With Sharon Drucker on the lines and two quality foreigners who belong to the highest levels in Europe, it was expected that Bnei Herzliya would look a little different and not be on the safe path to the second division.
Bnei Herzliya players in the arena.
The safe way to the second division?
Photography:
Danny Maron
It was clear that the only team that did not win this season, will come to the arena for a meeting with the only team that did not win and that is where of course it will not achieve its first victory.
The thing is that there was at least an expectation that she would look different - that she would look like a group aware of her situation.
In practice, the last quarter against Hapoel Jerusalem saved it from a resounding defeat.
There were expectations from the new season of newcomer Bnei Herzliya - with Sharon Drucker on the lines and two quality foreigners who belong to the highest levels in Europe - Frank Gaines and Kuti Clark.
If you break this group down into parts, you find that this is what was built in Herzliya this season: one foreigner who was replaced (Jackie Donaldson), one new foreigner (Therel Parks), one foreigner who is constantly in question (Kendall Anthony), Gabe Levin, who is already being built for a third season Big and besieged and each time it stops with an injury like now, veterans Elisha Kadir and Nitzan Hanochi (beyond their peak), injured Yair Kravitz, Aviram Zelikovich who used to be a much better basketball player in this team and middle-class Iza Eisendorf.
With this team you can only get to one place - back to the second league.
"Drastic changes," coach Sharon Drucker put it.
2. One who could have helped Herzliya a lot is Noam Avivi, who moved from it to Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the summer.
Spring, yesterday in the victory over Ness Ziona with a record of career and career highs in points (22), rebounds (10), assists (3) and an index (29).
He gave a stamp that grows here something else good from the last reserve teams.
Avivi is a graduate of the last two teams and holds two European Championships (2018, 2019).
The spring jump is big.
Last season, he was still in the national league and did not stand out in the 15 minutes he received for Bnei Herzliya.
The 21-year-old forward received a boost thanks to the Corona League.
Maccabi Rishon Lezion loaned him from Herzliya to the final part of the league last season. Rishon and Avivi saw that it was good and he stayed on the team this season. Not only did he stay but he became a key player. His coach Guy Goodes said without him his team had no chance of winning yesterday. (52 percent off the arc) and is increasingly reminiscent of Tomer Ginat who left for France this summer.
Thanks to the defense, Yannis Castritis continued the season at Hapoel Tel Aviv.
At the end of last season, the team showed unconventional defensive pressure on an Israeli team.
It even embarrassed Maccabi Tel Aviv in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
The red side were pleased and expected the Greek coach to develop defensive DNA for the club this season as well.
According to the opening it really did not happen.
Hapoel was everything except the defensive team and it also seems that the squad that was built was not built to play defense.
The Reds had an average absorption of almost 90 points.
When the rope around the neck things happen and on Sunday in Nahariya we saw sparks from the defense of the end of last season.
Hapoel deducted almost 20 points from the average amount of absorption and it was a wonder that the attack also functioned differently and scored 94 points (16 above average).
Players who looked like Shadow themselves flourished like Reggie Apshou who scored 33 points and tripled his average.
Gabe York, a new player on a team he has so far not impressed, provided an excellent second half.
Like we said it all starts with defense.
