The Olympic basketball tournament did not begin as Greece basketball fans had hoped.
Their national team lost both games in the Group of Death, losing 79-86 to Canada on the first day and 77-84 to Spain on the second.
They still control their own fate, but the start has revealed both anticipated and unexpected issues for the Greeks.
The first issue—though not surprising—is the poor shooting from their perimeter players. This problem was anticipated even before the tournament began, and unfortunately, it occurred at the worst possible moment for their fans.
Nick Calathes, Thomas Walkup, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Vassilis Toliolopoulos, and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis have struggled with their shooting, making just 16 of 50 attempts from the field, which equates to only 32%.
This shooting percentage would have been disastrous if Toliolopoulos hadn’t made 5 of 8 field goals against Spain.
The 3-point shooting percentage is even lower than the overall field-goal percentage, at just 29%. For a team with Giannis Antetokounmpo, this is an unfortunate combination.
However, this hasn’t affected Antetokounmpo’s offensive performance—he remains highly efficient. The Greek Freak has matched his NBA scoring average, putting up 30.5 points per game in the first two matches and hitting an impressive 72% of his shots.
As you might expect, not all—nor even a significant portion—of the opportunities Antetokounmpo creates are turned into points. This issue was anticipated, but could Greece have addressed it?
The problem stems from the roster. Kostas Sloukas would have been a significant asset, as Vassilis Spanoulis selected Walkup to partner with the point guard. Unfortunately, Sloukas was injured and unable to participate in the qualifying tournament.
Naturalized guard Tyler Dorsey would have been a major asset, but since Walkup had already been selected, Dorsey’s inclusion was no longer an option.
Right now, Greece can only hope that their current guards will have a productive shooting performance against Australia. It’s not entirely unrealistic—since they are slightly better than their recent performance suggests, there’s a chance they could balance out their shooting percentages.
The second problem against Spain was hugely unexpected.
When we talk about Giannis, we usually value him as an amazing player on both sides of the court. We often consider him the best player in the world at the moment simply because he is a much better defender than Nikola Jokic or Luka Doncic, making up for his offensive flaws.
But that was not the case against Spain. I know it sounds weird, but the Greek Freak really gave a sub-par performance.
The issues began with Antetokounmpo allowing Santi Aldama to score several times in the first quarter during pick-and-roll kick-out plays. Antetokounmpo was either too slow to contest the shots, allowing Aldama to make a few three-pointers, or too sluggish to prevent Aldama from driving and creating scoring opportunities.
For me, that was an initial indication that something was off.
In the second quarter, Greece employed a switch-all defense strategy. The most effective way to counter this is by slipping screens. Spain immediately exploited this tactic, and I was surprised to see Giannis making the errors.
After a play where Giannis miscommunicated with Calathes, resulting in Rudy Fernandez hitting a three-pointer, Calathes showed frustration toward Antetokounmpo. It was surprising to see such a mistake from an elite defender, even to Calathes.
Giannis is typically known for his excellent on-ball defense and weak-side rim protection, which significantly benefits his team’s defense. However, the mistakes in question did not fall into these categories. For instance, in another switch defense situation, Alex Abrines managed to seal Giannis under the rim for an easy two points.
Despite these defensive lapses, Antetokounmpo excelled offensively, dominating in one-on-one situations and transition plays, converting nearly every scoring opportunity.
Unfortunately for Greece, his most crucial attempt, a three-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation, missed the rim. This final shot seemed like a last-ditch effort, but the game-changing moment actually occurred three minutes earlier.
Defensive strategist Sergio Scariolo demonstrated his brilliance once again.
For 37 minutes, the Spanish coach alternated between individual and zone defenses, using each scheme for four to five possessions and then switching to the other for two to three possessions. This was the defensive rhythm set by Scariolo and his coaching staff.
When it came to zone defense, the Greeks seemed to have found a solution. In the second half, they frequently broke through it with just two or three straightforward passes, resulting in open shots from the corner.
Whether Greece would capitalize on these opportunities was another matter. However, Scariolo noticed how easily Greece was generating open shots and, with three minutes left, opted for a bold move.
He decided to use the box-and-one defense, a tactic that had significantly benefited Spain in 2022. This strategy was employed multiple times in playoff games and proved crucial in the final moments against Germany and France.
That’s precisely what occurred in Lille on Tuesday. With three minutes left, Greece encountered the box-and-one defense for the first time while trailing by four points.
Their reaction? As is typical with such an unconventional defensive strategy, it led to confusion and a rushed shot at the end of the shot clock.
Greece took a desperation shot that missed, giving Spain a chance to capitalize on their effective transition play and score two points.
The second possession fared little better. The Greeks had another unsuccessful sequence, with Giannis being called for an offensive foul. Meanwhile, Scariolo’s team outworked their opponents on the boards and secured two second-chance points.
This seemingly small but significant move by Scariolo provided Spain with a greater lead in the final minute and a half. It was enough to secure the victory and place Spain in a stronger position to advance to the Olympic quarterfinals.
