Ergin Ataman shared his impressions after the eighth-round EuroLeague game between Panathinaikos and Zalgiris.
Panathinaikos won 73-71. In his post-game comments, Ergin Ataman analyzed the events on the court.
“We missed nine free throws in the first half and were trailing by three. Our offense wasn’t at its best, but it was okay. Defensively, we had problems only with Rolands Smits. That’s normal because Dinos Mitoglou got tired.
He did a great job offensively but got fatigued defensively. Smits was the only one scoring for them. With Grant and Sloukas, we managed to score when it mattered. We weren’t good in rebounding, but we found a way to win.”
Ataman commented once again on the issues with free throws.
‘This season, we’ve lost twice at home. I’m not satisfied with how we looked tonight on offense, but we won. This will give us confidence in the upcoming matches. We missed free throws partly due to pressure. This is our court, but for many, it’s the first season playing in the OAKA atmosphere. When you miss a free throw, morale drops. That’s critical. We scored 73 points with 13 missed free throws. But again, we won, and that’s crucial.”
The Panathinaikos coach revealed how the team prepared for the opposing team’s best player.
“When you analyze Zalgiris, you see that Evans is their best player. We played aggressively against him, took risks, and that’s why Smits punished us with some shots. Jerian Grant played great one-on-one defense on Evans. Last season, I watched Grant a lot. He has character and is progressing. He’s excellent on both ends.”
Journalists were interested in Marius Grigonis‘ role.
“When we were building the team at the start of the season, I thought he plays at the three-position. At Anadolu Efes, Krunoslav Simon played the three for years. Grigonis has the same role. Maybe he wasn’t the best tonight, but for now, he’s playing better than last season when he was at the two-position,” concluded Ataman.