Isaiah Canaan on Hedgeout.net about Olympiacos’ consistency: “Coach Bartzokas has done a great job keeping us motivated and hungry”

Isaiah Canaan is excited about Olympiacos’ stellar play so far in the season and talks with Hedgeout.net about the keys to the “Reds” success and how head coach Giorgos Bartzokas has helped his players stay locked in the whole season.

Canaan and the “Reds” lead the way in the standings with a 20-8 record and have clinched their spot in the EuroLeague playoffs, being just a few wins away from securing the home-court advantage as well.

Isaiah Canaan Olympiacos Fenerbahce
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball

The home wins over Barcelona (77-70) and Bayern Munich (102-74) last week helped the Greek powerhouse become the first team to reach the 20-win mark in the season. As Isaiah Canaan says, the “Reds” relied on their defense to take control and protect their home.

“Defense was the key. We needed to pick up the energy a little bit, as we struggled in that area vs Armani Milano (83 points). We had to pick up our defense and the biggest key was the energy we had both against Barcelona and Bayern Munich,” the American guard stated.

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Olympiacos has been playing consistent basketball all season long and leads the league in assists (21.9 per game), PIR (104.2 per game) and steals (7.9 per game), while having the second-best offense, averaging 85 points per game.

Given how tough the competition is in the EuroLeague, with several teams fighting for the playoffs, how difficult is it for the “Reds” to play at the highest level for such a long time?

“It can be challenging, just stay locked in the whole season, coach Bartzokas has done a great job keeping us motivated, keeping us hungry. We are hungry ourselves, we have a bigger picture we are trying to get to, we know we have to get these steps to go to, so we have to bring it every night,” Isaiah Canaan tells Hedgeout.net about his team’s stellar play.

With six games to go, the “Reds” have the upper hand in the battle for a Top-2 finish and are considered by most basketball fans the grand favorite to reach the EuroLeague Final Four and claim the title.

“We let anybody else judge who is the favorite, we stay humble, take it game by game, we have to continue to improve and get better, we know we don’t get everybody our best shot and we have to be ready for what’s coming with the playoffs and hopefully the Final Four,” Isaiah Canaan added.

Isaiah Canaan Olympiacos Baskonia
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball

Isaiah Canaan has appeared in all 28 games this season, averaging 5.9 points and one assist per game, on 35.6% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc.

The American scoring guard and the “Reds” will look to come a step closer to the home-court advantage in the playoffs, as they take on Zalgiris Kaunas at Zalgirio Arena on Thursday.

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