Olympiacos returned to victories . He had to "spit" blood against Baskonia and have an explosion in the last three minutes, but finally took the victory with 72-62 in Vitoria and broke his negative streak.
The "red and whites" found them dark against the Basques. Their attack had - again - issues. At the same time, however, the defense of Olympiacos lived up to expectations, confirming that at the back of the floor, the team of Piraeus is finding rhythm .
Olympiacos was not impressive. However, the match went where it wanted in terms of rhythm , took Basconia out of its game and got the victory.
The defense reminded me of Olympiakos
Let one thing be clarified for a start: Olympiakos was not good offensively. The fact that he finished the game with 13 assists for 14 errors shows just part of the problem of the "red and whites". With the exception of the first 5 minutes of the match - when they made steady attacks and a lot of hand-offs (passing hand in hand) and touching the ball consistently in the post - the team's attack at 5 vs. 5 was (indulgently) mediocre. But the issue was what he did on the other side of the floor.
So Olympiakos on the back of the floor reminded… Olympiakos again. The "red and whites" received only 0.82 points per possession from the Basques, in their best performance in 2022, but also 4th this season. However, this was not impressive, as long as - according to InStat Scout - they conceded just 2 points in 7 possession in Isolation situations (one against one) and 0 (zero!) Points in 8 Pick and Roll situations where the opposing guard shot.
Commonly, in 15 possessions that Olympiakos forced the Basque regional to attack after a dribble, they conceded just 2 points, with Basconia having 1/11 shots in such a situation. This well-aimed shot came from Wade Baldwin in the last attack of his team, when everything was judged.
There is no doubt that Basconia is not a giant. That she has her own issues in her attack anyway, since she generally finds it difficult to create situations with her peripherals since Baldwin, Granger and Peters are not playing well this year. Even so, this number of Olympiacos is impressive. It is also impressive that he closed the match with 13 steals, of which he got a total of 15 points. In a match that was on point for 37 minutes, those points were gold.
The quality of Dorsey
The defense, the shots of Kostas Papanikolaou, the flashes of Vezenkov and the complete game of Dorsey kept Olympiakos. In the end, however, it was Dorsey's quality that made the difference, highlighting the importance of a team having a player with the ability to take - and most of all - make difficult shots.
Dorsey generally had a lot of ups and downs in the match, while in defense he had issues. The "red and whites" generally had a problem in scoring in Pick and Roll situations, since until 37 'they had scored only 10 points in 17 possessions (8 points when the ball operator shot and 2 with the tall one who rolled in the basket), ie just 0.58 points per possession. But things would change.
With the score at 60-60, Dorsey took the ball - who had just passed on the floor - received a screen and shot after a dribble for 60-63. In the next phase Fontecchio missed a floater, Dorsey ran in the surprise, won the foul and with 2 shots made it 60-65. Then, together with Wokap, they stole the ball, ran to the open field and the expatriate guard found Vezenkov for 60-67. In the following attack of the Basques, Dorsey stole the ball. In the development of the phase, Vezenkov missed a three-pointer, but Fal got the rebound and found Dorsey, who with a three-pointer made the score 60-70.
All this was done in 1 minute and 21 seconds. From 37:10 to 38:31, every possession of the match had the signature of Dorsey, who found the right moment to take the lead, after detaching Olympiakos in defense and attack. The expatriate guard may still have flaws in his game, he may have a problem when he is marked hard (because then he grumbles and goes out of rhythm), he may lag behind in creation because he does not see a field. But like all good scorers, he can catch fire at any time. And that is what makes him unique.
In the right direction
In fact, Olympiacos began to find its identity again in the match against Real. Against Basconia just came the confirmation that slowly everything is falling into place, especially on the back of the floor. There is still a road in front of the floor, however the main weapon of this year's Olympics is its defense. With her he stays in the game and only with her can he go far this year.
Things are not perfect for the "red and whites". The issue of the back up center behind Fal still exists, something that was also seen against Basconia where Martin and Jean-Charles passed and did not touch. The attack still has moments to lose. But the main thing for the team of Piraeus is that after this victory there will be a calm.
