Panathinaikos – Maccabi Tel Aviv

International - EuroLeague, Round 6

20/10/2023 20:15 CET

Panathinaikos is facing some early-season struggles, but it's not a huge surprise. They've undergone significant changes, with 11 new players and a new head coach. It's natural that it takes time for everyone to adapt. Their ambitions are to go all the way in the EuroLeague, which is understandable considering the substantial investments they made over the summer. Mathias Lessort is in excellent form, and his pick-and-roll game with Kostas Sloukas will be one of the team's primary weapons. Marius Grigonis is showing signs of returning to the level he displayed in a Zalgiris uniform, and Kyle Guy finally found his shooting touch in the previous round. On paper, Panathinaikos has an exceptionally strong team, and they will undoubtedly produce good performances in their home arena. They came very close to defeating Olympiacos, and they managed to outplay Bayern even without Sloukas. 

Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered a 75:66 loss to Valencia on Wednesday, confirming that basketball isn't the primary focus for the players. After everything that happened in Israel over the past two weeks, it's impossible to stay focused on sports. Head coach Oded Kattash discussed this issue after the loss. Even without these off-court issues, Maccabi has certain on-court problems. Wade Baldwin is ruled out until November due to a back injury, meaning the bulk of the responsibility in the backcourt falls on Lorenzo Brown. Maccabi's goal is to return to the playoffs, but their record in the opening 10 games is a question mark given their challenging schedule. 

Panathinaikos has several advantages heading into this matchup. They've shown better performance at home, which is normal since the “OAKA Arena” always generates a fantastic atmosphere. The individual quality of their players also tilts the scale in the home team's favor, and this becomes even more pronounced with Baldwin out. Panathinaikos has had more time for corrections and game preparation as they played their game on Tuesday, while Maccabi played a day later. Controlling the boards will be crucial for Panathinaikos, and with players like Lessort and Juancho Hernangomez in the paint, that shouldn't be a problem.