By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague experts believe that Panathinaikos has the upper hand against Olympiacos in the latest edition of their round table. This week’s panel includes Ermal Kuqo, long-time EuroLeague player and recent Final Four Ambassador; Piti Hurtado, professional basketball coach and current EuroLeague analyst on DAZN; Vladimir Stankovic, veteran journalist and longtime EuroLeague.net collaborator; Drazen Kanazir, Editor, Eurohoops Germany; and Andy West, EuroLeague.net contributor and EuroLeague.TV commentator. They answered the following questions.
Will Panathinaikos or Olympiacos win the first Greek Derby of the EuroLeague season?
Ermal Kuqo
“Olympiacos has won the last two games and seems to be in good shape, slowly coming along as a team after having had some crucial changes in personnel over the summer. Most importantly they changed their coach early in the season, so their instability went on for a little longer than expected. Panathinaikos also had a coaching change, but the good news for the Greens is that the new coach is a familiar face and that’s a great advantage because their adaptation period should be almost instant, considering that Coach Pitino knows the players extremely well. Factoring in also the home-court advantage I see Panathinaikos having a slight edge.”
Piti Hurtado
“Panathinaikos will win. It’s about playing at home and Coach Pitino’s new energy for Fredette. The scorer is feeling all the confidence from his new coach; the two college basketball legends are at the beginning of their relationship and everything is working well. The Greens won’t beat the Reds easily; Kill Bill boys will fight on every possession and defense will be very important for them. Olympiacos will try to play an 80-point game, control the rebounds and have good defense on pick-and-rolls from the top of the key. But Pitino’s team is in its best form of the season right now.”
Vladimir Stankovic
“I believe that Panathinaikos is the favorite. I think it has more continuity in its game and scores 10 points more per game. Its two-point and three-point shooting percentages are slightly better. Both teams are tied in rebounds and assists. Moreover, Panathinaikos plays at home.”
Drazen Kanazir
“This is a tough question, but the momentum is in favor of Panathinaikos. The Greens won their last three games in the competition and the last one in an impressive way against Baskonia under the guidance of Rick Pitino – who returned to Athens for his second stint with the club. For the first time this season they held their opponent under 70 points. Heading into Round 12, the team from the Greek capital holds the sixth place in the standings with seven wins and four losses. There is also extra motivation because, since the 2016-17 season, Panathinaikos has only managed two wins in this derby.”
Andy West
“I think you have to favor Panathinaikos. Partly because the Greens are playing on their home floor, where they are looking very comfortable and have been very strong this season – just ask Baskonia, which was blown away at OAKA last week. The arrival of Rick Pitino has brought a new level of energy and it looks like Panathinaikos is heading in the right direction, whereas I feel Olympiacos is still a team in transition and finding its feet, despite the positive recent results. And of course, the vibrant atmosphere will very much work to Panathinaikos’s advantage.”