I bet Jon Diebler is excited about playing Maroussi tomorrow night. They called him “3bler” at Ohio State. He holds the Big 10 record for most 3s. Diebler now plays for Panionios and is the best 3-point shooter in the Greek league.
'We gotta stop all these 3s!'
You know who doesn’t defend 3-pointers very well? Yup, the black-and-yellow (you know what it is). Maroussi’s last six opponents, on average, have connected on 53 percent of their 3-point attempts, compared to just 34 percent in the first 10 games of the season. In any case, Maroussi lost all 16 games.
The Portland Trail Blazers selected Diebler, 23, in the second round (51st overall) of last year’s draft. During the NBA lockout, he signed a one-year contract with Panionios, which also brought in power forward Alex Stepheson (6-9, 250 lbs), who went undrafted out of USC.
Diebler is shooting 53 percent from 3-point range. Only Konstantinos Sloukas of Olympiakos has a higher success rate (53.6 percent) but on far fewer attempts. Diebler’s scoring average is 9.4 points for the season, but nearly 12 points in the past eight games, as he’s become a more regular starter.
Maroussi is coming off an emotional loss (I can’t find the F key for that phrase, but it would be useful), 86-82, at PAOK on Saturday. Nestoras Kommatos scored 40 points and played nearly the entire game. We’ll see how the 34-year-old responds with just a few days rest. Unlike the NBA, it’s usually just one game per week here.
Kommatos is the league’s leading scorer, at close to 21 points per game. But it hasn’t been enough to get Maroussi in the win column. The club is nearly bankrupt and recently told its players that it probably won’t be able to pay them for the rest of the season. Two reliable starters, Frank Elegar and Dimitris Haritopoulos, left the team.
With a full squad earlier this season, Maroussi played Panionios tough in a 69-67 loss. Yannis Gagaloudis, who is still with the team although looking for other offers, led Maroussi with 18 points.
Stepheson (11.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) hasn’t played since January 28 because of a knee injury. He’s missed four of the last six games. He’s doubtful for tomorrow night. Panionios is 7-1 at home — the one loss coming against Olympiakos (15-1).
kingsofmaroussi 