Blatt: «It's a challenging game»
Olympiacos will be hosting Fenerbahce tomorrow (15/11, 20.00 CET) at the SEF for the 7th round of the Euroleague and in order to get a positive result, coach David Blatt wants his team to play at the highest level for 40 minutes.
"Fenerbahce is a team with great quality and staff. It's a challenging game and we are looking forward to it. We need to try hard, play at the highest level and be competitive. Thanks to the many great players and different line ups Fenerbahce uses, it's hard to say that if we are good on two or three aspects of the game we are going to be able and get the result we want. We are going to need to play wholesome basketball, remain focused for 40 minutes and have a good day. We need to bring out our best at the highest level and show our quality to get the result we need".
On whether Janis Strelnieks is going to be on the line up, the 'reds' coach replied: "I've always been honest with you… I have been telling you that we've been monitoring Janis' condition day by day and obviously he hasn't been playing up to now. However, he has participated part of practice in the last days, has shown progress and we hope that tomorrow he will be able to play. I can't guarantee it. But let's hope so because we have obviously missed him".
Asked on what it is Olympiacos needs to change compared to last week's game against Panathinaikos, he made clear: "I don't think that this has to do anything with tomorrow's game. It's not a relevant question. Tomorrow we play against Fenerbahce and we need to be focusing on that game. Each game you play teaches you things and you get better through this process, but it's not necessarily important who your last opponent was. What's important is that you need to focus as a team and be better".
About his new "duel" with Zeljko Obradovic, the return of Kostas Sloukas and Eric Green, as well as replying to a reporters comment that Olympiacos seems to be having problems in the perimeter, he made clear: "It's always wonderful to be meeting Zeljko on court. We have played against one another too many times in the past, with different teams, in different places and different great games. He has my deepest respect both as a coach and as a person. As for Sloukas and Green, they are two very good players, who are part of the rich history of Olympiacos. As for our guards, we are a very strong team in the perimeter. Maybe our players are a little younger and haven't been playing with the Euroleague for years, like the players of other teams have, but I'm very happy with them and I'm looking forward to watch them grow and reach the highest level. Also, I'm going to be very happy when I see our team completely healthy. When Janis returns and is healthy, we'll see how we are going to be with a full roster".
"We want the help of our fans"
Kostas Papanikolaou invited the fans to come to the gym. "It's a hard home game. It's a difficult time for us in terms of the schedule, but it's something than can happen. The important thing is to remain focused and play a strong game. Of course we need our fans by our side and I believe they are going to be there, just like they have done most of the times. We want them to help us and support us with their voice, against an opponent that has created a very strong core in the past few years with certain players that have been together for 5 - 6 years. We all know that when you have such teams, it's always difficult to play against them. Fenerbahce is now a European basketball powerhouse, they have a constant presence in the final fours and that says a lot".
On what it is Olympiacos needs to change in regard to last week's game at the OAKA, he replied: "The greatest improvement the team needs is to have less and smaller blank spaces. We had been very bad during the second half against Panathinaikos. We played a good first half, but we did not appear on the court in the second one. When you play against experienced and good teams, it's only a given that you are going to pay. This is what happened against Panathinaikos. So, the most important thing is to remain focused and not have 'dead' periods during the game".
Finally, asked on whether he and his team mates are already thinking about the Greek League game against Panathinaikos, he replied: "We are only thinking about Fener right now. You cannot be jumping ahead of time. Right now we have back to back difficult games and it's only right that we focus at one game at a time. When you jump forward you may be missing things in terms of the game you have in front of you. We understand that a Panathinaikos - Olympiacos game means a lot for our fans, but we need to remain focused on every game, because we are a team that wants to be a protagonist. We have to help our team remain at the highest level, either this is the Greek League, the Euroleague, or the Greek Cup".