Not every game between Greece's "eternal rivals" has the potential to shake up a EuroLeague playoffs race, but this one certainly does.
Here comes a Greek Derby with truly huge stakes
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All eyes will be on Peace and Friendship Stadium this week when Olympiacos Piraeus (17-11) and Panathinaikos Athens (18-10) collide in long-anticipated Greek Derby on Thursday.
There are many storylines associated with this Round 29 clash – from Kostas Sloukas's return to Piraeus to the Reds' five-game EuroLeague winning streak over the Greens. Olympiacos is missing Nikola Milutinov and might be significantly depleted in its backcourt, with Thomas Walkup, Nigel Williams-Goss and Naz Mitrou Long all questionable.
What separates this from any other Greek Derby in recent years, however, is its importance in the race for the EuroLeague Playoffs and, in particular, for home-court advantage.
Both could qualify for the postseason this week
Simply put, the stakes have not been this high for a EuroLeague game between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in more than six years.
The last time the Greek archrivals played this late in the season while both hunting for EuroLeague Playoffs berths was in the 2017-18 season. That time, Olympiacos pulled out an 85-87 overtime win in Athens, but both finished in the top four. Despite home-court advantage, however, both lost their best-of-five playoff series, Panathinaikos by 1-3 against Real Madrid and Olympiacos by the same margin to Zalgiris Kaunas.
That season was the last in which the Greens and the Reds were in the EuroLeague Playoffs together. That six-year wait to see both in the playoffs could end soon, however.
On Thursday, Panathinaikos has a chance to return to the postseason for the first time in six years as Coach Ataman's men will secure a place in the Play-In Showdown with a win over Olympiacos. The Greens might even secure a top-10 finish and guaranteed postseason participation if they lose on Thursday, but in that case they would need a lot of help from other results.
Olympiacos, last year's EuroLeague runner-up, can also secure participation in the Play-In Showdown this week, but needs not only to beat Panathinaikos but also to see Valencia, Partizan, Milan and Efes all lose – a tall order.
A pivotal derby for what comes next
Looking at the bigger picture, clinching the Play-In Showdown is just the first step towards the main goal for such ambitious teams, namely reaching the Final Four in Berlin. The likelihood of landing in the season's pinnacle event increases greatly with home-court advantage in the playoffs, and this Round 29 game is of massive importance in that battle.
Olympiacos might be one win behind Panathinaikos in the standings, but the Reds' overtime road victory when they met in Round 1 weighs heavily. Another victory at home on Thursday would make it a 2-0 sweep for Olympiacos over its biggest rival and give the Reds an upper hand for the top four with five rounds left in the regular season.
If Panathinaikos pulls out a win in Piraeus, it would mean a giant step towards clinching a top-four finish. Even though the Greens lost their season opener 78-88 back in October, the fact of having taken the game to overtime helps them. Since overtime points are not counted in tiebreak calculations, any win in regulation time by the Greens on Thursday will result in a tiebreak advantage over Olympiacos going forward.
Over the final five rounds, both Greek sides will have two home games, in Rounds 31 and 34, in addition to three roads tests. Olympiacos travels to visit Efes, Partizan and Zvezda, while having home games against ASVEL and, finally, Fenerbahce in a regular-season finale.
Panathinaikos travels to face Zvezda, Virtus and Bayern, while hosting Barcelona and, to end the regular season, ALBA.
A loss in any of these games will hurt Greek teams' chances for home-court advantage. That's because FC Barcelona (19-9) is sitting in second place and holds a sweep over Olympiacos. Also because AS Monaco (18-10), currently on a seven-game winning streak, is playing all if its last six games against teams with losing records. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce (17-11) is keeping up the pace and got a huge boost with a big road win over Real Madrid last week.
The way things stand, it is more likely than not that there will be room in the top four for only one team between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.
All that makes this particular Greek Derby as important as they come.