His crazy run Olympiacu ahead of the Euroleague final four and at the Žalgirio Arena in Kaunas, had a rather unexpected stop in Milan, where he suffered his heaviest defeat of the year at home and abroad. A 21-point loss to Armani (83-62) ended the Red-Whites’ 7-game winning streak in Euroleaguebut does not threaten, at least directly, home play-off advantage, which, by their image, standings and schedule for the remaining 8 games, they firmly hold with both hands.

With a record of 18 wins and 8 losses, Olympiacos shares the 1st place in the standings in the Euroleague 26th round along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​with the difference that Madrid have a rescheduled game in the schedule, which, if they win, they will be the first to be alone. It is certainly not easy, as the match that was postponed due to the earthquakes in Turkey is the match against Anatolian Efes in Istanbul. Twice in a row, the Euroleague winners are starting to find their rhythm, and in order to be left without … roommates in the top eight in the standings, they need to beat Real Madrid. If they lose, they will be tied for 8th place with Maccabi, Valencia and Zalgiris, who currently have the same number of wins (13), but with a game in hand, so their motivation is very high.

Very important for Olympiacos is next Tuesday’s match against Barcelona at the SEF. If he beats her, he will have a huge advantage over his two main rivals, as in this scenario, he will clearly have the advantage in every draw, counting only the wins in four games between them. An advantage that he will partially retain even in the event of a defeat, if it is less in scale than the 10 points he won in Barcelona. It’s a draw, and if won, it will open the way for the No. 1 seed, who will bring home advantage and a (theoretically) more viable playoff opponent.

All this, of course, is relative, because given the characteristics of the current highly competitive Euroleague, no one can rest on their laurels in the regular season. For example, if (any) 1st player faces Anatol Efes, who is currently in 8th place, what is the probability that he will end the streak without losing a single home game? If Efes and Fenerbahce finish in 5th-8th place, they will certainly be undesirable opponents for any top 4 team that comes their way, despite home advantage.

Fenerbahce, of course, is likely to finish in the top four, not so much because they are on par with AS Monaco, but because they are backed up by high quality players like Dorsey and Belica, as well as Wilbekin and Motley that were badly hampered by injury. and here they are back. Monaco is unlikely to end up competing for the top four and will certainly be a welcome play-off contender, although they played 5 games against Olympiacos last year while Partizan and Baskonia, who follow them, have a record of 14- 12 and don’t look threatening to the Red-Whites.”

Olympiacos has a scheduling advantage in that it has given the SEF 5 of the last 8 games of the regular season, with the first two “devil weeks” ahead. Real Madrid have 5 matches at home and 4 away, while Barcelona will play 3 times at home and 5 away, once next Tuesday at SEF.

More detailed schedule for the top 3 teams:

• Olympiacos: 7/3 at Barcelona, ​​9/3 at Bayern, 16/3 away at Zalgiris, 24/3 at Partizan, 29/3 at Villeurbanne, 31/3 at Panathinaikos 6/4 visiting Red Star 13/4 in Baskonia.
• Real: 7/3 at Basque Country, 9/3 at Valencia, 14/3 away at Ephesus, 16/3 away at Armani, 24/3 away at Virtus, 29/3 at Fenerbahce, 31/3 away at Partizana, 6/4 in Bavaria, 13/4 near Maccabi.
• Barcelona: 7/3 at Olympiacos, 10/3 at Fenerbahce, 17/3 at Crvena Zvezda, 23/3 at Barcelona, ​​28/3 at Partizan, 30/3 at Alba, 7/4 at Armani , 14/4 Main Valencia.

In draws with teams currently in the top eight, Olympiacos 2-0 v Real Madrid, Fener, 1-0 v Barcelona, ​​0-2 v Monaco, 0-1 v Partizan, 1 :1. -0 with Baskonia and 1-1 with Efes, falling behind because they won +6 in SEF and lost -11 in Polis. In short, in most cases of possible draws, preference is always given to the “key” match that follows Barcelona, ​​which is 1:1 with Real Madrid, but has the advantage due to a better points difference.

With only 8 games left, it’s clear that every win counts, especially in the places around the top 8 where many teams are crowded, with minor differences and a very delicate balance. The five best teams (Real, Olympiacos, Barcelona, ​​Fenerbahce, Monaco) have a big advantage to initially “close” the playoffs and fight for the top four, while for the other three positions 6- 8 competition is very strong. Partizan and Baskonia, with a score of 14-12, have a small lead over teams that follow with 13 wins (Efes one game less, Maccabi, Valencia, Zalgiris), and write off ” Virtus” (12-14) or even “Red Star” no one can. (11-15) or advanced the last Armani, who reached 10-15 with a game under.

Panathinaikos hurt themselves by losing many games in overtime or in one hit. He dropped out of playoff contention early, a goal that was achievable given the value of his squad and the weight of the shirt. The Greens have an 8-18 record and can’t get into the top 8 even if they win all the remaining games. Alba, Villeurbanne and Bavaria are also out of competition.

Tournament table (26 matches): Real (25 matches) 18-7, Olympiacos 18-8, Barcelona 18-8, Fenerbahce (25 matches) 16-9, Monaco 16-10, Partizan 14-12, Baskonia 14-12, Ephesus (25 years old) 13-12, Maccabi 13-13, Valencia 13-13, Zalgiris 13-13, Virtus 12-14, Red Star 11-15, Armani (25 years old) 10-15, Bayern 10-16, Panathinaikos 8-18, Villeurbanne 8-18, Alba 7-19.