Panathinaikos Survive Efes Thanks to Juancho Hernangomez

It didn’t quite feel inevitable but you could always tell this wasn’t ending in a blowout. Panathinaikos were kept in the game in large part thanks to Juancho Hernangomez. Eventually the rest of the troops rallied and they, somehow, overcame Anadolu Efes in Game 1 of the Euroleague playoffs.

Juancho Hernangomez was a beast and Panathinaikos needed him to be. The Euroleague champions looked in deep trouble for most of Tuesday’s Game 1 win over Anadolu Efes. Yet their comeback came as no surprise. It was strange yet also familiar viewing.

Bo Cruz, take a bow

There hasn’t been a Juancho Hernangomez game quite like this since the EuroBasket 2022 final. Even that was fuelled heavily by his success from deep. Against Anadolu Efes on Tuesday, we got the total package.

The Panathinaikos big finished with 20 points, including 7 of 7 inside, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks including one to effectively seal the game at the death. Last season, his first with the Greens, he looked like an expensive luxury. This year, he’d have won the most improved player award if Euroleague awarded one.

Yet still, he hadn’t reached a level with Panathinaikos where he was expected to be the guy to take the load. Ergin Ataman likes to ride with whatever is working on a given night, so Juancho was unleashed. Adam Sandler’s co-star duly delivered with career highs in scoring and rebounding.

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It was almost worthless

Remember the jokes about Marvin Bagley’s perfect night while the Grizzlies got destroyed? They were only two nights ago and could easily have been repeated based on what we saw in Athens.

The OAKA delivered the raucous atmosphere we expect. Panathinaikos came out with the swagger and confidence expected of the reigning Euroleague champions. The grit and intensity required seemed to have been left in the locker room. For the bulk of the first three quarters, PAO were just bad. It took Anadolu Efes a while to truly react but, once they did, they took hold of this game.

This column could very easily have been focused on Vincent Poirier rather than Juancho Hernangomez. Heaven knows he delivered big time in the game’s first 20 minutes. Across the board, Efes were just better for more than half of this game.

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So what happened?

The bad news for Panathinaikos came mostly in the back court. Inefficiency reigned as Kostas Sloukas, Lorenzo Brown, Kendrick Nunn, and Jerian Grant combined for 10 assists against 6 turnovers. That’s not catastrophic but you also expect more out of this kind of back court depth.

Added to this were the shooting woes of Grant and Nunn. Grant was 1 of 6 on the night and started 0 of 5, while Nunn went just 4 of 14. At Euroleague playoff level, that’s not a recipe for survival. Fortunately for PAO, it wasn’t like Anadolu Efes were exactly lights out. Indeed, the Istanbul club finished with an even uglier total from deep of 9 of 31 compared to 10 of 30 for the Greens.

These are all really just symptoms of the wider issue that seemed to impact the Greens throughout the bulk of the game. The overall performance, the focus and intensity, wasn’t at a playoff level. This isn’t an effort question as during the 40 minutes Panathinaikos were clearly trying. The problem was that they seemed to not have come in mentally realising what flavour of effort was required.

Yet PAO still won

Once more, take a bow Juancho Hernangomez. He was the reason that everything else that clicked into place had time to. Hernangomez was mentally where he needed to be from the off and was an utter star out there. He carried those around him until they got to the psychological place required to win.

That was when the small things started to click together. Wenyen Gabriel, generally awful from the line this season, nailed a pair to give Panathinaikos the lead and made a big defensive play on the next possession. Kendrick Nunn found a way to score again after suffering mightily. Grant got his bucket. All those pieces started falling together.

The reason people talk about PAO as looking like an NBA roster is because it really does. Nunn, Gabriel, Grant, Cedi Osman, Brown, Juancho, and even the unused Tibor Pleiss had their time there. They’re used to having to find a way to elevate and work with objectively better players than them. They also relish the chance to take on greater responsibility. In the end, the Euroleague champions found a way.

They really need to step up

All that being said. If it takes more Juancho Hernangomez heroics on Thursday night to get Panathinaikos focused then Ergin Ataman ought to roar so hard post-game that the locker room needs to be repainted. At both ends, the Euroleague champions simply weren’t at the standard they hold themselves to.

More importantly, with Game 2 in mind, Anadolu Efes clearly can perform better too. Luca Banchi knows he let one slip away tonight. Still, he knows he can get a more efficient performance out of this roster. Just because they faded on Tuesday, that doesn’t mean they’ll shrink between now and Thursday.

There is work to be done in both camps. Juancho can take his flowers for the night. He’s earned them. The Greens still need two more wins to get to Abu Dhabi. They won’t come easy.

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