Sfairopoulos details how Zvezda must improve, gives injury updates / News - Basketnews.com

Sfairopoulos said the team has to improve its pace on both sides of the court. He plans to continue with the players that he has. Branko Lazic will undergo an MRI to determine the seriousness of his injury. Marko Simonovic has a virus, while Nemanja Nedovic is undergoing rehab.

Credit: FMP Soccerbet/Ivica Vaselinov Credit FMP Soccerbet/Ivica Vaselinov

After getting appointed as the head coach several days ago, Ioannis Sfairopoulos got his first with under the helm of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on Monday.

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade / Schedule

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Crvena Zvezda comfortably defeated FMP Soccerbet Belgrade in the ABA League. After the match, the Greek specialist wanted to thank the club for choosing him to succeed Dusko Ivanovic and praised the specialist he overtook.

"I'm very honored that I'm the coach of Crvena Zvezda. This is a very big club, a traditional club. I feel blessed that I'm the coach of Crvena Zvezda. I want to thank the president, Mr. Covic, and the management for this. Everything happened very fast," Sfairopoulos said during the post-game press conference.

"I give big respect to my colleague, Mr. Dusko Ivanovic. He's a great coach and a great person," he continued. "He has a team in a very good situation. I believe that coming to Crvena Zvezda, we are all together obligated to fight for the success of the club, together with the fans who we want to support us in the good and the bad moments."

Sfairopoulos then highlighted that it's already the fourth club he takes over early in the season. While he already knows how to deal with it from past experience, the coach agrees that it's a difficult process for the players.

"It's very difficult for players to adjust to a new coach in the middle of the season. This is the fourth job in a row that I take over in October or November. When I worked in Maccabi, it was November, Olympiacos - November, Panionios back in 2012, all the last teams were in November, here [it's] in October," he said.

"I understand that I know and have the experience to deal with it in the middle of the season. Unfortunately, it's not very easy when we have games, and we have to win games and have to slowly change things from one philosophy to the other philosophy," Sfairopoulos explained. "We practiced only once, and we played today, but I'm very satisfied with what I saw."

Points this season

41%80,8Points made:80,8Accuracy:41,5%Place in standings:8Record max:94Record min:74Best scorer:Shabazz NapierTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Asked about what he wants to change in the way the team plays, Sfairopoulos said that the most important thing is to improve the pace both offensively and after defensive possessions.

"Primarily, I want to play faster in offense. I want to take advantage of the open court after good defense and to take advantage of the athleticism of the players. This is modern basketball, and this is how I want to play," he said. "I want to execute faster in offense and for everybody to be coordinated and synchronized and play together."

"Defensively, we want to improve the details in every aspect of the game. The defense has been very good so far, but we need to improve some details between the bigs and the guards, how we help.

To me, it's very important to go in a way that does not confuse the players. While we play, we cannot put much information in their heads and change a lot of things rapidly together. We trust the system that the team had, and slowly, we will transfer to my philosophy," Sfairopoulos said.

The Greek specialist singled out Yago dos Santos for his play. The Brazilian point guard has been left out of EuroLeague action so far, playing only a total of four minutes in four games. On Monday, dos Santos played for 18 minutes, scored 10 points, and dished out 5 assists.

"I'm very happy with how Yago performed tonight. He's a player that can give us easy solutions on the court, and I think he responded really well to the role he had in the game today," the coach said.

Crvena Zvezda played without Marko Simonovic and Nemanja Nedovic, while Branko Lazic left the game early due to injury.

"He has a big pain in his ribs. He will go for the MRI, we don't know how serious the injury is. It looked serious, we will see after the MRI," Sfairopoulos said about Lazic's situation.

"Marko had a small virus. He was supposed to play, but he came before the game having lost a lot of power, he was not fresh. We decided not to put him in the game," the coach explained, later saying that Nedovic is undergoing treatment with the team's medical staff.

The new coach is not planning any free-agency moves right now and is ready to face the upcoming challenges without any changes. Asked whether it's brave or a bit crazy to take over a team before two derbies against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in a single week, Sfairopoulos laughed.

"It's bravery. You know, if I was afraid, I would've stayed at home," he concluded.

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