Zeljko Obradovic held a press conference today referring to the game tomorrow against Zalgiris Kaunas (21:45), in the context of the Euroleague 3rd competition date. Panathinaikos’ coach referred to the “clover’s” opponents, but also mentioned his thoughts regarding the form of Euroleague in the future on the occasion of the game taking place on a Friday.
“For the first time in Euroleague we will be playing on Friday and personally I believe that this is an excellent day for basketball. I also hope that our fans will be with us, because this is an excellent day and an excellent time for basketball to be played. It is also important that we are facing Zalgiris Kaunas, a very good team that has a long tradition and a very good roster as well. They have already changed coach twice. Last week they came very close to winning Unicaja Màlaga in the away game, by playing very well. It is a team that, irrespective of which coach they have, its players likes to run the court, attack during fastbreaks, and score easy shots. The first key is for us to stop the fastbreaks and prevent open three-point shots. We are OK, in the last few days we worked well and we hope to play a good game tomorrow. Our only problem is that there is cold in the OAKA and they have told us that there is no solution to that. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last… But it is not nice to see your players not being able to shoot normally and trying to warm up their hands during practice. I am not saying this as any kind of excuse; I am just saying it because this is the way things are. We must play well and win the game tomorrow.”
Obradovic was asked how difficult it was for the Panathinaikos’ coaching team to prepare the game, given the coach changes in Zalgiris Kaunas: “We try to prepare our players based on the individual characteristics of the Lithuanian team players. Already in the two games after coach Zouros they played differently; they will play an even more different game now too. We know the ideas Trifunovic has as coach, and we know how he played last season with Lietuvos Rytas, against which we had played in the Top16. We know some of the things he likes in the game and likes his teams to apply in defense and offence. For us it is certainly easier to have the same coach in a team throughout the season, the same coach in many games so that we can prepare our team to play against his. I believe, though, that so many changes are not easy to them either. The best thing for us to do is to play well and to see what is best for us.”
Zeljko Obradovic was asked about the game being played on Friday: “If I know anything about Euroleague is that it likes the idea of Friday; that is to say that it likes the idea of the games being played on Thursday s and Fridays. I can assure you that one day we will be playing only in Euroleague and this is logical for Europe. In the national championship everyone will be playing 2-3 months a year. This is the only way for basketball to survive in Europe and this is my personal viewpoint. What difference does it make if we play on Friday? We are playing on Fridays now and then again on Sunday or Monday. Let us be honest… will there be more fans in the arenas if we play on Sundays compared to Mondays? I believe that Friday is an excellent day for Euroleague, because there are no other games on Friday and it is just before the weekend. And do not get me wrong: I am saying that the national championship will continue to exist, but toward the end of the season. We already have examples from other countries. It is possible to have the playoffs or a mini tournament season already in May. Unless we do that, we must all be ready for the possibility of the NBA coming to Europe and getting some of the teams over there. So the question for all those who love basketball here in Europe is what the next step should be.”
The question as to what an extent this will be more tiring to the players was answered by Zeljko Obradovic with “collaboration” being the keyword in his answer: “What is so different now? We, as Panathinaikos, are already playing in three different competitions. Do you think that this is easy? There are 10 teams in Europe for which it is important to win in all competitions. There is pressure on them too. They all aim at the top in all three competitions; and in some countries there is also some sort of Supercup. This does not change anything. We must all agree that it seems like a problem, but if we sit down and discuss it, there will be an appropriate calendar found, that must certainly take into account time for the players to rest. There is Euroleague/ULEB, but also FIBA, FIBA Europe. They must sit down and talk about it, because Euroleague considers its own competition important and I agree with that. But I also agree that Eurobasket, the Olympics and the World Championship are important. How many months does the NBA last for? In total? Seven months…and they play 82 games. It is not even necessary for Euroleague to last 7 months. It can last six months and with 10 games for all teams in the Top16, which I think is a good idea. But let us face it that, with all due respect to all teams, some teams are on a certain level, whereas others are not. So let us change something. It will be absolutely necessary to discuss this seriously, because some things must change. We will have to have more players, not just 12. Everything will be very different, but I believe that with the right discussion at the right time and through collaboration, it will be easy for us to also find time for the players to rest.”
Obradovic was asked if there is any truth in what some articles say about Panathinaikos having made a proposal to Luol Deng coming to the team. He was rather stunned and answered: “Not from the basketball department of Panathinaikos (laughing)… I have no idea about such a thing…this is the first time I hear about that. Undoubtedly, if you ask me about it, he is an excellent player, but there is no such thing. We have 14 players, 16 if you add the young ones, so we are OK”.
