The Reds from Piraeus are heading to Berlin for their third consecutive Final Four and after narrowly losing to Real Madrid in last season's championship game, Olympiacos has reasons for optimism in the semifinals
The case for Olympiacos: The third time's a charm
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Olympiacos Piraeus started the season with new go-to guys and got better and better over time before winning 10 of its last 11 regular season games and knocking off FC Barcelona in the playoffs without the home-court advantage. Next stop: Final Four glory!
The Reds have made it to a third consecutive Final Four for the first time in club history. They beat Barcelona in Game 5 on the road to advance to Berlin and, as always under Coach Georgios Bartzokas, posting good defensive numbers.
Olympiacos will face Real Madrid in the semifinals. Even though some may consider Los Blancos to be the heavy favorite, those who have underestimated the Reds in the past have paid a high price.
An opportunity for revenge
These teams also squared off in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. It looked like the Reds were well on their way to capturing their fourth title, leading 78-72 with 2 minutes left. What happened next is well-documented: Sergio Rodriguez brought Real back to life, Sergio Llull buried the go-ahead rainbow jumper over Moustapha Fall, Kostas Sloukas missed at the buzzer and Real celebrated.
Eight of the players who lost that final against Real are back for the 2024 Final Four with Olympiacos. Some of them, such as Alec Peters and Isaiah Canaan, arrive with bigger roles. Peters did not play in last season's championship game, but has been the Reds' main scoring pillar this season, averaging 12.7 points in 38 games as a starter. This time, all eyes will be on him, as he tries to help Olympiacos avenge that loss
Comeback kids reloaded
Many years ago, Olympiacos was dubbed "The Comeback Kids" due to its ability to rally and win games. Olympiacos trailed by 19 and 17 points, respectively, in the 2012 and 2013 EuroLeague Championship Games against CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid, but ended up winning both titles. Team captain Kostas Papanikolaou is the only one of those "Comeback Kids" still with the team, but the spirit remains and the Reds showed it this season.
Olympiacos has retained that come-from-behind ability. During the regular season, the Reds were 7-5 when trailing after three quarters and 2-2 when tied after 30 minutes. In Game 5 of the playoffs, Olympiacos trailed 47-42 with 7 minutes remaining and went on a game-deciding 2-15 run that sealed the outcome. Never count Olympiacos out because it usually knows how to find its way back into any important game.
Effectiveness down low
Since Moses Wright joined the Reds, Olympiacos has been very deep at center, with a rare combination of size, effectiveness and power. Star center Nikola Milutinov leads the 2023-24 EuroLeague in PIR per 40 minutes (32.1). Starting center Moustapha Fall is 24th on that list (24.6) while Wright did not play enough games to appear in the standings, but averages a PIR of 29.3, which would otherwise have him fifth.
Milutinov also leads the competition in most offensive rebounds per 40 minutes (5.4). Fall is the most effective two-point shooter this season (79.1% 2FG), having made 110 of 139 attempts inside the arc. Wright (70.6% 2FG) and Milutinov (62.6% 2FG) are also extremely effective in the paint. Accordingly, Olympiacos has nothing to fear against the best big man in the EuroLeague, Walter Tavares, and Vincent Poirier as the Reds have many weapons to use against them.
Elite guard-stoppers
Olympiacos has reasons to be optimistic when it comes to guarding the opponents' perimeter stars. EuroLeague head coaches have chosen Thomas Walkup as the competition's Best Defender. He is the first guard to win the award since Dimitris Diamantidis received it for the sixth time in 2012. Nigel Williams-Goss played for Real last season and therefore knows everything about guarding Rodriguez and Llull. Their matchup against Facu Campazzo should be one of the biggest keys to this game, and Olympiacos should like its odds.
If the Reds make it to the championship game, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Olympiacos already managed to stop Panathinaikos's Sloukas in the teams' last EuroLeague showdown. He had 7 points on 2 of 7 shooting in over 20 minutes. Fenerbahce has been winning games due to its three-point shooting, but Olympiacos did a good job guarding its main shooters. In two regular-season games against the Reds, Scottie Wilbekin, Marko Guduric and Tyler Dorsey combined for 6 of 25 three-point shooting (24.0% 3FG) from beyond the arc.
Coach Bartzokas, Filip Petrusev, Williams-Goss, Peters and Papanikolaou know what it feels like to win the EuroLeague. It's time to find out if the rest of the team will discover that feeling in Berlin!