Panathinaikos AKTOR – Armani Milano: Nan’s rhapsody, X-Factor Kalaitzakis and the +18 of the main five

THE Panathinaikos AKTOR broke out on Armani Milandissolving it with 103-74 for the 16th game of the EuroLeague.

To SPORT24 analyzes with the help of Hudl Instat the victory of the “greens”.

The legendary start, X-Factor Kalaitzakis and the +18 of the main five

The defensive behavior of Panathinaikos AKTOR had been at the center of criticism in the last games. The Greens’ defense has been the talk of the town, with Ergin Ataman looking for a way to raise the energy level. To do this, he decided to put the team’s best defender, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, in the starting five. This was going to bring the ultimate explosion.

The starting five of the “greens” destroyed everything, escaping the score with 30-9. The simultaneous presence of Kalaitzakis and Jerian Grant in the perimeter, combined with the duo of Juancho Hernangometh and Matias Lessor in the high positions (commonly, the team’s four best defenders were on the court) put enormous pressure on Armani. Where the match will go was shown in the first defensive possession of the match. Behold.

Manion wants to take the ball, but Kalaitzakis won’t let him. This is how Mirotic brings the ball down.

Kalaitzakis sees Mirotic vulnerable and runs behind him to press him. Hernangomet also increases the pressure to double-team Mirotic.

Mirotic is wrong.

Panathinaikos AKTOR sent his message to Armani from the first phase. This was the first of the five mistakes of the Italians against this “green” five. As long as the specific five of Panathinaikos AKTOR was on the floor, Armani had 7/17 shots and 5 errors. And the disposition of the “clover” for defense can be seen from another number. In the 12.5 minutes that these five players played, the “greens” committed 9 fouls. In the remaining 27.5 minutes they committed another 17 fouls.

The whole atmosphere has even drawn in Kendrick Nunn, who while a likable defender is known to often lack the required energy level. Against Armani, however, he was on the same page as everyone else. Here’s an example:

Kozer wants to play a double Pick and Roll with Leday and Mirotic. He takes the first screen, with Nan breaking it, staying close to him.

Kozer gets a second screen – from Mirotic – and Nan breaks that too, while Juancho stays a little further back, giving space.

Under suffocating pressure from Nan, Kozer is forced to pass to Mirotic. Juancho has time to come out and tag his opponent.

Mirotic misses a 3-pointer under pressure from Juancho.

Nan’s concentration in defense was indicative of the importance given to this game by Panathinaikos AKTOR. With four excellent defenders at his side, the American was on the same page as everyone else. Of course, the former NBAer made the difference on the other side of the floor.

Nan’s ultimate rhapsody

The defense of Panathinaikos AKTOR set the tempo in the match. The truth, of course, is that the explosion came with what happened in the attack. Having found a rhythm on the back side of the floor, the “greens” were confident. This, of course, was boosted by Kendrick Nunn, who blew it all away, finishing the game with 39 points (26 in the first part) with 12/23 shots (8/16 three-pointers). 7/7 shots, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 37 minutes of participation.

*With a circle the well-targeted shots, with “x” the wrong ones

The American was from another planet. Armani’s choice to assist from the strong side on Panathinaikos AKTOR’s penetrations – even from the Nan player – proved disastrous as the former Heat man found some easy shots for his class early in the game , finding rhythm. As a result, a storm followed.

Nan scored however and whenever he wanted. He got several balls in a Pick and Roll situation. The issue though was that he put up a lot of Catch and Shoot shots. This is very important, because when those shots go in they open up spaces and it frees up the whole team.

Nan delivered the ultimate basketball rhapsody. With him in such condition and the defense suffocating Armani Milano, the game was not going to be lost. Basically, it was already decided from the first period. All the rest was history.

A win he needed

Panathinaikos AKTOR came from a string of bad performances. He needed to get a positive result, but – above all – to have a convincing appearance. So the goal was achieved, with the in-form Armani Milano (of 6 consecutive victories) never being able to withstand the pressure of the “clover” and the energy brought out by its players.

Panathinaikos AKTOR got what he wanted from the game and is already looking at the next game, against Baskonia (19/12). This gives him a good chance to build on that momentum and get another positive result to climb further up the rankings. With performances like this, he certainly has every reason to believe that the best is yet to come.