I was planning to give you a scouting report on Olympiacos but it's midnight and I'm still stuck at the office
so I'll just offer a few pointers on players to watch:
Sofoclis Schortsanites
Baby Shaq has been battling weight problems for years but this season he appears to be somewhat in shape and resembles more and more the palyer who helped Greece defeat the US Team in in 2006. He's huge so he practivally steam rolls over almost everyone in European games but that won't work with Shaq. He's pretty agile for his size and finishes strong around the basket. He has no finesse post-up moves and is a terrible free throw shooter (it's hard to work on your game when you spend months in Swiss weight clinics). The Clippers have his draft rights.
Milos Teodosic
Touted as a huge talent a couple of years back, Teodosic has spent the last two seasons in and out of Coach Yiannakis' doghouse. However, he put on a great display in last month's European Championship where he lead Serbia to an unexpected appearance in the Final and was voted best PG of the tournament. Has great court vision and can shoot the European 3-pointer. Can't imagine how he's gonna stay in front of Mo.
Yiannis Bouroussis
Has been mentioned a few times on this board. Long arms, nice jumper, always plays with heart. Has improved vastly during the last 3-4 years, coming from obscurity to gain a place on the national team.
Josh Childress
Another guy whose name has been mentioned quite a lot on this board. He's the highest paid player in Europe although it's hard to see him as franchise player. Hopefully, the addition of Kleiza and Wafer will open up opponent's defenses creating more space for him in the lane.
Linas Kleiza - Von Wafer
you've probably seen them play more than I have
Theodoros Papaloukas
Used to be the best pg in Europe but his game has dropped off recently. Very smart player, below-avg shooter, great size for his position
Patrick Beverley
2nd round draft pick by the Miami Heat. Brought as insurance at the PG position, although I understand that he's more of a scoring guard. He's put on some impressive performances in the pre-season.
Kostas Papanikolaou
Versatile small forward, considered the greatest talent in Greece at the moment. Needs to put on some muscle.
NIcola Vujicic
One of the most versatile bigs in Europe for years, he has been slowed down by age and injuries. I'm sure he'll be glad to see his old teammate in Maccabi, Anthony Parker.
OVerall, I see the Cavs getting an easy win although I hope our boys put up a decent fight and put up a nice showing for the fans. It's great to have your two favourite teams facing off against each other in an exhibition game but sadly, the game won't be broadcasted back in Greece
so I will read all about it in the morning (assuming I get home at some point tonight).
Enjoy the game everyone!
