G. Bartzokas: «We have the quality to beat them»
Olympiacos will be playing tomorrow (28/01, 20.00 CET) against Barcelona at the SEF, for the 23rd round of the Euroleague. Sasha Vezenkov is doubtful for tomorrow’s game, since the ‘reds’ forward suffered a hematoma of the inner lateral ligament of his right knee during the game against Armani.
Asked about the game in Milan, our team’s coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, pointed out: “Always, when you get to watch the game again, you see more things from when the game was in play. Also, I use to consult with all my associates. I always ask the trainer about his assessment of the players’ explosion, what shape their legs are in. I ask my assistants what they think about the execution of the plays on both ends of the floor. I ask everyone before I make a final assumption, because I trust them. Everyone has a different optic of the analysis we are going to be making about the game against Armani. We obviously know better than anyone else the team’s status, what it is that they do exactly, what they are not doing and how the team is evolving through the season. All in all, we did not make a bad start in the game last night, the second quarter had been bad. We have had a very bad period in the game. According to my opinion, the positive thing is that Olympiacos was trailing two or three times in the game and came back very fast. First of all, this shows a team that does not give up. And a team with so many new faces in this difficult Euroleague, where we have to play without Papanikolaou, who is very important for us, is a very positive thing. Like I said last night, the game was decided in tow plays, after we had made our come back and were only behind be two points, Delany succeeded with a very difficult play. Plays like that usually break you. It is only true that we had players who played well and were in the plan, just like there have players who did not fare so good. But this is the Euroleague. It’s a competition of truth. The games are so many, that you always get what you deserve. Milan is very good team, I don’t really understand how all the off-team analysts see things. If we think that Olympiacos is going to Milan and has a very good chance at winning… It’s not like that, if you want to be a realistic about it. Olympiacos will go to play, and if he plays a very good game, will win, just like when good, he can win at any arena. We did not play a very good game though, we were not consistent in many areas of the game. Anyway, we lost the game the way we did and now we have to play one more very difficult one. A very demanding game and it’s the last one of a series of 6-7 games we have played in a very short period of time. For our team and with the absences and the injuries we have had, some players are not used to playing under such rhythms and with such a great intensity. Or some of our veteran players are getting impacted. Because the Euroleague is always “creating” problems for veteran players. And fatigue is not only physical, it’s also mental”.
When told that Olympiacos has been playing one game a week, given that the team does participate the National League, he made clear: “It wasn’t one game, there were two games, because we played a postponed one. And as you have seen, unfortunately, all of these double games during recent weeks were decided by a mere few points. For good or bad, they are painstaking games and with great intensity when everything gets decided on a play decision. And then of course, there’s the traveling. We went to Villeurbanne, to Kaunas, to Milan and for instance, we came back this morning at 6. All of these things are not the fans’ concern, however, they definitely play a role in how a team evolves”.
Talking about the game against Barcelona, he said: “Coaches always try to lower the ceiling of the opposing team and raise ours through certain tricks. Sometimes we succeed, others we don’t. In general though, the way the games have been evolving, except from telling the truth, as I said previously, that is the strong teams win, especially long term, it is also very important the shape you find your opponent to be in. It isn’t only a matter of how you fare, but also of how your opponent does. We beat Barcelona in the first round playing a very good game, so we obviously have the quality to beat them. This was proven in the first round. We need to play well, just like we had done then”.
Asked whether the victory against the ‘blaugrana’ is imperative, he made clear that: “We are Olympiacos and we imperatively in need of wins from day one. What we need to understand is this. That Olympiacos is going through a very particular season. The two best players of the team for many years, are right now 35 going to 36 and 38 going to 39. And right now, the team is trying to find new protagonists, at the same time though, wishing to utilize those of the past. The new players are too many and unfortunately, Papanikolaou’s injury, who all know what an important player he is, does not help. I’m content in a general context, My goal is that the team is still fighting and within grasp of its goals as the end of the competition will be approaching. From there on, a big win and a decisive loss can play a role. However, the way the competition is, you can see which team are trailing us or against which ones we are competing. This is proof of the level of this season’s competition”.
«We should play aggressively»
Hassan Martin talked about the game against Armani Milano. “We collapsed many times when defending and Milan is one of the most talented teams of the League offense wise, which they took advantage of, as it’s only logical. So, we shall have to work on better execution on both ends of the floor, especially close to the end of the game, which is going to be helping us close these games in our favor”.
Asked about the key to tomorrow’s (28/01) game, he replied: “The key will be to play aggressively. Especially I will have to play aggressively and fight for the rebounds. I will have to follow the plan on both ends of the floor and play with a little more confidence. We are coming from two tough losses and we need to maintain our confidence at a high level. Barcelona is obviously a great team, hard to break. We need to keep a good rhythm and remain aggressive on both ends of the floor”.
Finally, on whether he has some extra motivation due to the “size” Barcelona has, he made clear that: “It’s going to be like any other Euroleague game for me. Each game is a challenge. No game is easier from the previous or the next one. You obviously have to come on the floor and play regardless of who your opponent is. Yes, Barcelona is one of the best teams in the League and obviously we all have motivation. We have lost two games in a row though and this is the highest motivation to win”.