By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After missing recent team practices due to an illness, Evan Fournier has been ruled out for the game between Olympiacos and FC Bayern Munich in the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday.
Kostas Papanikolaou is out as well, added head coach Giorgos Bartzokas previewing Round 20 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
“In an unfortunate timing for us, Papanikolaou and Fournier will not play due to colds,” mentioned the Greek tactician on Thursday, “The rotation will be short, plus some minor injuries for other players.”
Besides the aforementioned key players, Moses Wright has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and Keenan Evans is projected to miss several more weeks before debuting with his new team. The remaining players are available.
With Olympiacos sharing the top spot of the EuroLeague standings with AS Monaco, behind a 13-6 W-L tally, Fournier’s contributions in 19 starts went to 15.4 points, 2.7 assists, 1.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per contest. Papanikolaou averaged 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game over 19 appearances, including ten starts.
On the opposite end, the team coached by Gordon Herbert sits at 11-8, heading to SEF. Vladimir Lucic and Nick Weiler-Babb have been dealing with injuries over recent games, and Oscar da Silva was forced to an early exit against ALBA Berlin in Round 15 of Germany’s easyCredit BBL Regular Season on Sunday. Their status for the game in Greece remains unclear.