Westermann: “Panathinaikos can get hot at any moment at OAKA Arena” 1

Zalgiris held their first practice in OAKA Arena on Thursday evening, as they looked forward to their second away fixture in the Euroleague, facing off against Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.

Zalgiris guard Leo Westermann shared his thoughts on the upcoming matchup with Zalgiris TV.

“They changed their roster a little bit, but their philosophy remains the same. They are a very athletic team, pretty tall. They have a lot of plays and offensive sets, they’re capable of switching a lot on defense. Of course, it is a very tough opponent, especially in OAKA Arena. They can get fired up at any moment, so we have to control the game keep them from getting hot.”

Westermann pointed out the threat that their floor general, Nick Calathes poses for opponents’ defenses. While Calathes’ scoring numbers have dipped from 14.5 points per game last season to just 7.0 this year, his passing has gone unmatched, as he‘s dishing out 10.3 assists per game so far this year.

“You could easily say that Calathes is their main creator. They do have so many great players, though ­– Keith Langford, Lukas Lekavicius. Most of them can create for others as well as score themselves. For sure, Calathes is the main player on this team and everything starts from him. It certainly isn’t easy to guard him. Basically, you must stay in front of him. With some adjustments, hopefully we can do well to stop him.”