«We need to stop them from facilitating»
Following the road victory against Villeurbanne, Olympiacos needs another one, this time against Zalgiris Kaunas (22/02, 19.00 CET), in order to maintain his hopes for a spot in the TOP-8 intact.
“It’s a very demanding game for us”, the ‘reds’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, admitted in view of the game for the 21st round of the Euroleague against the Lithuanian team. “Zalgiris is a team that plays a very fast game, they have won big games, they have the same record we have and they are a team that commands respect. Zalgiris is a totally different team to Villeurbanne. They have a specific rotation of 9 or 10 players, who have been playing together for many years, they know each other’s game very well, they play with intensity, with speed, each one knows exactly what is there for them on the team. For instance, when Milaknis is in, there are immediately plays to allow him to shoot. Therefore, we are talking about a team with good allocation or roles, homogeny and chemistry. It’s an arena where the fans play an important role in how the game evolves, but now this factor is missing. They are a team that should you not match up their speed, if you don’t stop them from facilitating, they have five guards that do that, Lekavicius, Grigonis, Milaknis, Walkup and Jakubaitis, and if you don’t mess with their intensity, then you usually are in trouble”.
Now, on whether there are differences in regard to the game of the first round at the SEF, the Olympiacos’ coach replied: “I think we are better offensively. Now we execute better compared to that game”.
«We need to get this much wanted victory»
The ‘reds’ forward, Giorgos Printezis, pointed out: “The way the Euroleague is, with many teams having the same or almost the same record, tomorrow’s game is one we have to win. We play against a very good team, where each player knows what their role is. They have four very good facilitators, they good and quality tall players, so we need to be very focused, play good defense, impose the rhythm and try for the best so as to get the victory that we so much need ranking wise”.
When asked to comment on the fact that in recent years, Zalgiris’ home court had been impenetrable for Olympiacos, he said: “Results show that for some reasons we haven’t played the way we really want and can and we have been doing injustice to ourselves these past few years. I hope that this changes tomorrow”.
Finally, about the fact that the ‘reds’ have seven road victories for only four at home, he said: “It definitely shows something. This season is kind of unpredictable, because, we need to admit, there are no real home courts, and I’m not trying to diminish our effort saying that. It’s a year that you get to play in empty arenas and sometimes games seem to be like scrimmages, however, they are still very important. It’s certain that having such a high number or road wins proves is a testament to our character and shows that we are concrete team that plays good defense. Also, the personality of some players has been helping us to win on the road and maintain the team on the course to the playoffs”.