The Greens keep on winning. The challenge for Ergin Ataman now is to make sure his Panathinaikos don’t peak too early this Euroleague Basketball season. An ugly win over Virtus Bologna might well have helped.
The last few months have been wonderful for Panathinaikos fans. The Greens don’t want to be kings of the regular season. The focus for Ergin Ataman is having his team primed to win a Euroleague title. The manner of their dominance in the first half over Virtus Bologna means pacing is the big challenge ahead this season. The near collapse in the second half oddly might show they get that.
Dominating in first gear
It was at 21-13 that it really stood out. Panathinaikos would grow its first half lead to 17 points at one stage. Still, I want to stick with that early scoreline. The Greens looked fine, I guess, during the opening stages. They certainly weren’t in full rhythm yet. There were issues with Marius Grigonis keeping his cool. Yet still, in a game that mattered more to Virtus Bologna, Ergin Ataman’s side cruised out in front.
This was flat out a matter of quality. The depth in Euroleague Basketball this season has been mostly evident in the quality of rosters not making the postseason. Some very good teams with great players won’t be playing much longer. Panathinaikos are in rarified air. Their depth and quality is such that against most teams, they are just too good for it to matter.
We knew at the season’s start that there was potential here. We saw the teething problems. Then came adjustments, like the acquisition of Kendrick Nunn. Still, this project feels ahead of schedule.
This isn’t a surprise
This is the most radical roster overhaul that Panathinaikos have gone through in over a decade. The last few years of Euroleague Basketball for the Greens were forgettable. They weren’t contenders and their fans knew it.
This season they entered the fray with a clearly upgraded roster. Making that work is difficult. We’ve seen it with other clubs. Most notably when FC Barcelona wildly upgraded after their banter years. They made it to a Euroleague championship game with a loaded roster but didn’t deliver. There was also the CSKA Moscow team that went to Istanbul after an enormous season. We all recall how that ended.
Ergin Ataman doesn’t want a flash in the pan. At the same time, he wants a championship. Ataman knows the challenge that comes with this upheaval. As I have said many times, beneath that fiery exterior is a cold blooded thinker. He knows that timing matters a lot this season.
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Of course Panathinaikos nearly threw it away
Frankly, the way this game ended up, it was probably perfect for Panathinaikos. Ergin Ataman needs his team to follow an arc if they are going to win the Euroleague Basketball title this season.
This Virtus Bologna team is loaded with some serious players. It also has the feel good story of the season in Achille Polonara. That he could go through chemotherapy for cancer in-season and come back to contribute like he does is simply wonderful. This is not the type of team that accepts it’s a bad night at half-time.
The comeback was extraordinary but also educational for the Greens. They were reminded of how much more work they need to do. Closing out opponents is not a case of showing up with warm bodies for the second half. This is a league where every game is going to test you.
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Kendrick Nunn calls game
Before we get to the game winner, a quick note on the previous scoring play for Panathinaikos. Grigonis, who was in foul trouble all night, saved their bacon big time. A missed three by Kendrick Nunn was grabbed by the Lithuanian. More importantly, he drew a foul from Marco Belinelli as he finished.
That gave him the bonus shot needed to level the scores again. After that, Nunn showed he has a lot of self-confidence. It is well-earned confidence too. The game winner, giving the Greens an ugly win, was exactly what was needed.
KENDRICK NUNN WINS IT FOR @paobcgr in BOLOGNA 😳#MotorolaMagicMoment I @motorola pic.twitter.com/6Rjxd5csgQ
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 29, 2024
In the post-game, Ergin Ataman had his classic immediate calm-down post victory. He knows that there’s enough there to work on to keep his guys focused on getting better. Right now, he doesn’t have a team that will win the Euroleague title. That’s a good thing. He needs a basketball outfit that will think it has peaked in the playoffs and then, somehow, find another level in the Final Four.
You don’t get that with a fresh roster in March. You need that roster to follow the arc. Ergin Ataman has scaled the mountain top of Euroleague Basketball twice. He’s at a club yearning to get back there. It’s a step by step situation. He doesn’t want to risk skipping any along the way.
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