EUROLEAGUE FINAL FOUR 2012 (Men) Panathinaikos

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Euroleague Final Four 2012 Panathinaikos

Team Characteristics

This team could easily be referred to as the pick & roll masterminds. Besides the typical pick & roll options, one has to highlight with this team the re-picks and especially the pick & roll that is played after a hand off. They are a team that is superior in end of game management and they fight until the last second of each possession. Besides their pick & roll solution one has to focus on their low post dominance. Not only that they have several heavyweight centers, but adding to the physical dominance is their position without the ball close to the basket. Their centers fight well for their positions close to the basket so that once they get the ball passed in low their field goal percentages are wonderful.

Transition

They are not focusing too much on fast break solutions instead they are rather balanced in their point’s distribution coming from all parts of the game. They are more focusing on the secondary break, which they run almost to perfection. The most probable fast break scenario is that Diamantidis or Perperoglu dribble into the low post and try to score versus their defender in a handicap or coast to coast situation.

Transition - Fast Break

Transition - Secondary Break

Offensive Tendencies

This team has endless options in their pick & roll game and in the low post. This is a team that dominates under the opponents basket with penetrations and low post options, but don’t think that they can’t shoot from outside. The timing and spacing in all sets is great and the kick out passes to their perimeter players waiting for a strong penetration or the three pointer. One has to mention that the team is very balanced in every aspect of the game, but what is the biggest difference of this team in terms of others is the playing time of the players. Obradovic is a pioneer of the 20-25 minutes average playing time per player. His players are rarely exhausted, since Obradovic looks for optimal intensity rather than maximal intensity.

Set Plays

Low post isolation: This isolation they use to get their power forwards or guards in the low post. It’s basically a screen the screener movement which has a shot option if the ball doesn’t get in the low post. Since they are a team that sets great screens and bumps, the ball gets on the low post often.

Hand off pick & roll set: This is maybe the most dangerous set this team can play. The pick & roll coming off a hand off makes it even more difficult to defend and gives even more options to finish the offense. This play was an evolution of the pick & roll tactic and needs skilled passers to be successful.

Zone Offense

This is a team you shouldn’t play much zone defense against, due to their spacing, timing, passing skills and size advantages. They don’t need much time to score against their opponents, unlike other teams that get distracted in the beginning of the sequence. They favor to bring to ball into the low post right away or they just use the pick & roll to execute.

OB Plays

They start off in a stack or line alignment followed by a screening series, but the ball is mostly returned to the inbounder (Diamantidis) at the top of the key for the primary attack of the baseline out of bounds being the pick & roll. Everything is created from there, so the initial screening series is just to distract the opponents in their match ups.

Defensive Characteristics

They fight very hard for position in the low post game and penetrations to the basket are very much contested, therefore they sometimes give up shots from the perimeter. If you don’t have guards with good outside shooting abilities you will have serious problems playing this team. They close out shots very well and contest and challenge every player. They play very hard and go for the rebounds and other teams always need to adjust to their aggressiveness.

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