Panathinaikos vs Paris Analysis: Played Their Game and Lost

Panathinaikos had a golden opportunity to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs ahead of the regular season finale but suffered a home defeat against Paris with a score of 101-98. Now, they need victories against Monaco (away) and Red Star (home) to avoid complications. The reasons for Panathinaikos’ loss at OAKA are clear. Once again, the Greens entered the game too relaxed, failing to seize control of Paris early on, allowing the French team to find their rhythm quickly and bombard the green basket from beyond the arc. Instead of imposing their own style of play, Panathinaikos was dragged into Paris’s fast-paced ‘run and gun’ game, where the French side appears unbeatable. By the end of the third quarter, the difference stretched to 17 points. When Panathinaikos finally woke up and focused on defense in the fourth quarter, they managed to significantly close the gap and return to contention for victory. However, the Greens can’t consistently pull off comebacks in the final moments every week. They achieved it against Alba and Makabi recently, but couldn’t repeat the feat against Paris, who thoroughly deserved their win. Ultimately, Juancho Hernangomez missed a crucial three-point prayer in the final play. The standout player of the match, essentially playing alone against Panathinaikos, was TJ Sorrentine. The diminutive guard put on a show at OAKA, posing an unsolvable problem for Panathinaikos’s defense from start to finish. Sorrentine dished out 14 assists, tying his career-high in the competition, falling just one rebound short of a triple-double. In 29:53 minutes, he scored 20 points (6/12 two-pointers, 1/4 three-pointers, 5/6 free throws), grabbed 9 rebounds, recorded 14 assists, 2 steals, 9 drawn fouls, 4 turnovers, 3 personal fouls, and earned 36 rating points in the EuroLeague system. This summer will likely see him far away from Paris…