...beware of the black-and-yellow…[Iralkis] ready-tomake upset... it's a pleasure to follow the growth [of PAOK]...

You like good offensive basketball? Better stop in Thessaloniki and catch a glimpse of what’s offered:

 

Aris

 

They can be easily considered the biggest ticket in town, seeming to have tools to reach glorious achievements.

 

The team is inspired by mighty Nestoras Kommatos, who’s playing extremely solid offence, becoming the most feared scoring-machine of the league. He’s great at finishing fast-breaks, showing uncommon athletic skills often producing three-point plays. And he fits perfectly with Aris’ running “4x100 relay”  version featuring  Smush Parker and Toby Bailey as guards. But the team always appears to be well-balanced, since it can be adapted to slower and more physical game, when needed, with Nikos Vetoulas and Giannis Lappas to contribute from bench. In the frontcourt, depth is guaranteed by the rotation of four players who know what their job is and almost never try to overdo things. The most effective one should be Fedor Likholitov, who’s supposed to step up when season will be on the line. Panathinaikos, Marousi, and whatever team thinks to have chances to win it all: better beware of the black-and-yellow…

 

Iraklis

 

Iraklis is producing good-looking basketball as well, but their ranking does not reward all the good things they do on court.

 

The main issue is about depth: the bench is almost ineffective, and when a sub comes in, it’s not necessarily great news for Iraklis. But if we’re talking about starters, well, they’re proving to be great players.

 

There’s already been much talk about point-guard Dimitris Diamantidis, whose all-around game sets the rhythms of Iraklis passing-game. Off-guard Savvas Iliadis seems to make the most out of this system, being a true “piranha” near the basket, despite size, collecting huge amounts of free-throws. His main weakness is outside shooting, a fundamental that he’ll better improve during summer training to climb to a higher level. Smooth Giorgios Pavlidis is simply beautiful to watch, with his perfect shooting-mechanics. Center Lazaros Papadopoulos completes the Fab – Greek - Four. Known as a banger and a hustler, he developed solid inside game and passing skills, especially when doubled.

 

In the end, Iraklis is struggling to reach the postseason, but they definitely deserve it. And they could be really dangerous in a two out of three series… and ready-to-make upset.

 

Paok

 

If we’re talking about quality, this team seems to be a step behind the previous two. There’s plenty of role players - led by Slovenian Ivica Jurkovic - who have court-awareness, surely can play, but seldom show brilliant action. Anyway,  there’s two players worth watching: point guard Damir Mulaomerovic and talented young shooting-guard Kostas Vasileiadis. The latter at 18, is a fearless shooter, always ready to hit a deadly three-pointer, no matter how many he missed so far. It’s a pleasure to follow these youngsters’ growth…

 

In the end, friends in Thessaloniki, be proud of the quality-basketball output in your town.