Olympiacos – Panathinaikos

Greece - A1, Round 4

30/10/2023 - 19:15 CET

Olympiacos has had a challenging schedule in the first five rounds of the EuroLeague, yet they managed to secure three wins. Despite dealing with injuries to key players like Shaq McKissic, Luke Sikma, Nigel Williams-Goss, Ignas Brazdeikis and Moustapha Fall, they've been successful. Now, all players are available, except for McKissic and Sikma, and the improved results have followed. Defensively, Olympiacos is expected to be one of the top three teams in Europe throughout the season. Head coach Georgios Bartzokas has established a clear defensive system in which they can compensate for any missing individual. Simply put, there's no weak link in Olympiacos' defense. While their offense might not always be smooth, they can still find ways to capitalize on the offensive end. 

Panathinaikos, on the other hand, is still searching for its identity. Head coach Ergin Ataman is known for giving his players a lot of freedom in offense, but Panathinaikos' offense has been relatively slow. Kostas Sloukas is out of form, and apart from him, there isn't a good creator on the team. Luca Vildoza and Kyle Guy are primarily scorers, and Jerian Grant prefers to look at the basket rather than his teammates. Mathias Lessort is the only one who seems to be making a significant difference in favor of Panathinaikos. Juancho Hernangomez is still adjusting to European basketball after spending several years in the NBA, and the return of Dinos Mitoglou, who can shoot at a high percentage as a power forward, is good news. 

It will be very challenging for Panathinaikos to defeat Olympiacos at this point. Sloukas is expected to face a hostile reception in Piraeus, where he's considered persona non grata after leaving for the arch-rival due to a difference in roles with coach Bartzokas. While Lessort has been dominant in some games, he may not consistently threaten on offense when facing Nikola Milutinov, who's one of the top centers in Europe. Moreover, Olympiacos moves the ball more swiftly on offense and should have an easier time creating open shot opportunities than Panathinaikos. It's needless to say how strong Olympiacos is defensively, especially against their biggest rival. Olympiacos has already beaten Panathinaikos in the Greek Super Cup on neutral ground and in the EuroLeague at OACA. Therefore, a different outcome should not be expected in the upcoming game.