After a thoroughly convincing Game 1 win over AS Monaco in the Euroleague Playoffs, Olympiacos look primed for a comfortable run to the final four. Emmet Ryan writes that their biggest obstacle might well be that sense of expectation.
Let me tell you about 2011. Olympiacos were a year removed from making the Euroleague championship game. The Reds entered the Euroleague playoffs having topped their group in the Top 16 and looked set for a return to the final four. Then they had a record breaking home Game 1 win over Siena.
Then Bo McCalebb wrote a key chapter in his legendary 2011 year and Olympiacos lost the series 3-1. This time it’s Mike James and AS Monaco and the Reds can’t afford to let complacency seep in.
An adjustment is coming
Consider the situation that AS Monaco entered these playoffs. Not only was there all the off court madness and a roster with just 10 men healthy, but they’ve been busy. Last week they had to play Panathinaikos in Athens, then home to beat FC Barcelona, before playing the Coupe de France final in Paris less than 24 hours later.
This was an exhausted side that fell to Olympiacos in Game 1 of the Euroleague playoffs. It showed in the boxscore. After a competitive first quarter, Olympiacos put their foot down in the second and third. They took over the game in decisive fashion and comfortably beat an exhausted Monaco.
The two nights of real rest without travelling or rushing between games will help AS Monaco no end. They’ve seen what Oly look like when they are comfortable. Now they have to work out how to disrupt the Reds and make a proper series out of this.
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This isn’t exactly shocking
In my preview for this series, I predicted that Olympiacos would enjoy two comprehensive wins. The full pick is for a 3-1 series win. That’s mostly because I’m wary of the Reds finally having a true off night. They’d certainly take one in the Euroleague playoffs than at the final four in Athens. Giorgios Bartzokas has been so close so often in this stint with Oly. Maintaining top tier performances is oddly easier when things don’t always go to plan.
A refreshed and motivated AS Monaco awaits on Thursday night. Similarly, the crowd in the SEF will expect a lot. That’s ideal Mike James territory and he’s got the mindset of a man looking to show up the Euroleague MVP in his home gym.
The final four is arguably the toughest stage of the competition when put in full perspective. Yet the days and hours after a Game 1 win may be the most challenging for Bartzokas to best manage his side psychologically. Striking the balance in this scenario is much tougher than in a win or go home situation.
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Yet they have clearly learned
The manner of the defeat to AS Monaco at last year’s final four won’t be soon forgotten by this Olympiacos roster. While the Roca team in these Euroleague playoffs may be a diluted version, it has still got plenty of familiar faces on the floor.
That makes me confident that the mental side of the game should work better for the Reds this time out. This is a side more aware of its own mortality but also comfortable in channeling that as a strength. Maturity comes in different forms and flavours, this was an aspect of it this Oly roster had to learn the hard way.
Yet the key thing to bear in mind is that the education process never stops. There’s always something out there that can catch you out. Be it on the court or in your head. For Olympiacos, the performance on Thursday genuinely matters more than the result. They need to show that they can take the big blow Monaco want to deliver and roll with it.
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