dished out 15 assists, while having just two players (Thomas Walkup and Kostas Papanikolaou) in double digits.

Bartzokas looked disappointed after the result when he appeared at the postgame presser. The Greek coach referred to the absence of Alec Peters (whose wife gave birth to the couple's first child during the game), but also to the way he handled the rotation in the second quarter.

"It was one of our worst performances in the last three years, in all areas of the game," Bartzokas opened his statements.

"We paid for our performance in the second period. Whoever took the court was playing completely out of our game plan. We had nine turnovers in the first half, we had two assists in the second period, which means that we were in a hurry to score," the back-to-back EuroLeague Coach of The Year pointed out.

Bartzokas said his players were aware of Valencia's power in the paint and the fact that the Spanish side allow the fewest points in the paint than any other EuroLeague team.

"Instead of finding the extra pass, instead of reading, we tried every time to score with pull-ups, and in the end our two-point percentage was close to 40%," he lamented.

"We didn't deserve the win. When we had our opportunities in the fourth quarter, it was very difficult to win. If you miss six or seven layups without pressure, when you miss shots, when you miss as many free throws...We were thinking too much before making decisions, and that was a bad factor. We hope to improve, because tonight's performance was very bad," he repeated.

2-pointers this season

53%16,9Points made:16,9Accuracy:52,5%Place in standings:18Record max:22Record min:10Most made 2FGs:Nikola MilutinovTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Bartzokas argued that Alec Peters' absence was crucial, as the American forward is Olympiacos' best shooter and top scorer. However, he also admitted that in the face of a Force Majeure, which was the birth of his child, there was little to be done.

"What can I say about Peters?" he wondered. "His wife finally gave birth during the game and I wish him all the best. Three of our players have had their children born before games this year -- [Nigel] Williams-Goss, [Moustapha] Fall and now Peters," he reflected.

"What can I do? Invoke the goddess of luck? How can this happen in crucial games? I couldn't do anything else about that. We are a professional team, and when you lose, you have to look at all the parameters -- why you lost and how."

Apart from their offensive struggles, Olympiacos keep receiving little contribution from players who have come off injuries, like Shaquielle McKissic, Nigel Williams-Goss, Luke Sikma, or even Ignas Brazdeikis who hasn't been able to help them out on the front end of the court.

Bartzokas stressed that his philosophy revolves around the notion that a single player's absence or presence isn't capable of changing the team's dynamics.

"Our most important problem tonight is that the guys coming in from injury had to help the team get into rhythm. That didn't happen tonight. Many were not ready. Our chemistry was disrupted in the second quarter -- and, of course, that's my responsibility as well."

"Too many of our players played below their level. At the beginning, we had a good tempo in our game and suddenly in the second quarter, it disappeared. And all of a sudden you go into halftime nine points behind. Obviously I was wrong there too, I had to manage the game differently," the Greek tactician admitted.

"I tried to freshen up the team, I tried not to do it automatically with a lot of players coming in, but rather do it gradually. Still, we had too many lags," he concluded.

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