Olympiacos did not lose a scorer on Friday. They lost the only guard on the roster who could put a EuroLeague defence under the rim.
The club confirmed that Jean Montero underwent surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee and is expected to be out for around six months. The 23-year-old Dominican had been treated conservatively, the treatment stopped working, and the operation ends his calendar year. In six EuroLeague games he averaged 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists for a team sitting 6-2 through eight rounds.
The tactical cost is specific. Montero was Bartzokas’ primary pick-and-roll handler in the second unit and the only guard who consistently turned the corner and forced the low man to commit. Remove him and the offence flattens: more perimeter passing, fewer paint touches, more contested late-clock jumpers. Tyler Dorsey is suspended, Evan Fournier and Nikola Milutinov were listed as questionable on the league’s Round 9 report, and new signing John Konchar is still settling in. That is a backcourt with ball movement but no downhill threat against Milan’s drop coverage.
The roster decision matters more than Friday’s result. A six-month timeline points to a return around late April, which means the play-in and the series that follow. There is a defensive cost too: Montero’s on-ball pressure was the first line of Olympiacos’ pick-and-roll defence, and replacing it in late October means more switching, more help from a frontcourt that is already thin, and more foul trouble for the bigs. Olympiacos can either spend the remaining budget on a short-term ball-handler, or protect the roster spot and treat the regular season as a seeding exercise. Both are defensible. What is not defensible is pretending the offence looks the same without him.
Defending champions rarely get to choose their crisis. This one arrived four hours before tip-off.
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