Bartzokas: «It's important that we remain ‘fresh’»
Olympiacos took care of business, earned a road win at Alexandrio Hall, and tonight will travel directly from Thessaloniki to Istanbul for the game against Fenerbahce (06/01).
“Happy holidays to everyone, I wish for a Happy and Healthy New Year for all!” were the opening words of the 'red & whites' head coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, before continuing: “Good luck to Aris for the rest of the season. Today they proved they are a much better team than what they showed in their most recent European game. All of our opponents face us with greater motivation and less pressure. Aris played with good pace and execution. They shot the ball very well. They are much improved compared to the start of the season, and that shows the good work being done at all levels.
After the EuroLeague game against Panathinaikos, we didn’t have much time ahead of us… We played Friday night and then Sunday afternoon. Usually after games like those against Panathinaikos, which carry a lot of pressure for both teams, you tend to be mentally drained, so we needed to rely on our attitude, professionalism, and the quality of certain players. That was evident in the 34 assists we recorded and the nearly 100 points we scored, without any player being particularly overused in terms of minutes.
Milutinov was out, and although defensively we had some issues due to Aris’ speed and execution, we controlled the game. It’s important not to have losses. Our schedule is extremely demanding. We played on Friday, played today against Aris, and from here we’ll travel straight to Istanbul to play on Tuesday… There are so many games and so much travel, so it’s important to stay physically and mentally ‘fresh’.”
Asked about Thomas Walkup’s 14 assists (he ranks first in this category with some of the best performances in Olympiacos' history, with a career high of 16), Bartzokas commented: “The way he played the game, if he hadn’t committed an early foul, because if I remember correctly he went out around the five-minute mark, was a textbook example of how a point guard should play. Pressuring the opponent and getting all his teammates involved. I have huge trust in him ; there’s no need to say it again. Good playmakers are gradually disappearing in Europe; most are combo guards. Walkup is the most authentic playmaker in European basketball, in the sense that he does what needs to be done and translates what the coach wants in order for the team to win.”
Regarding Monte Morris’ clutch shots against Panathinaikos and also in the game against Aris, and whether he is a gain for the team, he said: “The gain is that we signed him. He’s a big-time player. I trust him a lot. Whenever he’s on the court, I have no anxiety that he won’t execute the game plan. He avoids mistakes, gets his teammates involved, and can score when needed. Once he feels his legs better, since he was out for a month, we’ll see an even better player. He’s exactly what we needed. We needed a point guard because we have a lot of scoring at other positions. We wanted a player who can score but primarily faciliitate for others or push the tempo.”
On the injured players, Nikola Milutinov and Tyson Ward, he added: “Milutinov took a knee to the quadriceps in the game against Panathinaikos. His leg is swollen. He’s taking anti-inflammatories and undergoing treatment, and he’ll try to play against Fenerbahce. He’ll probably play, although we can’t say that for sure yet. Ward may return in the game against Bayern.”