Olympiacos will present against Barcelona the renewed Nikola Milutinov who will become a point of reference and give another dynamic to the team’s tall line.
THE Nikola Milutinov was one of the most important transfer moves of last summer in the Euroleague. At the same time, he is the highest paid player of Olympiakos, but also one of the team’s main protagonists. He was unlucky last January at OAKA, when he hit his leg (metatarsal fracture), as a result of which he was out of action for 2.5 months.
But now he is back in action, has worked on his fitness and is ready for the play-off against Barcelona to show his best. THE George Bartzokas is preparing his plans and his goal is to take advantage of the size, talent and experience of the Serbian center. He will seek to make him a benchmark within the racket. He will aim to feed him, become a source of danger for the Catalans in attack, but also a fearsome player in defense for the opposition. The “Faul out and Milutinov in” tactic, with Wright coming off the bench and giving breathers, makes the “5” position powerful in Olympiakos.
THE Nikola Milutinov in the current season he is averaging 8.5 points, with 61% on two-pointers, plus 5.6 rebounds average in the Euroleague. In just 18 minutes of participation please. Unforgettable was his shocking appearance in SEF against Maccabi (89-72), when he scored a terrible double-double with 20 points (8/13 two-pointers) and 20 rebounds in 31 minutes, as Mustafa Fal was missing. Once he had found a rhythm, however, he was subsequently injured.
But how does it change him? Olympic his return to competitive action? And we mention this as the team looked like they were now used to playing without him. First, we shouldn’t forget that he is one of the best centers in Europe – if not the best – at playing with his back to the basket when it comes to finishing moves. He knows how to stretch his body and position himself close to the basket to gain an advantage.
At the same time, he has the ability to pass well when receiving a second man, he is excellent in pick-and-roll partnerships (Goss and Walkup are already working with him intensively in practice), and he can also function satisfactorily in switch defense, which is something that he likes to do George Bartzokas. All these are elements that were missing from the Olympiakos game and the Serb returns to Barcelona determined. He himself has his own motivation, his own thirst. While he was out he looked like a caged beast. Time to come out to play…
Tags: Olympiacos Bets Milutinov ahead Barcelona
