What has changed in Olympiacos with the move from Vyzenkov to Sikma?

Luke Sikma fits the competitive image of Olympiacos and basketball that Giorgos Bartzokas wants to present, but he differs from Sasha Vezenkov.

It was impossible for him Olympic to fill in the void Sasha Vyzenkov. We are talking about the best player in the Euroleague, who had a great season. In 40 matches in the competition, he has scored a goal 17.6 points, 65.5% shooting on two pitches, 37.8% on three-pointers, 87.9% on field goals. Add to all this 6,8 rebound and approx 2 assists per game, in 29.1 minutes. He was the tournament’s top scorer and second leading scorer. (iv) With a very good shot around the perimeter, with a tremendous ability to get away from the ball, a player with goalscoring appeal, who also works in the movement of the ball.

Without being particularly athletic and terribly capable in blocking duties, he always made sure to show toughness in defense as well. He has also developed his open court game, he has also improved in his back game, and he has developed into a very advanced forward, which you cannot easily find in European basketball. It will be an excellent solution Nikola Mirotic, But his case was very confused.

Thus Olympiacos ended up in its case Luke Sikma. There is no problem that it may seem to some to be a necessary solution. Player at 34, a less able scorer than Sasha Vyzenkov With a weakness in defense, with a lack of athletic skills, but even the Bulgarian striker did not have this ability. I don’t mind a big difference in their three-point abilities, Vyzenkov averaged +10 points, so where will the Piraeus team get those points and those shots? He is likely to get a point from Nikola Milutinov at ‘5’, with the score he can deliver inside the bat and the perimeter shot expected from ‘2’. Because if he doesn’t come, there will be trouble…

Leading tall passer in the Euroleague

But the Luke Sikma It is not a random player. I don’t mind that he has played in recent years in Valencia and Alba, two teams that are not giants and it will be interesting to see how he manages to deal with a team that makes a championship in the Euroleague, which aims to participate in the Final Four and claim the cup. However, he has experience at the highest level, he is a team player and his competitive profile suits ‘Oz’ Giorgos Partzokas.

The blonde power forward, has been for years The passer leads high in the Euroleague, averaging +4 assists over the past 3 years in competition. He’s a great innovator and knows how to create stages for his teammates, put positions and short positions into the game. He easily turns into an extra playmaker, who knows how to take advantage of every piece of his teammate inside the racket and find it … eyes closed every teammate is free. Several times he makes passes that “freeze” the opponent’s defenses and give easy points to his teammates. It’s no small thing.

Luke Sikma is a genius basketball player, with tremendous perceptiveness, and possesses an amazing versatility in his stats. Rarely do you meet a basketball player who can be both active and essential in scoring, assists, rebounds, and steals. She does almost everything skillfully. This year, he didn’t have his best season with Alba, he finished the year yet 7.6 points (53.9% on 2 shots, 28.6% on 3 points, 67.7% on shots), 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1 steal in 22.2 minutes of work. A sample of his abundant talent.

He’s not a scorer like Sasha – here he is, Peters!

However, the problem with Olympiacos is that he is not a scorer, and the fact that he is not a “4” with a shot, like Sasha Vyzenkov or even Alec Peters, you should not forget. The latter has a solid 40% three-point percentage in his career in the Euroleague, this year he has been slightly unfair by having the best player in the competition ahead of him, and given the new season he will be asked to advance.

The red and white will change ahead of the new season. Let’s not laugh. The team will be similar, but there will be significant differences compared to last year. It makes sense for Olympiacos to lose its best players. Piraeus will again bet on circulating the ball quickly and well and have the tools to continue doing what they know best, but Jos and Sikma are undoubtedly worse shooters than Sloka Vyzenkov, and have not learned to be champions in their combinations.

The Greek emperors will search for new poles of creativity and development, and new points of reference, and here will be the challenge facing Giorgos Partzokas. To create a team that can maintain the achievements, but also remain in the elite of Europe.