Panathinaikos: Maccabi’s five… red flags – Articles – Christos Robolis – Panathinaikos AKTOR

THE Panathinaikos is getting ready for the big challenge of her playoffs Euroleague with the Maccabi to be the last… track before the Final 4.

The Israelis may not have a home base, but that just adds even more value to their run this year, where they have played just one game in Tel Aviv and the rest in an empty stadium in Belgrade.

What are the five points on which “greens” should pay special attention to check the ticket to Berlin?

-Two players… the whole team: It is no exaggeration that Wade Baldwin and Lorenzo Brown are the whole of Maccabi and limiting their action will bring Panathinaikos closer to the Final 4. The two together manage half of their team’s possessions (49.4%), while scoring or they create 56.4 of the Israelis’ 88.5 points (63.7%). The two Americans share the floor for 21.1 minutes per game, a number that is expected to increase in the playoffs, so the Panathinaikos defense is forced to adapt to them. Jerian Grant, as long as he is good, should endure (energy wise but also in foul wear) many minutes on the floor, but it is not unlikely that he will need help from Panagiotis Kalaitzakis as well.

-The… third party: Of course, the above is an exaggeration. Maccabi have other notable players, with Bonzie Colson standing out. The American forward in this year’s two victories over Panathinaikos was decisive having a total of 35 points with 9/16 two-pointers, 3/9 three-pointers and 8/8 shots, as well as 11 rebounds (4 of them offensive) and 5 steals, with the team of +26 while he was on the court. The combination of strength, volume and threat from afar that he offers to his team requires special attention from the “greens” and it will not be surprising if Ioannis Papapetrou spends several minutes on him.

-Rate control: Panathinaikos is much more comfortable with a low tempo than Maccabi and it is natural to want to lock them into a set game, 5 vs 5, which serves them better and will curb the athleticism of the opponents. The Israelis play the highest number of possessions in the EuroLeague at 73.9 per game and like to score on primary or secondary blitzes. In particular, in this year’s two matches against Panathinaikos, Maccabi scored a total of 30 points from fast breaks. An organized defense, like that of the “greens”, which was the second best in this year’s EuroLeague behind only Real (with a passive 109.2 points per 100 possessions), can trouble the people’s team.

-No extra possessions: It is an extension of the above… In order for Panathinaikos to control the pace, they will have to avoid missed rebounds and mistakes. The “greens” in the regular season took a not very good 68.8% of the defensive rebounds they claimed, while Maccabi, respectively, collected 32.3% (third rate in the league) of the offensive rebounds available, taking advantage of the athleticism that it has with players like Nimbo, Sorkin, Colson and Webb. Accordingly, Panathinaikos was sixth in turnovers per game in the regular season with 12.7 and will need to be more careful not to give the ball to opponents.

-Many good shooters: Panathinaikos may shoot better than Maccabi on three-pointers (38.1% vs. 37.1%), but the people’s team is one of the most effective from long range and this is not a hasty conclusion after the amazing 19/36 they had in the play in with Baskonia. The Israelis attempt 24.2 3-pointers per game and seven players on the roster shoot over 39%, while Cohen (35.1%), Webb (34.6%) and Brown (34%) certainly cannot be underestimated. Essentially, from the entire roster, only Josh Nimbo does not threaten behind 6.75m.

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