Olympiacos returns to the EuroLeague Final Four after a five-year absence. In 2017, at Sinan Erdem Dome, the “Reds” lost the Championship Game to Fenerbahce (64-80).
The team has changed its core lamost entirely since then, as only two players have remained to this year’s roster (Georgios Printezis and Kostas Papanikolaou). In Belgrade, Olympiacos has the opportunity to lift the trophy after nine years.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
2021-2022 season recap
At the beginning of the season, Olympiacos was performing better at Peace and Friendship Stadium than away from home.
The Greek side ended up losing only one game at their home court (72-76 to Crvena Zvezda). Georgios Bartzokas’ team was the only one with a 13-1 home record this year.
However, their first road win happened in Round 12 (72-93 against Armani Milano). After a disappointing four-game losing streak in January, Olympiacos managed to get back to form.
They won eight of their last 10 games, clinching the home-court advantage in the playoffs. In addition, the “Reds” finished second in the standings for the first time under the new EuroLeague format.
They then faced Monaco in the playoffs. After a perfect defensive performance in Game 1 (71-54 win), they lost Game 2 in Piraeus (72-96). At Salle Gaston Medecin, Olympiacos re-claimed the home-court advantage in Game 3 (83-87).
The Final Four participation would have been secured in Game 4, should Kostas Sloukas not have missed the game-winning shot (78-77 loss). Eventually, in Game 5, the Greek side prevailed over the Monegasques (94-88).
Key Stats
It is remarkable that Olympiacos lost only one home game in the regular season. The team’s defensive approach led to this record. The “Reds” were scoring 80.4 points per game, while allowing 75.6.
Their biggest win margin occured in Round 30 against arch rivals Panathinaikos (101-73). On an interesting note, they lost only two games with a 20-point margin, both against Monaco (92-72 in the regular season and 72-96 in the playoffs).
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Key Players
A lot of Olympiacos players contributed the most for their team this year. Undoubtedly, Sasha Vezenkov (averaging 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds) has been performing great throughout the season. He led Olympiacos’ players in scoring and rebounds.
Kostas Sloukas (11.4 points, 5.1 assists) has also been valuable this year. This will mark his ninth Final Four appearance. In addition, Tyler Dorsey (13.4 points) helped the team especially in the regular season.
For their part, two players were outstanding in the playoffs. Thomas Walkup averaged 11.2 points against Monaco and Shaquielle McKissic scored 18 points in just 17 minutes in Game 5.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Final Four
Olympiacos will face Anadolu Efes in the semifinal. Historically, the “Reds” have yet to win any Turkish side in a Final Four game.
Should they want a chance to celebrate their fourth EuroLeague championship, they have to come up victorious against the reigning champions.
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