Moustapha Fall, Tarik Black have plans for Walter Tavares

Rest assured, Olympiacos fans, the Reds have a plan to stop Real Madrid's force in the paint, Walter Tavares, in Sunday's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. Tarik Black just isn’t ready to share it.

"I can’t let you know all the secrets, right? I can’t just give you the whole scouting report, especially with a very important game tomorrow," Black told Euroleague Basketball from Zalgirio Arena, one day before the title decider.

The Reds are 2-0 against Real Madrid this season and have had moderate success against the All-EuroLeague center. Tavares averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 turnovers and 1 block for a PIR of 12.5 in those two games, compared to 11.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for a PIR of 18.1 against the rest of the league.

"He's probably the best center in the EuroLeague. He has a big impact for his team and he's been dominating the EuroLeague for years now, so obviously he's a very, very good player," Olympiacos center Moustapha Fall added during Saturday's media availability when quizzed about the Real star. "There is no secret to stop a good player. You just need to try to make everything as complicated as possible and live with the results."

Black said he believes that the versatility and cohesiveness of the Reds' centers can be a problem for other teams, including Real.

"We just all look different, like Mousa [Fall] is a 7-footer, I’m not quite 7 feet but I’m a bit stockier, Joel [Bolomboy] isn’t as stocky or as tall, but he's more athletic than both of us two," Black stated. "At the end of the day, it’s all the defensive presence, it's the presence in the paint, and our ability, obviously on the offensive end, to keep the fluidity of the offense going, setting great screens, and on defense, being able to switch, being able to protect the rim. Those things are all fluid as we all rotate out and so actually the things that we are alike make it easier for us to substitute in and keep the ball rolling."

With Fall the likely starter and Black and Bolomboy expected to spell him off the bench, Olympiacos will have enough men to battle Tavares for all 40 minutes. And how much they manage to contain him could be the story of the championship game.