By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The match between Olympiacos and CSKA Moscow was just one out of the 34 games that each team gives this regular season in EuroLeague. There are 10 rounds left before the playoffs and it this game may matter little to none in the long run.
However, the defeat of the Russian side on the road and especially the ghastly performance that led to it hit the players of the “Army Men” extra hard. CSKA star guard Mike James admitted to it and team captain Kyle Hines carried the same feeling.
“It’s disappointing right now. For everybody. It’s possibly one of the most disappointing losses that we’ve had. Because of the circumstances. Because of everything,” Hines told Eurohoops.
CSKA faced an Olympiacos that just had nine players available; one of them (Alexandros Nikolaidis) a 17-year-old. Captain Vassilis Spanoulis was out injured and so were forward Giorgos Printezis and guard Taylor Rochestie.
Meanwhile, Hines and his teammates had an additional reason to be bent on putting on a quality performance vs. Olympiacos. Two days prior to the match they were beaten to Anadolu Efes at home.
Still, the “Reds” took a possibly unexpected win over the defending EuroLeague champion. Actually, the “Reds” were the dominant force on the floor for most of the second half. One could say maybe the “only” presence on the court in the third period which ended 21-4 for the hosts.
“We knew coming in that they were going to fight. We know that this is a characteristic of the team, of the club and the people who are here,” Hines said. The American center spent two seasons and won two EuroLeague titles with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013 before joining CSKA to collect another pair of continental trophies.
“They came to fight. To fight a battle no matter who was on the floor. My hats off to them. They completely outplayed tonight us tonight. We came out with the wrong mentality. We didn’t show character. We didn’t show who we are. We didn’t play the basketball that we normally play,” Hines said.
One look at the numbers makes it easy to understand some aspects of the superiority of Olympiacos and, at the same time, the underwhelming display of CSKA. If it wasn’t enough that the Greek squad collected 19 offensive rebounds to renew possession after possession, their opponents committed 21 turnovers.
“Maybe it was our mentality. Maybe it was our approach today,” Hines said. “During the game, it seemed like there were moments we were careless.”
CSKA finished with an offensive season-low 59 points.
“21 turnovers are something uncharacteristic for us. Allowing them to get 19 offensive rebounds is uncharacteristic for us. For us to kind of make unforced errors is something uncharacteristic for us. The only thing we can possibly do is move forward. Face the fact and learn from it,” Hines added.
CSKA, and Hines in particular, have learned to transform upsets into valuable lessons that can be beneficial, longterm. It’s what they did last season as well when they lifted the title when all was said and done.
“I think the only way to bounce back is no.1: Stay together, stay positive. But at the same time, we have to face the fact that we didn’t perform tonight,” Hines said. “And the sooner we kind of face the fact and the sooner we look at the reason why we will try to figure it out. Essentially, we should look at each other and look at ourselves in the mirror. Take it and use it as a lesson, use it as experience to get better.”
“The only thing we can do is kind of learn from it. Analyze the mistakes, Analyze the things we did wrong to make sure that we don’t have them happen again. The EuroLeague season is a grind. A marathon. Very long. We will have many games, many opportunities. We just have to continue to fight on. Stay together, stay positive.”
Photo: Eurokinissi