What seems like a decisive week in the future of Real Madrid in the Euroleague started in a very bad way, with a resounding defeat in the visit to Piraeus (100-82). As a tip, the whites, who had won by 12 at the Movistar Arena, gave up the average to Olympiacos. It can be key. Leadership is beginning to be a chimera. Falling from the top four places, a very real threat.
A new away defeat for Madrid, which worsens their away record to 5-13. His reliability when he leaves home is zero. This time he didn’t manage the game and gave it away. He lost it in advance. He was only ahead in the second quarter, when for a few minutes he was the virtual leader of the Euroleague thanks to a run of 0-18 with which he recovered from a terrible start (27-12).
Afterwards, Olympiacos regrouped with the unstoppable Vezenkov (24+9) and, above all, Dorsey (37 points with 7/11 in triples). Between the two of them they almost have as much rating as all the Madridistas (76 out of 80), who soon ran out of options. The two stars marked the duel with their scoring and their breaks. Madrid’s brutal partial came with them on the bench. The subsequent 14-2 response was led by them. And they made it 9-0 with three triples that broke the game in the third quarter, too.
Madrid’s staging was inappropriate for a large team and a transcendent match. Without ideas in attack and without defense, with too many losses and little success. Midway through the first quarter the score was 13-2. The Whites were 1/7 in shooting, including five unsuccessful triples, and three turnovers. Scariolo must not have been “extremely happy” with his team’s game away from home, as he said in the preview.
An inoperative Campazzo was replaced by a revitalizing Feliz. Together with Lyles’ triples (22 points with 6/8) and the attacking rebound, they resurrected Madrid taking advantage of the rest of Vezenkov and Dorsey. The 0-18 made it 35-40. But the local stars returned and everything changed: 49-42 at halftime.
After the restart, three triples in a row from both, two from Dorsey and one from Vezenkov, once again took Olympiacos off the mark. Feliz atoned for his mistakes on the bench, Hezonja mixed successes with haste and Maledon was as inconsequential as in recent times. The second time on the bench of the two Greek leaders did have a replacement. A triple by Ward made it +19 (84-65). Far from fighting for the average, Madrid found themselves 22 down (92-70). Another stick away from home. Tomorrow, visit Fenerbahce, which is going downhill: one win in seven games.
