Olympiakos’s
casual dominance over Euroleague competition in November produced one such
moment in Milan. A couple of humiliating losses to Efes and Zalgiris threatened
to turn last season’s Cinderella into an ugly duckling. The transition from
plucky upstart to defending champions was not going to be a smooth one. But
with a minor facelift –Powell in place of Dorsey- the relatable team next door
became a Supermodel confidently strutting her stuff on the Mediolanum Forum catwalk
before an admiring crowd.
A month
later, the Reds have not only solidified themselves as favorites to defend
their title in London but have also established themselves as one of the most
exciting teams to watch. After Kyle Hines swatted away a lay up into the hands
of Spanoulis, Kill Bill led a fast break with trademark confidence, trusting
that Papanikolaou would somehow end up at the end of a desperation alley-oop
pass. Sure enough, the result triggered the spontaneous applause of the home
crowd, despite their disappointment at watching their team’s slim chances of
winning dashed.
The new top
16 format guarantees we will have many more games to draw conclusions from, but
here are my thoughts on Olympiakos’s performance so far and about the
Euroleague in general:
Vasilis
Spanoulis: Kill Bill’s leadership is rightly credited for turning things around
for the Olympiakos franchise. But despite his MVP award last month, the Reds
have proven that they can win games even without him playing 30+ minutes. The successful
addition of Gecevicius into the regular rotation against Zalgiris allowed Coach
Barjokas to rest his star player against Ares Salonica and Cedevita Zagreb.
Spanoulis now seems more comfortable dishing out assists and taking open
weak-side shots than driving his way to the basket. Once known for his
crippling addiction to the sound of his own dribble, Spanoulis is now content
with being the Salieri to Papanikolaou’s Mozart. Perhaps because, unlike
Salieri, he’s the one hailed as the genius.
Kyle Hines:
While Spanoulis enjoys the luxury of sitting out full quarters, Kyle Hines can
have no such illusions. Nor would he ever want to. Constantly having to prove
himself as a legitimate center-forward, standing less than two meters tall,
Hines flaunts his bulky yet lightning-quick frame to his doubters, notching
impressive statistics along the way. Known as a defensive juggernaut, last
night he proved to be a scoring machine as well. With Papanikolaou having an
off-night, Hines’s performance especially in the third quarter in Zagreb proved
that he deserves consideration as an MVP.
Stratos
Perperoglou: His addition was meant to take some of the load off Papanikolaou,
that Keselj was consistently unable to do last season. In the first half he
carried the offensive weight for his team, making some tough shots and key assists
that kept Olympiakos’s well-oiled offensive machine humming. If he continues to
provide quality minutes, opponents will be unable to ignore Olympiakos’s
impressive shooting potency, making the Reds’ lack of strong inside game less
glaring.
Josh
Powell: Joey Dorsey’s ambition to claim star status shook up team chemistry
back in October. The less drama-loving Powell may not have Dorsey’s defensive
intensity, but his solid mid-range shot guarantees he will be an option to look
for on the weak side.
With a
marvelously fluid passing game and a dearth of outside shooting weapons,
Olympiakos may not miss the likes of Bourousis and Sofo much. But that doesn’t
mean they’re not vulnerable against the big men of CSKA, Barcelona or
Fenerbahce. A grueling 14-match schedule in the top 16 is sure to reveal some chinks
in the Red armor. My hope is that Olympiakos will have the chance to visit Hala
Pionir and see how the ultimate David will greet the high-flying Goliath. If Spanoulis
and his gang can make even the sworn Grobari applaud their performance, then we
will have witnessed history.
