The tragedy at Tempe and the scores of our fellow human beings who lost their lives so unjustly, or were grievously injured, may have taken away all the mood and joy of such minor things as sports, but since bad Olympiacos. Match in Milan, let’s see how the banal defeat of the “red and white” took place. With a look that matches the gloom of hearing the news in the wee hours of Wednesday of the tragedies happening again in this country.
It made sense that Olympiacos would be defeated somewhere. After seven consecutive victories with impressive performances and nine out of the last ten matches, Olympia who has recently improved its image and is playing for … its honor and to find rhythm, is a dangerous opponent. Despite her serious problems, she wants to play even at the end of the regular season according to her talent, budget and experience. This, plus the cute looks (ssss they are also entitled to one) Giorgos Bartzokas players, was a disastrous combination. The Bad Evening… appeared with “Good Evening”, when the “Red and White” make one mistake after another.
At the same time, they lost a lot of defensive rebounds that gave easy points to the Italians, who imposed their speed. They were strong in defense and although Napier, Mele and Davies broke away from their good attacking rhythm, the 11 mistakes in the first half by the Greek side, allowed them to find easy points in the surprise. Messina’s tricks worked with the simultaneous use of two centers, the veteran coach found an incredible number of points from Tonot and Ricci and if Olympia had not had 5/19 three-pointers in the first half, they would have had something better than +3 which probably … put him to sleep Olympian .
Perhaps, except for everyone who watched the game, he would have thought that a quarter of the basketball we have become accustomed to this year would arrive to change the situation. Although all of his trumps were off the air and his positions except for two baskets from Black, he was on another court. However, the picture never improved, errors persisted, a rhythm was never found and the counter scored only 14 points from the production. On the other hand, Baron found a rhythm, the home team’s defense “tight” and … hitting more and more, with Olympiacos lacking creativity and not properly spending even the fouls it should have given the defense. His final tally of -24 per offense from his average says it all.
In that time, Olympia scored 12 of those who managed it this year and ranked it last in attack. Do you want more numbers that prove … the crackling of Greece’s doubles in the capital of fashion? Milan had 20 assists for 11 fouls and they had 17 for 19, while they had 31 points from opponent fouls compared to just 10 for Olympiacos. In a game in which the “Red and Whites” had to rush through their defensive rebound protection, they gave 8 extra offensive possessions which turned the score 12-2. Don’t look for Olympiacos points out of the blue as none came, while the steals were 9-2 in favor of the Italians, a testament to their defensive will.
The normal defeat puts Olympiacos at the top of the standings, and with it its chances of winning at home. The news of them losing by a wide margin for the first time this year and the opposing coach’s boast that “we beat the best team in Europe” is typical of what happened Friday night at the Forum. We’re talking about the team that drove a thousand Greeks to travel to an away game with a relatively indifferent result to support and enjoy. So defeat is not a disaster.
The upcoming double match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the crowded SEF is a good opportunity to talk more definitely about the final classification of Olympiacos in the regular season. This time, the data will not be put on a uniform… walking.
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