EuroLeague Round 8 Reactions: Triumphant Olympiacos show their championship resolve

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about the substandard starts to the season for Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. Olympiacos were 2-3 at the time, coming off a gutting defeat to Bayern Munch (who, let’s face it, at least for now are a quality opponent) and their next three games were Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Panathinaikos for the first Greek Derby of the EuroLeague season. And let’s not forget, the Bayern Munich defeat was followed by a domestic league loss to Panathinaikos the following weekend. 

Many words have been used to describe fanbases such as Olympiacos, but patience is not one of them. Head coach Georgios Bartzokas’ back was against the wall, but he and his players responded accordingly. They beat Madrid by 10 - raising questions about Chus Mateo’s future - and Barcelona by 19. In both games, Thomas Walkup started to find opportunities as a scorer and most importantly, Evan Fournier began playing like the star they signed him to be. 

Winning at OAKA would be far from easy, but Olympiacos had confidence, they spent the last week reminding themselves who they were, and what they were capable of and carried that into the Greek Derby. To come out on top, Bartzokas leaned on old tricks and new ones. He dropped club legend Kostas Papanikolaou from the starting lineup and replaced him with Luca Vildoza. The Argentinian guard won the EuroLeague championship with Panathinaikos last season in the face of constant public squabbles with head coach Ergin Ataman and now had a chance to give Olympiacos more offensive juice to start the game - a necessity up against Panathinaikos’ firepower. 

The change worked, Olympiacos got off to a strong start and forced early subsitiutions with Jerian Grant and Lorenzo Brown getting quick hooks for Juancho Hernangomez and Kostas Sloukas. Those subs helped, but Moustapha Fall offered a physical presence early that Panathinaikos could not compete with. Ataman subbed in Dinos Mitoglou at center to go with a stretch-five approach and try to make life harder for Fall on the defensive end, and that’s when Olympiacos turned to what made their defense elite last season: switching all on-ball screens. 

The switching caused mismatches but this worked in Olympiacos’ favor. Panathinaikos were so desperate to get the ball to Mathias Lessort down low that they were upending any offensive rhythm. Ball movement died at post-entry points, Olympiacos organized their help, and by the time Panathinaikos looked to reset the shot clock was often under six seconds. Panathinaikos didn’t make a field goal in the second quarter until just over five minutes remaining. Olympiacos built a lead and sucked the energy out of OAKA. 

Panathinaikos adjusted at halftime. They got back to what they do best with their guards attacking the rim and opening the game up. They scored 33 points in the third quarter, but Olympiacos' offense held their own, posting 30 of their own thanks to two threes from Vildoza, and Fournier getting going with seven points of his own. 

It was only a five-point game heading into the fourth and as Panathinaikos pulled every lever they could to get the tide back in their favor - they were met with responses from Walkup, Vezenkov, and Fournier. Former Olympiacos legend Sloukas has been the man in the clutch for Panathinaikos since joining them in the summer of 2023, but on this night Olympiacos targeted him. They posted him with Walkup, who while not being a great offensive threat is a good passer who now had Fournier and Sasha Vezenkov moving off of him. Olympiacos got four straight field goals out of it. 

The game was tied at 85 with just over two minutes remaining, thanks to a Fournier moonshot three over Cedi Osman and a pair of free throws from Lessort. Fournier took over from there and gave Olympiacos exactly what they were missing last season. A perimeter offensive threat that could bail them out in late shot clock situations. Fournier scored five of the next seven points for Olympiacos 7-0 run that would seal the deal. 

This Greek Derby was everything it was billed to be heading into the season, and with Bartzokas and Olympiacos winning three big games in a row it’s clear that there will be no significant changes. The defeat puts a halt on any momentum for Panathinaikos, and Olympiacos looks like they’re only just getting started.