Filling the Void: Olympiacos’ Top Targets to Replace Moses Wright
Scouting the Market for the Perfect Big to Bolster Olympiacos’ Front Court Depth
In a significant development for Olympiacos, Moses Wright has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to health concerns. With Filip Petrusev's departure, the team now faces a critical challenge in maintaining its front court depth, currently relying on Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov. They are currently on the market for a Backup Big to replace Wright’s physicality and defensive tenacity.
What Wright brings to the table
Moses Wright has been a pivotal role player for Olympiacos with his energy and ability to move making up for his smaller size (listed at 2.03m). His dynamic performance statistics tell a compelling story of efficiency and defensive prowess. Averaging 12.9 minutes per game, Wright consistently delivered 4.7 points with a notable 21.8% usage rate. His true value, however, extends beyond traditional scoring metrics.
Statistically, Wright has been a defensive catalyst, improving the team's Net Rating by 2.5 points when on the court. Most impressively, his defensive presence dramatically enhances Olympiacos' Defensive Rating by 14.9 points—a testament to his high-energy, tenacious playing style.
The Replacement Search
According to Head Coach Bartzokas, Olympiacos seeks to replace Wright with someone who has European experience and still plays a role in his team. Utilizing advanced analytics from the Clutch Data Player Type Model, we identified several promising candidates that match Wright’s playing style and that could fit the team needs.
Luka Mitrovic of KK Crvena Zvezda stands out as a solid match for Wright, both in terms of Player Type as well as Scoring Type. Other notable players include ALBA’s Trevion Williams, Turk Telekom’s Yoan Makoundou and Kyle Alexander as well as HAPOEL’s Jonathan Motley. Going deeper into the model, we can find players with slightly different profiles and scoring tendencies such as Gabas Maldunas from Lietkabelis, Cluj’s Mareks Mejeris, Buducnost’s Nikola Tanaskovic, Bayern’s Elias Harris and Marko Simonovic from Bahcesehir.
Skilled Big vs Backup Big:
Skilled Bigs and Backup Bigs have very similar characteristics. Their main differences are that Skilled Bigs on average demonstrate higher USG%, PER, AST%, ORtg, PTS/100poss, FGA/100poss and lower TOV%
Wright vs replacements
The team is seeking a versatile player who excels defensively and integrates smoothly into their offensive strategy. Based on the Clutch Data Score, only Harris, Motley and Makoundou have a positive DPS/30, with Motley also having an excellent EOP/30 score (ranks 1st in the Eurocup)
The team is urgently seeking robust rebounding capabilities, particularly during periods when their primary front court players are resting. In terms of Rebounding ability, several candidates stand out, with Williams leading everyone both in terms of ORB% and DREB%.
In analyzing Pick & Roll dynamics when the Roller attempts a shot, Mitrovic demonstrates the highest activity, with Williams and Motley following closely. Mitrovic is also able to capitalise in these play types with fairly modest scoring efficiency.
In Post up situations, it’s once more, Williams, Mitrovic and Motley being the most active among the candidates, however converting with a lower efficiency than the rest.
Olympiacos loves to create scoring opportunities with cuts to the basket. Here we can see Mitrovic leading the crowd although his efficiency remains at fairly low levels.
Conclusion
Olympiacos faces the challenge of replacing Moses Wright’s defensive presence and energy. Advanced analytics highlight Luka Mitrovic, Trevion Williams, and Jonathan Motley as top candidates, each excelling in key areas like rebounding, pick-and-roll activity, and post-up play. Williams leads in rebounding metrics, while Mitrovic shows strong activity in scoring opportunities off cuts and rolls. The team’s focus now lies in securing a versatile big who can reinforce their front court depth and seamlessly fit into their system.
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