Olympiacos: Vale, who became a bogeyman and an innovator with his 31 points, the calmness of Williams-Goss, and the flexible attack of the “Red and Whites”

the Olympic It was imposed Relatively easy for Villerpin in France (73-85) And return to positive results in EuroLeague Within the framework of the sixteenth competitive event.

The “red and white” had the majority in attack and Mustafa Fall as…CerberusAnd achieve a fair victory.

the Sport24 Analyzes with the help of Hudl Instat the victory of the “Reds and Whites”.

The reason behind Vale playing 8 international matches

Yesterday, Olympiacos faced a team that generally suffered from poor spacing and a lack of creativity. According to Hudl Instat, Villeurbanne is the worst team in the EuroLeague in terms of pick-and-roll offense (only 0.79 points per possession), doesn't have enough perimeter threats to open up the court, and has two centers (Fole, Egbuonu) who can only score on the 'board “. All this paved the way for Mustapha Fall to stand in defense, He finished the game with 2 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 8 blocks.

Val is a big body, he takes up space, but he's not an elite blocker. The proof of this is that in the last 15 Euroleague matches, he made 12 tackles, while in 7 of them he did not even make a tap. However, Villerbane's competitive status helped him play the bogeyman. the reason; Since he was marking Youssef Fall and Egbono (and at the same time Vilerbane had bad spacing) he could always be close to the basket, raise his hands and make blocks. Here is an example:

Lovren prepares to penetrate the basket. But Val is already in the “drawing room” because Yusufha Val is not a threat.

Val cuts off Luverne.

Here's a clearer example:

Lovren wants to attack the basket vertically. Vale is already on the racket, as Egbuonu (in the green box) is also there, while McKissic and Kanaan are also playing off the bat).

Lovern makes a reverse move and finally goes to the basket and Fal waits for him.

Val Lovren chops with Petrusev.

According to Hudl Instat, Olympiacos allowed 69 points on the 69 possessions Vale was on the floor, which translates to 0.87 points per possession, an elite number. In just 14 possessions defended by Olympiacos while Vale was on the bench, they conceded 13 points (0.93 per possession), an equally impressive number. The French influence was clear.

Flex Offense unlocked Vale's creativity, a 31-point effort provided by the Frenchman and Williams-Goss

In the 1990s, Dusan Ivkovic made the Flex Offense popular in Europe. It is a system whose basic principle is based on the constant movement of the five players, several screens away from the ball, but also in high and low positions (translation: one tall on top and one under the basket), where a tall player is required to be a good passer like Fall The movement begins with the tall person taking the ball at the top (at the height of the three point) and from then on the signal is given to move and move away from the ball.

This particular attack has always been present in Giorgos Barzoukas' teams (since the era of Olympia Larissa to be precise). It is also present at Olympiacos, where the 'red and white' use the given system several times in different forms. Against Villeurbanne, Olympiacos applied this system several times, constantly finding spaces, because the French found no answer. And it all started with Val. Here is an example:

Pieters passes to Fall at the top of the racket to start the system. Williams-Goss (in the orange circle) drives to the basket to block Kanaan in the left corner.

Val has the ball up top. Meanwhile, Kanan has two options when taking a screen: either use the 3-pointer (also taking a second screen from Peters), or cut to the basket. If he gets to the basket, Williams-Goss will go up for the 3-pointer, taking a screen from Peters. Kanaan picks the pieces to the basket:

Val finds Kanan near the basket.

Canaan points:

Shortly after that, Olympiacos played the same system again, but in a different way. there he is:

Val has the ball up top. Williams-Goss screens on the weak side to McKissick who cuts to the basket. Petrusev (in yellow circle) prepares to examine Williams-Goss:

McKissic doesn't get the ball. Lee plays Williams-Goss forward to prevent him from getting the ball (top lock). But the racket was opened. Williams-Goss cut to the basket after the racket was empty.

Vale passes to Williams-Goss.

Williams-Goss scores

According to Hudl-Instat, Olympiacos gained a total of 31 (!) points indirectly from Vale. The 18 came through 7 assists, while he provided another 13 with screens he presented (whether in the pick-and-roll, or with a screen away from the ball). But at the same time, the help provided by Williams-Goss should not be underestimated. The American goalkeeper scored 11 points (9 of them in pick-and-roll mode) and 7 assists, from which Olympiacos earned another 19 points. Overall he was responsible for 30 points for the “red and white”. Here is its graph:

*With a circle for well-aimed shots, with an “x” for missed shots

The calm Williams-Goss shows when fit is changing the image of Olympiacos. The American is Olympiacos' best player off the dribble (which makes him valuable in pick-and-roll situations), he always plays within the system and fits in with… the geometry required to get flow in the 'red and white' plays. .

The Piraeus team played their own basketball. He provided 24 assists and 31 accurate shots. He scored 85 points in most matches… Passing the ball, not a lot of dribbles (that's what Flex Offense means), which is evident from the way he scored against the French:

The constants, McKissick's rise, and the win he so desperately needed

Despite all the ups and downs they have experienced this year, Olympiacos entered the Velerbane Stadium as favourites. He emphasized this to the utmost, as he did everything in his power to achieve victory. On the way there he saw some interesting things happening.

The stability of Kanaan and Peters (19 and 17 points, respectively), and the rise of McKissic (11 points), who gave one of his best performances this year, and confirmation of the rise of Vale and Larentzakis, and the healthy image of Williams. Joss, all these things are reasonable to satisfy her.

Olympiacos got the result they needed to get. If he had known about the defeat in France, matters would have become seriously complicated. He did his duty. Now is the time when he must gradually show that he can raise his game. The fact that it's finally completed can certainly help with that.