'Do the right thing': How Dyshawn Pierre, Fenerbahce have pushed Olympiacos to the limit / News - Basketnews.com

Dyshawn Pierre discusses Fenerbahce's successes and failures in the playoff series vs. Olympiacos, fans' impact on the duel, and how the Turkish team bounced back from a tough loss in Game 3.

Credit: Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

On April 6, when Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul downed Anadolu Efes 103-86 to terminate their opponents' playoff chances, one statistical detail captured everyone's attention.

Dimitris Itoudis chose to go with a small rotation that essentially included only seven players. Among those, Nigel Hayes-Davis and Dyshawn Pierre didn't leave the court for one second. The American forward scored a career-high 26 points, while his Canadian teammate had 17 points and 8 rebounds.

The pattern was successful and Itoudis didn't hesitate to follow the same path in the playoff series against Olympiacos Piraeus. Now, Nigel Hayes-Davis is close to breaking the all-time record for playoff minutes played, after staying on the court for the entire duration of Game 4. Dyshawn Pierre doesn't lag too much behind, as his average playing time clocks in at 35:42.

The two are clearly Fenerbahce's main weapons against EuroLeague MVP frontrunner Sasha Vezenkov. Hayes-Davis is wearing the Bulgarian forward down, while Pierre has essentially stepped in for Devin Booker, taking on a lot of work in the low post and hitting shots whenever he's open.

This is arguably Pierre's best playoff series in a career that has spanned three countries (Germany, Italy, Turkey) and has also included some memorable moments, like the 2019 FIBA Europe Cup trophy with Sassari and the 2022 BSL title with Fenerbahce.

In Game 4, Pierre constantly went to the low post, hitting on the mismatches, and sealed his team's precious win with a string of 3-pointers, three of which came in the fourth quarter.

It was the best remedy on a night when the Turkish powerhouse needed the win to keep their hopes alive. Having only made 3 of their 11 attempts from the perimeter, Fener struggled to get score and overtake Olympiacos, who were up by five points (49-54, 58-63) as the contest was drawing to a close.

Going into what could be Fenerbahce's last EuroLeague game of the season, the hosts had to overcome a tough loss in Game 3 that was largely decided by two big shots from Sasha Vezenkov and Kostas Sloukas. The Greek guard was the one who made the game-winning 3-point shot for Olympiacos, torching his previous team.

Pierre, who contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds in that game, said there were mixed feelings following an outing that went down to the wire.

"It feels bad when you lose like that. But there was a little silver lining because we were so close," he told BasketNews after Game 4 in Istanbul.

"They're a really good team, they were No.1 in the regular season, and a lot of people didn't expect the series to be so close. We don't care about what people are saying because we're trusting ourselves and our game plan. We just have to do the right thing, regardless of what happens."

Pierre concedes it's important to keep Sloukas and Vezenkov low on the scoreboard, but is eager to see what else Dimitris Itoudis will have to say ahead of Game 5.

"We just have to play hard. It's a physically and mentally draining series. We have the players to do it and we got to be confident," the 29-year-old player pointed out.

Looking at the regular season standings, Olympiacos took on the 8th-placed team. But in reality, there has hardly ever been a stronger 8-seed playoff opponent than Fenerbahce. Even without several important players, like Scottie Wilbekin and Devin Booker, the Turkish side has managed to contain the Reds on the defensive end, forcing them to score 10 points below their regular season average (84-74), hand out 6.6 assists fewer (21.8-15.2) and shoot poorly from the perimeter in three of the four games (20/71= 28.1%).

It's no coincidence that Olympiacos are yet to score over 80 points in the series, nor is it just a matter of chance that their offensive production is in constant decline from one fixture to the next.

"It's details, obviously," Pierre observed.

"Sometimes, players get tired or lack focus. There are great players on both sides. In Greece, we were talking about Isaiah Canaan and what he did in Game 1. Since that day, we've been trying to be focused on his 3-point shots," the Canadian forward stressed.

"Same thing with [Sasha] Vezenkov's shots. We got some quick buckets off turnovers in Game 4. There's a lot more to our game plan, but we're trying to prepare ourselves to do the right things."

So far, Fenerbahce seem to be doing the right thing. Knocking down shots and getting the best out of Tyler Dorsey's isolation game has paid dividends for them, but all that wouldn't have been enough without the emphasis placed on defense.

"Coaches are doing a lot of work, and we're trying to be good listeners," Pierre commented.

"We've been doing the right things in our wins and are lacking some small details in our losses. Game 3 came down to the last shot."

While Fenerbahce players were playing their hearts out on the court, Dimitris Itoudis was experiencing one of the most electrified nights of his coaching career -- or so it seemed. Over the course of fewer than two hours, the Greek tactician lashed out at his chair, had a quarrel with a fan who was eventually removed from his seat, and vented out his stress when Tyler Dorsey made it 70-63 with 89 seconds left on the game clock.

It was an intense night that had everyone on their toes -- and Itoudis was no exception.

"Every night, he's like that," Pierre commented.

"He just wants the best for his players. He's very tough sometimes with the number of players that we have," the Ontario-born forward went on to say.

"He's been doing a great job in managing the players and bringing us together through hard times. Obviously, things got a little weird after that Game 3 loss. But we bounced back and everyone respected the details he told us to pay attention to ahead of Game 4."

Those details have favored both sides thus far. Olympiacos got the win thanks to Sloukas' buzzer-beater in Game 3, but Fener could have gone down in Game 2 in Piraeus had Sasha Vezenkov drained a 3-point shot that looked a bit easier compared to the one that tied the third contest at 69 apiece.

Hence, 2-2 does justice to the effort and performance displayed by both sides in the first four outings. Still, Olympiacos have earned the right to have the last say at their home court next Tuesday.

It's a series that has little to do with any other we've seen this year. Barcelona and Zalgiris turned out to be a pairing without any balance, AS Monaco and Maccabi have taken easy wins against each other, while the spectacular Real Madrid-Partizan duel is mostly fast-paced and high-scoring.

On the other hand, Olympiacos and Fener have played three games that came down to the last possessions, while the Greek squad seems to be desperately looking for some contribution from key players like Thomas Walkup, Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannoulis Larentzakis.

"People play well at home, but they might also play badly," Pierre stoically observed.

"Sometimes, the fans can turn against you at home. We got to stay locked in. I've heard the home teams have won all Game 5s in EuroLeague history. But we can't think about that. It's a very competitive season."

Actually, if the home team tradition is ever likely to break, this year might be the one. With three Game 5s scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday, it would be a surprise if all three hosts left their arenas unscathed. Monaco lost Game 1 to Maccabi, Real Madrid succumbed to Partizan twice, while Olympiacos left the Peace and Friendship Stadium with their heads down after Game 2.

The 5th contest will either mark the first time that a regular season-winning team doesn't make it through the playoffs, or the first time since 2015 that a Turkish side doesn't qualify for the Final Four. In the meantime, Fenerbahce paved the way for Turkish basketball to conquer Europe in 2017, and Efes followed with back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

After missing out on the playoffs in 2022, it makes perfect sense that Fenerbahce fans want to see their team return to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. As soon as Game 4 had finished and most of them had left the Ulker Sports Arena, a few hundred loyal supporters stayed in their seats waiting for the team to come back from the locker room.

It was the crowd's last chance to greet the squad and celebrate with them a win that gave their team a shot at the Final Four.

"That doesn't happen after every single game," Pierre said. "But this is a big thing. It was our last EuroLeague game of the season. We came out for our fans, and I think at the end of the domestic league, the same will happen."

Pierre and his teammates are feeling the pressure to restore Fenerbahce to the TOP 4 teams in Europe. However, they still have a job to do.

"We try to respect the fans as much as can. It's not about pressure. Fans are with us and we feed off their confidence," the Dayton graduate mentioned.

"So, when we lose, it's a letdown, but our fans kind of pick us up. We want to make them proud. I think it's like that in every organization. Some people can be more mad than others, but most of the time, they're respectful."

That's an interesting topic for discussion, especially considering whatJohnathan Motley recently told BasketNews about having regular encounters and discussions with fans wherever he goes.

"It puts a lot of pressure on you. Fenerbahce is a huge club, so everywhere you go, someone knows you," Motley said.

"They're going to have their thoughts on the game. I would go to a restaurant, and guys want to give me advice and get under my skin. They're like coaches."

Motley's description definitely rings a bell to Pierre.

"Oh, yeah," he confirmed.

"That happens with everyone. It might happen to other places too, but I think our fans are the best we could have. They're supportive, and for better or for worse, sometimes you deserve to get those weird messages," Pierre maintains.

"But sometimes also, even though you've played a bad game or you lose an important one, they're still there."

Another peculiarity of the Olympiacos-Fenerbahce series is that games are only attended by home fans. Whether Kevin Durant, Emma Stone, Alperen Sengun, or Mike Brown fall under that category is up for debate.

What cannot be argued is that both sides have given their fans their money's worth, delivering a hard-fought battle that includes five sellout games, several big baskets, and two players in Hayes-Davis and Pierre who have seen almost all the action from up close.

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