Bartzokas: "Ward is a multi-faceted talent"

Olympiacos head coach Giorgos Bartzokas described his team as tired and irritated, stressing that what he mainly takes from the game against Kolossos is the win and Tyson Ward’s performance.

“Congratulations to Kolossos, because today they confirmed their upward trajectory. They played very well against Mykonos and they also played very well today. Obviously, they took advantage of the fact that this was our fourth game in a week, combined with the trip we had to Turkey. In general, we are at a point where we are missing several players such as Milutinov, Walkup and Ntilikina. We also didn’t have Tyrique Jones in the second half. We have to manage this situation by playing with a tighter rotation and with some unconventional lineups. We showed an unjustified irritation, perhaps also due to the fatigue from the consecutive games. As a result, we played nervously and didn’t execute the simple things. Whenever we did execute them, we scored. We almost scored 100 points with 30% from the 3-point range and 15 turnovers, which means that if we had simply protected the ball and made better decisions, we could have scored much more. But it was what it was… We won, and I believe we should focus on that. I wish Kolossos good luck going forward.”

When asked about Ward’s impressive performance, how well he handled the duties of a makeshift point guard, and whether he could be used in that role in EuroLeague games as well, the Olympiacos coach replied: “Now we have 4 point-guards! We signed another one, so it’s difficult. In general, he shows that he is a versatile talent. He has always been an all-around player. He can do many different things. Today he had the opportunity, he played a lot, he read the game well, and because he is a player who goes after 50–50 balls, he can also grab rebounds. As you saw, it’s very important for the team’s point guard to have ten rebounds. He is a player who contributes in many areas of the game and we are very happy about that.”

Regarding the condition of Tyrique Jones, who did not play in the second half, Bartzokas said: “He felt tightness in his biceps. He will undergo an MRI so we can see whether there is any damage or not. In general, he was protected as well…” he said, adding with a laugh: “One player was protected, another one as well… in the end we protected quite a few players, which resulted in some difficulty in the game, especially in the first half. Vezenkov also went out when we were up by 15 points, and then we entered a period of particular nervousness. The crowd obviously played a role in that, and what happened, happened.”

Finally, when asked to comment on Corey Joseph, he said: “It’s still early. Let him arrive first and we’ll talk about him in the coming days.”