Reasons of the Panathinaikos’ rebirth
Reasons of the Panathinaikos’ rebirth
After beating Olimpia Milano with 95-83, PAO has increased their chances to reach a spot in the Euroleague’s playoff. Their engine, Nick Calathes had a fantastic night in Mediolanum Forum. He finished with 27 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Keith Langford finished the game with 17 points and 5 rebounds and Deshaun Thomas added as well 15 points and 5 rebounds.
Now there will be the last 2 exams for the Greek powerhouse who will face at home both Real Madrid and Buducnost. If they will continue the winning streak, they will be for sure in the playoffs. But let’s get back to the main reasons for PAO’s success in the last games.
The first reason is coach Rick Pitino. Former Louisville coach accepted the challenge to coach in Europe in December and deliver a huge win in his first game as Panathinaikos beat CSKA Moscow 96-84. In 14 Euroleague games with him on the charge, Panathinaikos won 9 games, including the last 6 in a row. In his first European experience, Pitino brings his tremendous talent to help Panathinaikos win games. He`s a more defensive coach, but he can adapt his style very quickly if the moment requires too. Developing players is one of his main strengths. Since the Pitino’s era, Panathinaikos players are more confident in themselves and they always search for the open guy.
The 2nd reason is undoubtedly Nick Calathes. Not only was the last game huge for him, but he also has a very good season leading the league in assists with 8.8 assists per game and in steals with 1.8 per game. Also, he is leading Panathinaikos in points per game with 12.3.
The third reason is their core of players. Panathinaikos have a roster full of talent and experience. Here we can name Calathes 30, Langford 35, Matt Lojeski 33 and James Gist 32. The average age for the first 8 players most used in Euroleague, according to their minutes this season is 30. So the experience plays a big factor in the renaissance of the greek team.
Bogdan Vasile Tirc, info@brainbasketball.net
