The terrible numbers, the way he scores and the outrageously low number on dribbles

Sasha Vezhenkov will be sidelined for 2 weeks with a toe injury, in an unfortunate turn of events as he looked to have hit his stride.

The 29-year-old returned to Piraeus in the summer with a golden contract. He stepped directly into the role he had when he left: That of the leader of Olympiakos. And the results were seen immediately, with the “red and white” having a 7-3 record after 10 games.

Often Vezenkov’s productivity seems taken for granted. Sometimes what he has done in each match is not even mentioned. He is currently averaging 18.5 points (2nd leading scorer in the EuroLeague), 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 54.6% shooting, 34.3% 3-pointers and 88..7% shooting and 22.9 points in PIR (rating system – 1st in the EuroLeague ) in almost 28 minutes of participation, almost… quietly.

The SPORT24 therefore, with the help of Hudl Instat, it presents Vezhenkov’s actions in the first 10 games of the season in the EuroLeague, so that it can be understood what Olympiacos is missing in his absence.

The ways he scores and the mythically low number on dribbles

Sasha Vezenkov is famous for the way he moves without the ball. His constant cuts to the basket, the way he gets his body close to the basket to hit potential mis-matches after changing screens, the threat he poses from the perimeter, all of this is what makes him special. This is also reflected in the way he scores, as shown below (note: situations where he has at least one try per match were included).

Vezenkov is a basketball oxymoron. He’s a player who theoretically doesn’t have a personal phase (although the truth is he can post, he just doesn’t do it often), but he’s self-proclaimed nonetheless. People wonder why this is, and the answer is – relatively – simple: The way he moves on the court, the fact that he’s always in the right spot is what makes him always… available to his teammates.

For this reason, Vezenkov gets a lot of attempts, although he doesn’t seem to create them. That’s why he’s followed by an outrageous number: While he’s scored a total of 185 points so far in the EuroLeague (94 2-pointers, 36 3-pointers and 55 shots), he’s needed just 12 dribbles to do it! This translates to 1.2 dribbles per game.

Vezhenkov has not needed more than two dribbles for any of his baskets this year, while in no match has he needed more than three dribbles in total to score. That’s why it’s a basketball oxymoron.

An equally impressive number for Vezhenkov – and indicative of his style of play – is this: In each game the Olympiakos star earns an average of 3.6 fouls, ranking 21st on the EuroLeague list (tied with Carsen Edwards). however, he is 3rd on the list of shots per game, taking 6.2 per game (first is Villeurbanne’s Tio Malendon with 6.7 per game, followed by Maccabi’s Saben Lee with 6.3 per game, while 6.2 per game is also Ti J Shorts of Paris).

Vezhenkov’s style of play is special. The fact that while he is a Stretch-4 (translation: Four with a good shot), he finishes most of his phases in the paint, his quick execution, his good placements all result in him getting proportionally fewer fouls than other players (from 20 players to be exact) is usually in a shooting position when he wins a foul.

His best… tricks and explanation

Sasha Vezenkov has hit a total of 59 shots this year. He is 47/74 from 2-pointers and 12/34 from 3-pointers. Of those 59 shots he has hit, 49 have come from assists from teammates. That’s 110 of his 130 points on shots, a number that translates to 84.6% of his points (not counting shots, otherwise that number sits at 59%).

Here are the players who have contributed the most points

If anyone has watched Olympiakos in recent years, they can certainly understand many of these numbers. For starters, the fact that Thomas Walkup is first by a margin makes sense since he is the team’s starting point guard. It is of course the following two players who practically represent the entire philosophy of Olympiakos: Mustafa Fal and Kostas Papanikolaou. The two follow them on the relevant list, despite the fact that this year they compete less than in any other season of their coexistence with Vezenkov. Fal, however, is still the pillar of Olympiakos’ attack when he plays, a tall man who passes exceptionally well – and therefore sees Vezenkov’s cuts – and Papanikolaou is the one who has the ability to constantly be with the star of the “red and whites”. since after years of working together she always knows where to find him.

Hopeful for Olympiakos is that the fourth on the list is Evan Fournier. The two Olympiakos stars have started to find chemistry (for the record, Vezenkov has also given Fournier 6 assists in a row), with their partnerships expected to be more and more often part of the game of Piraeus.

An impressive start and the time of Peters

Vezenkov’s numbers are impressive. Its more detailed numbers, even more so. The class and quality of the former NBAer was a given and it can already be seen on the floor. Perhaps the biggest compliment to Vezhenkov is the fact that those numbers seem… normal and expected for his talent.

The season still has a long way to go. Vezhenkov seemed to slowly find a better and better rhythm. Its beginning is impressive and let it pass in the… finesse. Olympiacos is at 7-3. Vezenkov is first in PIR and second scorer of the competition. The most important thing, however, is that he shows that he still has a lot more to do on the court.

With Vezenkov injured, of course, that means it’s Peters’ time. The American had a career season last year, filling – to the extent possible – Vezenkov’s shoes. Now he will have to do something similar. It won’t be easy. Of course, Peters has done it before. And he should do it now.