Jones: "We must be ourselves"
A few hours after the victory over Fenerbahce, Olympiacos is preparing for the game against Baskonia at the SEF, and Giorgos Bartzokas and Tyrique Jones got to speak about it ahead of the 32nd round of the EuroLeague.
In his opening remarks about the matchup, the Olympiacos coach said: “They are a team with offensive talent that plays at a very high pace. To be precise, after winning the Cup, which was a big achievement for Baskonia, and considering the several injuries they have, it seems their performance has dropped slightly. Based on the information we have, Cabarrot trained yesterday and will probably play. Their coach’s philosophy and their long-held tradition, make for a team that wants to play at high speed. We need to set up properly and have good options in offense, just like we often did yesterday against Fenerbahce, so we can control the game’s pace and win. We don’t consider any game easy; I hope this will be proven on the court. That’s what I told the players. What brings results and good runs in the EuroLeague is consistency. We must quickly forget both good and bad performances. So, just as we forgot the poor showing in Monte Carlo, we must forget yesterday’s performance and play well tomorrow. Fans may think the win is guaranteed, but it is by no means so.”
When asked about the final standings and postponed games gradually being resolved, and whether this helps Olympiacos see the bigger picture, the coach replied: “We don’t focus at all on the standings. How can you say for sure what will happen, when, for example, Dubai, currently under pressure to get into the play-ins, lost yesterday to Partizan? I have many examples I could give. Many postponed games are played behind closed doors, and there are different conditions due to wars. Games in Spain against Israeli teams are also behind closed doors. Many things change as the season progresses, which we cannot control, so we focus only on our team and nothing else.”
Regarding Olympiacos’ absences, Bartzokas said: “The good thing for us is that those who played yesterday, along with the three who were ineligible, will be available tomorrow unless something new arises. According to the doctors and physiotherapists, I haven’t received any updates that there are problems since yesterday. So essentially, we will coach the game with the available players we have, which are now quite a few.”
On whether scoring 100 points against a very good defense boosted the team’s confidence, he added: “I wouldn’t say that. Most journalists' questions are about the team’s psychology. In Monaco, a player with 95% career free-throw accuracy missed a crucial one at the end, and we lost the game. In basketball, there are unpredictable factors. Scoring 104 points against the best defense is true, but on the other hand, they also had absences. Two very important players, especially in defense, like Hall and Melli, were out. I think we need to focus on what we have. Yesterday we beat a very good team, one that plays with confidence because they’ve been winning all season. Tomorrow, we must win the next game. We shouldn’t draw big conclusions about whether we’re in form or not. We have a good team, that’s a fact, and it’s reflected in the standings. Right now, there are 14–15 very strong teams in the EuroLeague, and some of them will be out of contention.”
Tyrique Jones said about the upcoming game: “We just need to get on the court and be ourselves. They are a team that fights hard. We need to play physically and impose our style of basketball.”
When asked how he felt watching yesterday’s game from the bench, the American center commented: “It’s tough, but I understand there’s nothing I can do, nor can anyone else. These are the rules. It’s definitely hard not to be able to get on the court and play.”