Breakdown: FC Barcelona vs. Olympiacos Piraeus
These storied clubs meet in a best-of-five showdown for a single ticket to the Final Four in Berlin.
Two storied clubs will square off in the playoff series that features FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus. Barca has played at each of the last three Final Fours and reached the championship game in 2021. The Reds competed at the last two Final Fours and got to the championship game last season. Only one of these franchises will keep its streak alive and head to Berlin after what promises to be a thrilling best-of-five series.
Little separates these teams; both finished the regular season with 22-12 records and only by virtue of a tie-breaker does Barca possess the home-court advantage in the series.
History and crossed pathsMultiple-time EuroLeague winners and blue-collar powerhouses, Barca and Olympiacos have crossed paths many times in the later stages of the competition. In 1997, Olympiacos conquered its first continental crown by downing Barca 73-58 in the championship game in Rome, Italy. David Rivers had 26 points and was chosen as the 1997 Final Four MVP. When they met for the EuroLeague crown in 2010, Barca bested Olympiacos 86-68 to win its second - and to date, last - EuroLeague title. Juan Carlos Navarro earned Final Four MVP honors that season and remains the only Spanish player to get that award.
Aside from those two finals, Barca and Olympiacos also crossed paths in the 2015 EuroLeague Playoffs. Barca also had the home-court advantage for that series, but lost Game 2 at Palau Blaugrana, 63-76, behind 22 points from Georgios Printezis. Olympiacos prevailed in both games at home, sealing its Final Four ticket in Game 4 with a 71-68 victory on a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer by Printezis. Tomas Satoransky and Alex Abrines, who lost in that playoff series, have a second chance against the Reds nine years later. Olympiacos team captain Kostas Papanikolaou and head coach Georgios Bartzokas have both spent time with Barca in the past, which adds even more spice to this series.
It is hard to say which will be the more important factor. Barca has been strong at home all season long and Olympiacos has been on fire over the past two months. Barca finished the regular season tied with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul for the best home record at 15-2. Only AS Monaco and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan have been able to strike in Barcelona. Its numbers are significantly better at home, too. Barca ranks fifth in scoring (87.3 ppg.), third in assists (20.2 apg.), first in two-point shooting (58.7%) and second from downtown (39.8%) at home. Its numbers are much lower on the road: 78.1 points, 18.6 assists, 53.5% in two-point shooting (11th overall) and 34.3% shooting from beyond the arc (15th overall).
Olympiacos won 10 of its last 11 regular season games to finish in fifth place. Only Monaco had a better final push, winning 12 of the last 13. Half of those 10 wins were on the road, which allowed Olympiacos to become one of just four teams to finish the regular season with a positive road record, 9-8. For the second consecutive season, Olympiacos is the best defensive team in the competition, having allowed a mere 73.3 points per game. Over its last 10 wins, Olympiacos has held opponents to low shooting percentages (52.2% 2FG, 32.4% 3FG) and has forced 14.3 turnovers.
Loads of exciting matchupsThe fact that both teams are so deep makes this series even more unpredictable. The biggest similarities are arguably found at the point guard position. Barca's Ricky Rubio, back in the EuroLeague Playoffs after 13 years, and Olympiacos's Thomas Walkup are defensive leaders able to stop any defender. That's when it gets tricky. Nigel Williams-Goss of Olympiacos and Satoransky are very different point guards. Barca's Nico Laprovittola can score in many ways, while his counterpart Isaiah Canaan is an explosive scorer who can change any game. Barca can turn to pure shooters Abrines and Dario Brizuela to spread Olympiacos's defense. At small forward, Nikola Kalinic has the experience for Barcelona, but Coach Bartzokas can use Shaquielle McKissic, Papanikolaou and even Ignas Brazdeikis against him.
The battle in the paint should be equally interesting. After Moses Wright joined the Reds, Olympiacos is really deep at center, especially now that potential difference-maker Nikola Milutinov is back. We are talking about some of the best per-minute big men in the competition. Barca's Willy Hernangomez is first in PIR per 40 minutes (32.4) and teammate Jan Vesely is fourth (29.9). Milutinov ranks second on that board (31.7), Moustapha Fall is 24th (24.9) while Wright (28.8) did not play enough games to appear in the standings. One of the most exciting matchups comes at power forward when Jabari Parker, one of the best newcomers in the competition, goes against Olympiacos's scoring leader Alec Peters (13.4 ppg.).
In a nutshell, you have everything you can ask for in a EuroLeague Playoff series: tradition, great players and two teams with clear strengths trying to make the most of it. Enjoy!
