Sfairopoulos: "We should be careful of Armani"
Defense is the key factor where the Olympiacos coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, will be relying in view of the home game against Armani Milano (05/01, 20.00 CET), for the 16th day of the Euroleague.
"I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year. We play our first game for 2018 and for the second round of the Euroleague Regular season against a very good team that would like to make a fresh start. This is a very dangerous fact and if we don't pay attention we may find ourselves in front of a surprise. We should follow our plan. We have made a mini assessment of our course up to now with the players and investigated what needs to be improved and that's what we are looking forward at watching on the floor. It's the time for everyone to understand that any team that plays against us knows what they are dealing with and will be extra motivated to beat us due to our good course in the first round", the 'reds' coach said.
And he continued analyzing the Italian team: "Armani is stronger now with Kuzminskas and this proves that they are willing to fight to the end. They have very dangerous players that are very talented and they lost many games at the buzzer at home and away. That's why we need to be very focused and fight for every ball with the help of our fans. As I said before, our opponent has talented players that can cause problems. This is going to be the key. We need to be very effective in both individual and team defense. That's the key. Our defense gives us what we need and tomorrow it needs to be aggressive to help us eliminate Armani's assets".
Brian Roberts will not be playing; however, there's one more problem… "Hollis Thompson is sick. He will not be training. We'll see the condition he's in tomorrow and whether he will be able to play. Roberts is definitely out. We don't want to take any risks. He could be playing, however, there is a chance of relapse and then he would be gone for one or two months. That's why we have decided to protect him. Printezis, Mantzaris and Milutinov got to practice. They are not 100%, but the have been cleared by the doctors and they are going to be on the rotation. Or course if everything works out smoothly till the end.."
On the differences between tomorrow's game and the one of the first round, he said: "Each game is different. The teams have changed. Armani got Kuzminskas and Goodelock is back, so our opponents have more solutions… However, we now have Spanoulis… There have been some changes, but the philosophy remains the same. The extra motivation for us should be the preservation of our good course up to now. We have made a great effort and we need to protect it… Players, coaches and all those around the team. This is our motivation".
Asked on what Kuzminskas is adding to Armani, he replied: "He will be adding speed and energy to the 3 and 4 positions. We'll see how they are going to be using him. When you get such a good player, the question for the team that acquired them is to find the way to get the most of their presence. So, it is only natural that some other players will have their roles diminished. What he is definitely adding is quality and more speed and energy".
Finally, questioned about the consistency Olympiacos has exhibited up to now in Europe, he answered: "It is true that we are consistent this year. But what counts is to be consistent in the long run. Euroleague is so demanding that you need to be good and not make any mistakes. But it can happen. We have seen teams losing games they were not supposed to. We need to try not to lose games like the ones in the first round. When you win big games, it's only a pity to lose one that you should have won, at least theoretically. But this is only theory, because there are so many things that can happen. All teams go through things like that. Timing is very important… Injuries, being out of shape… All of that play their role, even and then it's happenstance. The most important factor is stability. We need to be a good team in every aspect and that's what we've been working on. That's what we have been building. Despite the circumstances, to be able to play the kind of basketball we want. It's not easy, but all of us try to maintain the team at high performing standards and for the longest periods of time".
"I'm happy to be returning"
Nikola Milutinov has recovered from his injury and is now available to Giannis Sfairopoulos. "They have a good roster, they are complete in all positions, they play faster than they used to be playing in the first round and we need to be ready to play good defense", the Serbian center and continued talking about the "key"… "It's our defense, like always. Rebounds also, that are anyway part of the defense. We need to protect the tempo, the post, and play well in offense".
About his return : "I'm ready. All the players are a little nervous when they don't get to play for a while, but now I'm happy to be returning".
"We need to be focused"
Vasilis Toliopoulos commented: "It's a very difficult game. Armani is a very good team. They now have Goodelock back, who hadn't played the first game, and they also have Kuzminskas, who is a high quality player. We need to be very focused in defense, block their excellent perimeter and from that point on play better offense compared to our previous game. Our team always focused more on the defensive part of the game. That's where we start with and where we get to close games from. These players are very good and it's going to take more than one on one defense, it's going to take team effort".
On whether the difficulty scale is greater than that of the first round, he replied: "It's definitely going to be a more difficult game. Their roster is complete in all positions and the fact that they rank at the bottom is irrelevant. Our motivation is to remain at the top rank. We have played an excellent first round and we need to continue this way because if we are not careful we may end up even at the seventh place. The differences are minimal".