Paris Lee, Marius Grigonis address players' share in Panathinaikos' troubled season / News - Basketnews.com

As Panathinaikos were cast out of EuroLeague playoff contention for the third straight time, Paris Lee and Marius Grigonis could barely find the words to describe how a promising season went to waste.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

If someone were to ask Marius Grigonis to make an assessment of Panathinaikos Athens' EuroLeague season, he'd come across a look suggesting that everything has been said already.

3-pointers this season

36%8,9Points made:8,9Accuracy:36,1%Place in standings:11Record max:13Record min:4Most made 3FGs:Paris LeeTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

If the Lithuanian's facial expressions can barely betray his feelings, it's not because he makes every effort to conceal them; it's because trying to explain what has gone wrong in a ship that's sunk long ago might seem pointless and irrelevant right now.

"Everyone knows what went wrong," Grigonis confirms the initial prediction.

"But at the end of the day, no one cares about excuses. We play badly and our season is...how can I express it without swearing?"

PAO's shooting guard takes his time to come up with some adjectives.

"It's terrible, horrible. It's frustrating, but it's on us players. I could tell you a lot, but it doesn't make any sense."

It took Paris Lee some more seconds toreflect on a situation that has Panathinaikos out of EuroLeague playoff contention since January and also with their back against the wall in the Greek league, following four losses in the last six games.

"No passion," Lee remarks. Words refuse to come out when your team has been displaying the same old problems throughout the season and nothing has changed.

Slow starts sentenced PAO to several home losses early in the season. However, their bad defense at OAKA, where they compiled nine defeats in 17 contests conceding over 87 points in seven of them, ranks higher on the list of their deadly sins.

"We enter games too late. It's hard to play like that. It's the only thing I can say right now," Lee continues.

"We show some good signs, but no consistency. We've had some big wins, and then, we lose games we shouldn't lose. The season has been up and down."

Panathinaikos Athens / Schedule

Panathinaikos Athens ALBA Berlin84-88 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade Panathinaikos AthensFri18:30

The American guard thinks Panathinaikos' latest loss to ALBA Berlin is the perfect example of what's been going south.

Following what seemed a promising performance at the Peace and Friendship Stadium against Olympiacos Piraeus for the Greek league, which nevertheless ended up in another defeat, PAO simply gave up on the chance to give their disenchanted fans a respite from their ongoing woes.

"We go to Olympiacos last week. We lose, but play very tough. Then, we come in front of our home crowd and play like this," Lee notes.

"If we played ALBA like we played Olympiacos, it would have been a different result for sure."

Following a triumphant 98-83 win over Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz last November, Grigonis pointed out that the squad lacked desire and flame in the game's opening sequences.

"We're working a lot, but it looks like there's no soul inside us," he observed. "We need to figure things out. I'm talking about the beginning of the game and the first minutes of the second half.

It doesn't look good, you know? People come to the stadium to watch us, and we need to keep pushing ourselves and be better than that."

Over the course of months, and especially since Christos Serelis came in to replace Dejan Radonjic, those slow starts became more scarce. But that doesn't mean they were eradicated at all.

"We start badly. Then, we play for five minutes and everything shuts down. There's no consistency," Grigonis supports Lee's claims.

The Lithuanian sharpshooter admits to having no clue why his team has had so many ups and downs.

"If I knew why, I would stop that. At certain moments, it looks like we're a real team, but at others, we seem to be a second-division team," Grigonis emphasizes.

Lee seems as clueless as his teammate.

"I can't even tell you, I don't know. We don't know. Overall, for the European competition, there's not much to say."

Even though since Dejan Radonjic left, Grigonis' contribution and overall presence have increased, nothing has changed for PAO. As the EuroLeague season was a lost cause, everyone's focus would inevitably be centered on the domestic front. Yet, the Greens haven't been able to pick it up.

Grigonis has described the Radonjic era as one in which PAO "didn't have a coach." But still, he admits that ifthe team's doing badly, he can't be of much help.

"What I said about the team, goes for me as well," he stresses.

Well, all that certainly doesn't look encouraging, but the Greek league title is still up for grabs. Panathinaikos are by no means the favorite to win it, however, there's plenty of time until the finals.

"We'll try to focus and win the championship. That's all," Lee says. "We have some tough teams in the Greek league and Olympiacos are playing good basketball. I hope it's going to be us in the finals."

Serelis promised that fans will see a different version of PAO in the Greek playoffs. However, his players don't appear particularly hopeful that something big is about to happen.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

"If you look at the big picture, we've already lost the season in EuroLeague and we have many important games left in the Greek league," Grigonis notes.

"It doesn't look promising but we still have a job to do. Some people keep coming to the gym and expect us to try, win and put in the effort. We have to play for those people."

Public wisdom would have one believe that the lack of EuroLeague games can help a struggling team find better chemistry. But Paris Lee won't buy into that notion.

"That's wishful thinking. I feel like you're either going to play or you're not. I'm always optimistic, but that's the reality right now," he poignantly remarks.

As a dreadful season for PAO is drawing to a close, a big part of both fans and the media are trying to figure out what lies ahead.

Owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos, who confronted the players after the loss to Peristeri on Sunday afternoon, looks determined to make any changes deemed necessary to change the chip. Starting from the OAKA arena that will be under the Greek club's control for the next 49 years, and moving forward to setting up a competitive squad, capable of (at least) making the EuroLeague playoffs.

Being away from Lithuania and having played in several countries (Spain, Germany, Russia), Grigonis isn't too eager to keep track of what's written in the media.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

"I try never to read that stuff. I can say that many things the media write about are true only in part," he argues.

"Of course, it's their job, but they're written for people to read. It's like entertainment," he adds.

"So, I'm trying to avoid that. I've had some bad experiences in the past. I have many friends in Lithuania," Grigonis smirks.

To say Grigonis has found some peace from the media while being in Greece would be an exaggeration. But that's the least he's worried about right now.

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.