Panathinaikos Aktor – Partizan: Sluka +18, the flaw in the Serbian defence, Nan and the monster Lesure

Panathinaikos Aktor showed its teeth against Partizan and won 84-71 in the 22nd round of the Euroleague, remaining in the top four.

The “Greens” rushed in the fourth period, hit the Serbs' weaknesses and achieved a well-deserved victory.

the Sport24 Analyzes with the help of Hudl Instat the victory of Panathinaikos Aktor.

Party defects, the role of Sloka and its connection to Nan

It seems like an oxymoron for Zeljko Obradovic's side, but Partizan have been a poor defensive team so far, something the absence of Alexa Abramovich (he's already missed 10 games) has certainly played a role. According to Hudl Instat, the Serbs are allowing 1.01 points per possession this year, having (tied with Alba and Maccabi) the third-worst defense in the EuroLeague. Only Anadolu Efes and Villerbane are worse.

Partizans have large or heavy bodies in high positions. He chose to play Hedge Out or Level in the Pick and Roll (where the high man comes out hard or stays at the top of the screen). This means that the player on the weak side must help the rolling opponent along and then return to his own player if the ball ends up in the corner, or is covered by a teammate. Executing this defense requires speed, good rotation, discipline and good reading. Partizan doesn't have that yet. Panathinaikos hit it. Here is an example:

Sloukas picks up and rolls Antetokounmpo, with Dozier already under the basket and leaving Nunn in the corner

Slokas passes to Nunn, as Smilajic is the closest defender and is forced to turn

Smilagic closes the ball and “eats” Nan's bluff, with the American getting the better of his opponent.

Nan scores with a shot from 4 metres

Reading a sloka for a stage is half the stage. The other half belonged to Noun (21 points), who emptied his opponent and scored, in the catch-and-drive position (translation: receiving the ball, pretending, dribbling, and either shooting or penetrating).

According to Hudl Instat, Panathinaikos AKTOR scored 17 points in Catch and Drive situations on 10 possessions. Noon scored 8 of those points. This fact is not a coincidence: Partizan is the second worst team in the Euroleague in terms of points per possession conceded in such situations at 0.99 per game.

It is also not a coincidence that the good periods in the “Clover” attack came with the presence of Sluka (10 points and 4 assists, including 9 points) on the floor. He is the team’s best maker and constantly creates stages for his teammates. The international goalkeeper had +18 in the +/- system. In lineups that coexisted with Grant, Panathinaikos had +16. For the record, Sloukas was not credited with the assist on that Nunn basket. It wasn't the only basket he made in this way.

The landlord who eventually cleaned the Dozier unit

Panathinaikos AKTOR kept Partizan down in defence, and it was only Dozier who did the damage. But he didn't get enough in his attack. Slokas (creative) and Nan (executive) provided solutions, but that was not enough. That's when LeSueur took action, going big with a buzzer-beater late in the third period to tie the game at 58-58.

The French center lagged behind in size compared to the taller men of Partizan. But he overcame each of his opponents differently: he overcame Smilajic and Leday by strength, and Koprivica by speed. IQ Lessor's Campoclo scored 12 of his 14 points in the final 11 minutes of the game. 8 of those points came in the fourth period, in an upset of Panathinaikos Actor. Here's how he did the damage:

Here is his fire chart:

*Using a circle, well-aimed shots are made, with foul shots marked with an “x.”

But Panathinaikos Aktor's victory did not come from attack, but from defence. Where apart from the terrible (but only) PJ Dozier (16 points and 8 assists, who gave another 16 points), Partizan (in the absence of Abramovich and Pander and due to the unpreparedness of Ponitka) did not have another player with the ability to read goals. Game. So what did Panathinaikos Actor do? He took the ball out of the American's hands by playing an aggressive Pick and Roll on him.

The “Greens” forced other Partizan players to make decisions. Either the tall Serbians are in Short Roll mode (rolling 4-5 meters past the screen, where they would decide whether to pass or make a try), or they force other peripherals (Andjusic, Trifunovic) to try. For a long time, Partizan managed to cope, mainly because Smilajic and Koprivica made the right decisions. But the entry of Cambuclus changed the situation.

The tall Brazilian is not known for the way he reads the game. He plays on instinct and is late in making decisions. Crossed the word to reduce the lessor. But he also found himself with the ball in his hands in decisive attacks. He tripped twice and stepped on the touchline again. In between, he also missed two shots (a post up and a 3-pointer). Panathinaikos's Aktor achieved his goal: he snatched the ball from Dozier's hands, forced Kampoklos into decisions and stifled the Serbs with his defence.

Another triumphant statement

Panathinaikos Aktor has achieved 4 consecutive wins on his way to the top four. The most encouraging part is that this is happening while the 'Greens' are still waiting for Juancho Hernangometh and Ioannis Papapetrou to find a competitive rhythm, which will provide solutions and increase rotation. This is very important so as not to… escape from Mitoglou and LeSauer, both of whom were more than 30 minutes into another match.

The Greens made another triumphant statement. They beat a strong opponent, and got enough of many players. They showed once again that they can adapt to any opponent, and hit their spots. Next is the derby with Olympiacos in Ouaka. This will be another test. For everyone.