By: Jay Yeomans

Published: December 1, 2019

Jimmer Fredette and his Panathinaikos teammates delivered a marvelous shooting performance as they dispatched Kolossos, 103-69, on Sunday.

Fredette had a perfect shooting day in the win, finishing with 15 first-half points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range while converting on his only free-throw attempt. He added four assists, two rebounds, and a pair of steals in just 18:36 on the court. He also earned the distinction as the game’s highest-ranked player with a rating of 25 even though eight players were on the floor longer than he was.

Fredette made an impact on the game before even taking a shot as he collected two steals in the opening four minutes. Then he started to look for his offense and it paid huge dividends as Panathinaikos went on a 17-0 run to turn a 6-point deficit into an 11-point lead. During that stretch, Fredette connected on a pair of baskets, including his first three of the night. He added another three later in the quarter that pushed the lead back to 11 on a pass from Nick Calathes.

Fredette didn’t let off the gas in the second as he contributed back-to-back baskets followed by a 3-point play as the lead ballooned to 20. He also showed off his passing skills with assists to Deshaun Thomas and Jacob Wiley.

He was in the passing mode during his short time on the floor during the second half as he found Georgios Papagiannis for back-to-back dunks before taking a seat for the remainder of the game.

Tyrese Rice led the Greens in scoring in the win with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 at the foul line. He added five rebounds and four assists in a strong 20:25 off the bench.

Wesley Johnson also made key contributions for the second unit, totaling 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and a steal in 21:24 while Calathes added five points, nine assists, and three boards.

For Kolossos, Lasan Kromah carried the offense with 22 points on 7-for-17 shooting from the floor and 5 of 6 at the free-throw line.

Through eight Greek League contests, Fredette is averaging 17.9 points on 69.7 percent shooting from the field, 75.7 percent from 3-point land and 88.5 percent from the charity stripe. He also chips in with 3.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 20:30.

Thoughts on the game

It is just astounding to see how Fredette just continues to shoot the ball at such an amazing clip. It’s almost like he never misses in the Greek League. Now I know what some of you are thinking – his numbers are way down from his three years in China. While that is true, that is because of touches and minutes. I will explain the touches later, but as for the minutes, he is playing about half as much as he did for the Sharks. And while he scored substantially more in Shanghai, he never shot this good.

Inside the numbers

For some clarity on just what Jimmer is doing from a shooting standpoint, he has missed just nine 3-point shots all season, and only four in the last five games. During that stretch, he is 21 of 25 from 3-point land or 84 percent. And he is not just on fire from 3-point range either. He hasn’t missed a single shot from inside the arc or from the foul line in the last three games. That isn’t just impressive, IT’S FLAT OUT STAGGERING.

Somehow, the numbers are even more outrageous when we dig into the analytics of it all. His effective field goal percentage on the season is 90.9 while his true shooting percentage is sitting at 92.3 percent. THAT’S JUST CRAZY!

Up next

Fredette and the Greens bounce back to EuroLeague play on Friday when they take on the heated rival, Olympiacos. Now I would need at least a couple thousand words to explain the unrest between these two squads, but suffice it to say, they do not like each other.

Olympiacos is at 5-6 through 11 games and sits two games behind Panathinaikos. The Reds feature five former NBA players and a handful of EuroLeague legends.