Greek National Team 2021

[mojo13]

Yep, without Printezis we literally lost all our SF and PF of the full rooster. We are going to go with our B team and hope for the best. We may not even make the second round. But hey, it's a small tournament. Crazy things happen.

Maybe to make you feel a little better - we have no idea who showed up to camp yet. Three days in and it is a near total mystery - when that happens it is often bad news..

Just RJ Barrett and Dwight Powell confirmed so far.

[Toruko]

Watched the second game of Greece against Puerto Rico to get a better picture of the Greek NT. First of all horrible team of Puerto Rico. Never watched a bad PR team like this. This is not BB what they are playing. It is more who will get to the rim next game.

Greeks again were shooting horribly and unlike the Greeks we know too many TO in the first half.

The good: Mouratos developed splendidly also Lountzis was good. You Greeks really know how to build up a play maker. Both of them would be the starting PG of team Turkey without a doubt!

The bad: shooting and big rotation. Kostas is a very raw guy with 24 and wont be able to keep the ball in his hands for very long. He could give a bit rim protection and some pick and roll action if it is just finishing at the rim but an injury prone and TO prone. Kavvadas is even worse. Skill set is nearly zero, can hardly move and is slow as hell.

All three teams and even China will exploit that weakness for sure.

And i am really sorry that I suggested Rogkavopoulos. Not that he cant defend anyone he is also not able to score.

I see a team with many talented guards but thats it.

[Victorious]

Well, Greece may be an underdog this year, after Canada and Turkey. But given Kostas Antetokoumpo performance we clearly saw that the future of Greece in the center position is secure. Papagiannis and Kostas, both 23 year olds, will do just fine in future big tournaments.

I also think that Mouratos and Lountzis have a lot of room for improvement the coming years. Rogkavopoulos is too young to be judged upon. But he is not ready for big tournaments yet. He needs a few years at least.

Tomorrow I see a clear win for Serbia. But I have to say that this Greek team really had very little time to prepare. And frankly, the coach is essentially trying to find out which are the best fitting final 4 players of the team.

[Toruko]

Well, Greece may be an underdog this year, after Canada and Turkey. But given Kostas Antetokoumpo performance we clearly saw that the future of Greece in the center position is secure. Papagiannis and Kostas, both 23 year olds, will do just fine in future big tournaments

You are indeed the underdog against Canada and Turkey but also the underdog against Czech Republic. Its not quite clear if Vesely will attend but you barely beat them in 2019 with a full roster. And btw. every team has the problem with short prep time and every game is a low quality game so far.

[Toruko]

To the big problem of Greece just one two sentences. The traditional big rotation of Greece was never very talented because they dont have to be. All creativity comes from the guards. The only guy who was able to create his own shot at high degree was Printezis. His last shot against CSKA in 2012 is still in my mind and also 2019 his crazy shot against Brazil.

To fill this gap is a problem for itself because printezis always contributed like 15-17 points in tournaments. Mitoglou is a good defender but not a scoring type guy. Taken away one of the best passers on the world I dont see any substitution for him. Kostas on the other hand must leave the States asap if he wants to have a carrier at all. He is not 23 again he is 97 born and didnt make one serious game.

Giannis considering he comes to the next tournaments would give you single-handedly elite defense and rim protection, elite transition game but he cant create anything with the ball so scoring will be a huge problem in the future. Even now with Calathes I would be super surprised if you ever score 70+ in any of the following games. Maybe against Turkey if you have a good day since our defense is traditionally bad.

[Victorious]

To the big problem of Greece just one two sentences. The traditional big rotation of Greece was never very talented because they dont have to be. All creativity comes from the guards. The only guy who was able to create his own shot at high degree was Printezis. His last shot against CSKA in 2012 is still in my mind and also 2019 his crazy shot against Brazil.

Printezis is one of Europe's best. Nothing to say about that. A loss is a loss. But hey, his replacement is essentially Giannis. Are we to complain about that? Papagiannis is essentially Bourousis replacement, while Kostas is going to be another center Greece never had. He can only get better. I wonder, if he gains some muscle he could even be the number one center. In three to four years, Greece may have the strongest back court in recent history.

To fill this gap is a problem for itself because printezis always contributed like 15-17 points in tournaments. Mitoglou is a good defender but not a scoring type guy. Taken away oe of the best passers on the world I dont see any substitution for him. Kostas on the other hand must leave the States asap if he wants to have a carrier at all. He is not 23 again he is 97 born and didnt make one serious game.


Giannis considering he comes to the next tournaments would give you single-handedly elite defense and rim protection, elite transition game but he cant create anything with the ball so scoring will be a huge problem in the future. Even now with Calathes I would be super surprised if you ever score 70+ in any of the following games. Maybe against Turkey if you have a good day since our defense is traditionally bad.

Giannis, Papagiannis and Kostas are all excellent shot blockers. Much more explosive than Bourousis, Koufos, Printezis, Mavroeidis, or Sofo and Papadopoulos before that. Really, for me an upgrade in the long term. And also, Papapetrou creates more than Papanikolaou. What Greece will loose in Printezis. It will gain in Papapetrou. Although I hope Printezis will be part of Greece for a couple more years.

The way I see it, the center position was Greece's Achilles heel. But today Kostas really looked good. I agree though that it would be wise for him to develop his game in Europe. Like his brother Thanassis.

[fasoulaki]

I did not have the opportunity to watch the game live yesterday but after watching it this morning I still think they have no chance to qualify but I have the impression that this team has some chemistry. They like each other. Maybe this is due to the FIBA windows the last years. Maybe this will be of benefit in other tournaments.

Kostas works fine in offense and he also contributes with spectacular block shots but I had the impression that he has problems with block outs under the rim.

EDIT:One player was tested positive on Corona. The federation did not announce which person specififcally is affected.

EDIT: Mitoglou was injured during the game but I dont know how serious his injury is. Pitino said that Greece is living Murphy's law and even he himself has sprained his foot.

[mojo13]

I did not have the opportunity to watch the game live yesterday but after watching it this morning I still think they have no chance to qualify but I have the impression that this team has some chemistry. They like each other. Maybe this is due to the FIBA windows the last years. Maybe this will be of benefit in other tournaments.

Kostas works fine in offense and he also contributes with spectacular block shots but I had the impression that he has problems with block outs under the rim.

EDIT:One player was tested positive on Corona. The federation did not announce which person specififcally is affected.

EDIT: Mitoglou was injured during the game but I dont know how serious his injury is. Pitino said that Greece is living Murphy's law and even he himself has sprained his foot.

Sound like Calathes has now joined the team. Spanoulis still with the calf injury and is 50/50 to make the final 12. Also heard Georgios Papagiannis might be injured. But not sure the seriousness?

[fasoulaki]

Sound like Calathes has now joined the team.

Kalathis was present during the game but he just arrived from the airport. He was more or less a spectator. He will join the team officially at the practice at Tuesday.

Spanoulis still with the calf injury and is 50/50 to make the final 12.

I have not read or heared such information. Thats completely new for me. I think he will join the team.

Also heard Georgios Papagiannis might be injured. But not sure the seriousness?

He has some pain in the adductors and will loose the practice at Tuesday

[Victorious]

Sound like Calathes has now joined the team. Spanoulis still with the calf injury and is 50/50 to make the final 12. Also heard Georgios Papagiannis might be injured. But not sure the seriousness?

Spanoulis and Papagiannis seem to have minor injuries. They will join the team. As I wrote before, Greece lacks its four forwards. Giannis, Printezis, Papapetrou, Papanikolaou (also Thanassis). The truth is that aside from Mitoglou, Greece has no real answer for these losses.

There is no doubt that this is a considerably weekended Greek team.

[fasoulaki]

The truth is that aside from Mitoglou, Greece has no real answer for these losses.

While Pitino said that he will play Mitoglou on 3 I guess that we will see the 3-guard-scheme many times on court.

[fasoulaki]

Athinaiou, Bochoridis, Mouratos und Chougkas have been cut from the roster.

Its a pitty for Athinaiou. He is always present when the NT needs him.

I am wondering if Agravanis would not have been a good addition to this team wich lost many forwards. He has a bad temper as he also has shown again in the A1 finals but apart from that he might be able to contribute more than a player like Chrisikopoulos.

[Toruko]

Seems old man Spanoulis is also out of the qualifiers.

The roster should be looking like this from now on.

Calathes
Sloukas
Giannapoulos
Mitoglou
Papagiannis

Bench is really a problem. I would guess

Lountzis
Larentzakis
Rokgavopoulos
fatal error
Kostas A.

[fasoulaki]

Spanoulis still with the calf injury and is 50/50 to make the final 12.

So it seems you were right and very well informed.

I think this decision makes sense very much. No Giannis, no forwards, no chances to qualify. Better stay at home and spend the summer with the familiy on the beach. And you know the kids grow up so fast. You have to enjoy every second with them.

[Katastroika]

This Athinaiou cut doesn't seem reasonable to me.