After losing twice on the road in the latest double-round week, Olympiacos (11-10) will be hoping for home comforts as it welcomes unpredictable Maccabi (12-9) in a crucial battle for playoffs qualification.
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos: 'The games are crucial'
Seasons
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 22 of 34
Regular Season
Olympiacos PiraeusOLY
8972
Maccabi Playtika Tel AvivMTA
Overview
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With head-to-head advantage very much at stake, the Reds will take inspiration from its 74-79 road win over Maccabi in November, helped by the versatility of Thomas Walkup with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Walkup's defense restricted Lorenzo Brown to just 2 field goals on 13 attempts in that game, so Maccabi's backcourt leader will be looking to bounce back after suffering a similarly tough night in Friday's collapse against Partizan.
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos head coach
"Right now and considering the situation in the EuroLeague, you have to get points, because the games are crucial and that's how we must look at the game against Maccabi tomorrow. We must win. They are a very strong competitor for the top eight for sure and possibly the Final Four. They are the number one team in offensive rebounding in the EuroLeague. They have a lot of American players, who have athletic abilities; they open the scoring, they play well, they have had the same coach for quite some time now and they know how to play. They are also going through difficulties based on what is happening in their country. But they have a lot of talent as a team and their standings show it. We won with a plan in Belgrade and we must follow that plan tomorrow as well."
Oded Kattash, Maccabi head coach
"We are traveling to play in a difficult arena against a good team whose capabilities we saw in the first round. We will have to maintain our intensity for 40 minutes and execute our game plan."
Giannoulis Larentzakis, Olympiacos player
"Maccabi is a tough and talented team. They have good players in every position. We must take advantage of the fact that we are playing in our home court having our fans support. We must react after the two losses in Spain and show our true character. We will do everything in our power to get the win."
Roman Sorkin, Maccabi player
"One of the keys is stopping their style of play. They have a team that runs together a few years with the same system, so we need to stop them from doing it. We will have to limit their shooters, stay focused and play our game."
Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi player
"The key starts today (in practice). We need to lock in on what their main things are on offense and attacking them on that perspective and getting our guys involved, finding the hot guys, putting pressure on them defensively and pushing the pace."