Panathinaikos played two preseason games in Rhodes and provided an early glimpse into Zeljko Obradovic’s philosophy and what he wants from his team.
The scores of preseason games in September carry little significance. Especially when the level of competition comes nowhere near what a team will face during the new and highly demanding EuroLeague season.
Panathinaikos defeated AEK (78-56) and Spartak Subotica (77-59) in Rhodes, two opponents of a lower level, so anyone looking for firm conclusions and “certainties” would be rushing things. There was, however, a direction and a philosophy to take away from those games. The Greens showed where Zeljko Obradovic wants to take them in the upcoming season.
Of course, that first… sketch took shape with several major absences. Kostas Sloukas, Kendrick Nunn, Nikos Rogkavopoulos, Nigel Hayes-Davis and Moustapha Fall did not play, while Mathias Lessort also sat out the second game. In essence, “Zoc” opened a small window into his thinking without having many of the players who will shape his team’s rotation, possessions and overall balance at his disposal.
The central idea, though, was clear —and this is where the focus should be: positionless basketball, size at every position and tall lineups capable of running, applying pressure and covering ground. Obradovic has built a roster filled with athleticism and speed, featuring players who can “serve” more than one role. Brancou Badio, Isaac Bonga and Guerschon Yabusele can share the court without traditional positional labels restricting how they operate. Juancho Hernangomez, meanwhile, remains a valuable piece at the “4”.
That versatility first became evident on defense. When Badio, Bonga and Yabusele were on the floor together, Panathinaikos looked as though it was closing a set of… pincers around the ball. The same applied to the Greens’ experienced and reliable defensive pillars, Hernangomez and Jerian Grant. “Active hands” on every ball, pressure on the passing lanes, focus away from the action and immediate coverage of open spaces. Their off-ball discipline prevented opposing possessions from developing without resistance and gave the team the first outlines of a defensive identity.
Size, after all, only gains real value when it is accompanied by desire. In Rhodes, there was an appetite for every “battle”. At the same time, protecting the rim was not treated exclusively as the center’s responsibility. The rotations, long arms and willingness of the forwards to collapse into the paint demonstrated how the Serbian coach intends to turn his team’s collective size into pressure on the opposition. Once Hayes-Davis and Fall return and Lessort reaches 100%, that picture could become far more intense.
At the other end of the floor, Panathinaikos looked to play at pace while also showing clear offensive purpose. There was plenty of pick-and-roll with Sylvain Francisco, good reads of the defensive help by the ball handlers and screens set at the right time to create driving lanes. The French guard possesses the speed and change of pace required to attack the first opening —his hesitation move during one of the defining plays of the second friendly was a perfect example— as well as the ability to force the defense into decisions. After all, it should not be forgotten that we are talking about the best point guard in last season’s EuroLeague…
That is where the pieces of the broader “green puzzle” begin to come together. Francisco’s pick-and-roll can create the first crack, the size around him can punish the ensuing rotation and the willingness to attack from the low post can provide a second point of reference. Panathinaikos becomes even more dangerous when it shoots efficiently from beyond the arc, forcing opposing defenses to think twice —or even three times— before sending double teams at the “Sisco”–Nunn duo.
The most intriguing scenario among everything still to come, of course, concerns the partnership between the French guard and Europe’s leading scorer once Nunn returns from injury. Two ball handlers capable of tearing any defense to shreds, attacking off screens, creating their own shot in isolation and finding their open teammates. All of that can be surrounded by a powerful defensive shield provided by players such as Badio, Bonga, Hayes-Davis, Hernangomez and Lessort.
Everything above represents clues and pieces of a philosophy, not… unquestionable facts. Rhodes essentially provided the first… coordinates. More evidence and safer conclusions will emerge at the upcoming “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” tournament, featuring Partizan, PAOK and Bourg, at Telekom Center on September 18–19. That is where the Greens will play their final two preseason games before opening their EuroLeague campaign at home against Paris on September 24.
