Panathinaikos Aktor, Vale vs Lessur: comparison between the two French positions before the big derby

Derby of the ages. Season 2023/24. Episode six. Olympiacos welcomes Panathinaikos Aktor (14/3, 19:45, Novasports Prime and Match Center on SPORT24) to a packed Peace and Friendship Stadium for the 29th round of the Euroleague. In a game that can decide a lot about which of the two teams will finish in the top four at the end of the regular season and gain the coveted home-field advantage in the playoffs. In a match in which Mustapha Fall and Mathias Lisor are expected to have a starring role.

Maine Vale is averaging 7.6 points (79.3% 2-pointers, 50.9% shooting), 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 turnovers per 22'41″ in 23 appearances in Europe's leading club competition. De Lisseur has 13.9 points (63.2 2% pts, 67.3% shooting), 6.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 2 turnovers per 28'13″ of turnovers in 28 games.

How do they prefer to register?

But what is everyone's favorite way to play? 37.1% of Vale's possessions (2 per game) result in post-up actions, while 28.2% (1.5 per game) are cuts to the basket. The Frenchman gets his fair share of possessions in the post, and Olympiacos often rely on them to fuel his length.

On the contrary, Mathias Lesueur shows his possessions in different ways. In the case of Panathinaikos Actor Tall, 29.6% of his stages come from it As a reel in Pick and RollWhile he plays in the post-up position with 25.6% of the possessions he receives. The Greens play a lot of Pick and Roll and the Frenchman is in the middle of it all, but at the same time he also has a chance to get some possessions in the post.

What they take from their teammates and what they give them

It is clear that Vale is often – especially in the “eternal” derbies – the tank for Olympiacos in the back-to-the-basket game, while Lesueur is usually the one doing the sorting in pick-and-roll situations. However, they both also get several points from their teammates' passes, since they are mainly finishers. Interestingly, 67.1% of Vale's field goals and 69.1% of LeSueur's field goals so far in the tournament have come from an assist.

Thomas Walkup and Alec Peters fed Vale 10 times each, Kostas Papanikolaou had 8 assists, Nigel Williams-Goss and Isaiah Cannon 6 each, Giannoulis Larentzakis 5, Ignas Brazdeikis 2, and Filip Petrosev-Shaquill McKissic had 1 assist. In other words, 49 of Valle's 73 two-pointers came from the Red and White's final passes and not from his personal phases.

On the other hand, Lesueur made 96 of 139 two-pointers in the Euroleague thanks to his assists. In fact, he received 23 final passes from Jerrian Grant, 21 from Kostas Sluka, 17 from Kendrick Nunn, 12 from Luka Vildosa, 9 from Marios Grigonis, 6 from Dino Mitoglou, 3 from Juancho Hernangomet and 2 from Panagiotis Kalitzakis. This, of course, does not mean that Vale and LeSor are not helping their teammates respectively. On the contrary, they have an important role in creation.

In particular, the tall Olympiacos player distributes 2.6 assists per game – which saves 6.4 points for Olympiacos – while the “red and white” gets another 6.5 points per game from Screen assist by the Frenchman (where the screener is in a position where his teammate takes the shot.

For his part, the main center of Panathinaikos Aktor distributes 1.2 assists per game – giving 3.2 points per game – while the “Greens” score another 9.5 points per game from Help him on the screen, i.e. where he checks on his teammate.

Of course, these figures do not arise by chance, while they also show the style of tall men. Val is a tall man who posts a lot and knows how to read the game and provide assistance to his teammates. Lessor is a tall Pick and Roll player, who mainly blocks “green” guards (Nan, Sloukas, Grigonis), and draws opponents on him when he rolls to the basket, giving space to teammates.

How it affects the game in defense and attack

The presence of Mustapha Fall, who is 218 cm tall in the racket of Olympiacos, and Mathias Lesueur, who is 206 cm tall in the racket of Panathinaikos Aktor, has a great impact on the performance of both teams in attack and defense.

The defensive rating (translation: points allowed per 100 possessions) for George Bartzukas' team with Vale on the floor is 91.72 and the offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) is 100.7. Therefore, the net rating (difference in points per 100 possessions) for Olympiacos with Val is +8.98.

Ergin Ataman's defensive rating with Lessor on the floor is 96.69 and the offensive rating is 100.87. Therefore, the net rating (difference in points per 100 holdings) of Panathinaikos AKTOR with the presence of the lessor is +4.18.

The message here is also clear. The presence of French lengths ensures balance on both sides of the floor for the “Eternal”. Vale is the one who closes spaces in defense and at the same time opens up the Olympiacos attack with his post-up game and passing ability. Lesueur, for his part, is the one who connects the entire defense by playing the Hedge Out in the Pick and Roll (translation: coming out aggressively for the ball handler) and at the same time his ability as a Roller in the Pick and Roll gives speed to the “Greens” attack.

Great battle

Fal and Lessor are two players with different elements. And from the way they managed to wear each other down, much will be judged in another derby. Val will want to hurt the lessor by posting frequently, taking advantage of the upside and the big spread. For his part, Lesure will want to run, and force Val to follow him into consecutive Pick and Rolls, so he can get the points that way.

The two French centers are pivotal for their team. They will be pivotal in another “Eternal” derby, as much will depend on their duel.