Bartzokas: «A game with no tomorrow»
Olympiacos will be hosting Bayern tomorrow (08/01, 20.00 CET), for the 18th round of the Euroleague.
The ‘reds’ will not have Kostas Papanikolaou in their ranks due to injury, while there are also doubts about Shaquielle McKissic, who has suffered a bruised ligament in his left foot.
“Bayern plays strong, they have big bodies in the perimeter. They have had a very good first round, they have won eleven games”, the Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas commented and went on to say that : “For us, it’s game with no tomorrow. It’s a game we absolutely have to win. Of course, if we want to win, we need to be better from our recent home game performances, because I think that we are quite good on the road. We need to play really well in multiple game facets to win”.
Asked what it is he would like for his team to improve within the next few weeks, he replied: “It’s not a matter for the next few weeks. It’s that we need to be much tougher in defense in this particular game. We need to bring out physicality. We need to play with contacts, because they are a team with talent in many positions. They have a lot of post up from many different players in the line up and as you realize, when the game goes near the post, they have facilitation from this position as well. We need to be tough as they get closer to our rim”.
When asked to make an assessment of the first round, he pointed out: “We still have one game to play. I don’t believe that our assessment is negative, but neither it is positive. I’d say that we could have been better, but we could also have been worse. We show a stability and have a good record with road games. On the contrary, we have not exploited our home court as much as we would have like, however, I think that this a general phenomenon with the Euroleague this season, due to the lack of fans. We have had significant highs and lows in how we perform from one quarter to the next. What I have to say is that we have really working very well. The atmosphere on the team is good, we have good personalities, but due to the fact that we have many new faces, competing for the high echelons of Euroleague does not allow even the slightest relaxation, in any quarter, in any play, in any day because everyone is coming ready to beat you. Everyone is going into road games to win, the last ranking team is aiming to beat the top ranking one in its very home court. No mistakes are forgiven. This is Euroleague”.
On whether some players have offered more to the team, from what he had expected them to, he replied: “I would like to evaluate the players at the end of the season, because it is many times that a player has a very goo season, makes a bad finish and that’s what stays with you or the contrary. I think that everyone have good and bad moments. It’s only to be expected. Most, if we are talking about the new faces, with the exception of Jenkins, never had experience at this level. Also, it’s a year with a lot of issues, Covid has had a very hard impact when we had players down with it. And we are constantly facing shortage within our roster. Papanikolaou’s absence is important, because he’s a player that connects both ends of the court. Also, McKissic is doubtful to play tomorrow. All of these always play a role”.
«We should play our game»
Vassilis Chralampopoulos pointed out in regard to the German team: “We need to play hard and make our game. They are a very good team and have proven so with their course up to now. However, if we make a strong beginning and play our game, everything is going to be OK. Definitely defense in the low post, as well as defense overall is going to be the key to winning”.
Asked whether he thinks that after the end of the first round, Olympiacos is still within reach of his goals, he replied: “We certainly are… Don’t forget that we have one more game for the first round to end for our team. I believe that have done very well, although there have been two or three games that we could have done better. But I believe that the season is not over and we are still on the right track”.