By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
There were some high spirits all around outside the locker room of Olympiacos following the team’s EuroLeague victory over defending champion and previously unscathed Real Madrid. And one player that was in a particularly proper mood for some laughs was center Nikola Milutinov.
It all started when Milutinov noticed his teammate Janis Timma also doing some reporting while the Serbian big was talking to the media. “If he (Timma) wants to pass the ball, then I like him. But if he wants to shoot…” Milutinov joked with a grin.
“Keep shooting,” Timma responded to get an “I’m the best shooter in the team you know,” reply by Milutinov.
“Everybody in the team knows that I’m the best shooter in the team,” Milutinov continued with a laugh, regarding making his first 3-pointer ever in EuroLeague, Tuesday (20/11) in a road win over Bayern Munich.
“Well, we have a lot of shooting drills in the practice. But I don’t think I’ll shoot again. I’ll try to play like always do. It’s not my job to shoot the ball,” Milutinov added, this time on a more serious tone.
Olympiacos had just forced Real Madrid to its first defeat this season in EuroLeague to capture its second win in a row in EuroLeague following a stretch of three consecutive losses. The Reds began with 20 minutes of offensive brilliance where they scored 52 points against the top defensive team in the league and Milutinov believes that this electric first half gave his team a precious push, before turning on some defensive intensity the stretch.
“We played amazing in the first half and we got a lead. They came back because they are Real Madrid, one of the best teams in Europe. But when they came back, we played defense and that’s why we won the game in the end,” Milutinov said.
Milutinov had quite the challenging task against a center such as Walter Tavares, the leading blocker in EuroLeague (2.4 over 20:32 minutes per game) and the tallest guy in the competition. But Olympiacos‘ pivot won many battles inside the paint, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks to go with his three assists and two steals for a team-high-tying 25 PIR.
“He’s huge,” Milutinov mentioned on his matchup with Real’s big. “He’s one of the most difficult players to guard in Europe. He can go for the offensive rebound and you have to box him out so hard. It’s also difficult to guard him at the post. It’s not only me, all of my teammates helped today.”