Opening:
and opens with some relevant history, for warming up: the team from the Basque Country, in its various incarnations, is embroidered in the golden book of Maccabi Tel Aviv of modern times.
Since the first meeting between them in 1999, the Spanish team has challenged Maccabi every few years, and almost always with significant milestones.
For example, in 2002 in a game that promoted Maccabi to David Blatt's first Final Four as head coach, with a 94:65 away win over Fernando Boassa Arena, the most memorable event of which is Hussein's resounding imprint in the market. Or in the 2005 Euroleague final in which Maccabi won 90:78 and gave Pini Gershon (with Sharas, Vujicic and Parker) the second Euroleague Cup in a row. In 2010, Asconia won the Spanish championship, with Maccabi's acquisition player Lior Eliyahu starring in its front line.
In all of the above meetings he coached Basconia the Montenegrin club Dusko Ivanovic, whose arduous labor camps drove Lior Eliyahu back to Maccabi after one season, and prepared the ground for the biggest meeting between the clubs, the crossover series of the 2011 season. After Jeremy Fargo scored a basket Victory for the Pantheon in the second game in Vitoria, the series returned to Tel Aviv in a 1: 1 situation. Blatt defended the "Kaha Kaha" defense, which also clung to the three-pointers at the expense of helping with penetration and dedication to the tall ones.
Nanley in action.
Got off the bench,
And back to the present: the
constantly tormented Ivanovic is still coaching this team, more than 20 years after he started (with breaks for other teams).
It used to be a set of butchers, but Dusko softened, and so did his team, who committed a first offense in the ninth minute, and did not go to the line the entire first quarter.
And so they allowed Maccabi to score from the spot with resounding dunks and high percentages (63%), deliver 21 assists and continue to tighten the team connection.
The only thing that kept Basconia in the game, as ten years ago, were the threes (9 threes at 42%).
And all because Caluero, the most team player and the smartest guard, came down to help on penetration and dedication to the highs, and did not have time to return to the threes of Monteco and Costello.
Yannis freaked out on the bench, but if he had taken a small lesson in history and realized Blatt's Kaha Kaha defense, the game would have ended in half.
parable.
Evans in action.
14 points, Photo: AP
Big and strong is better. At least for now:
in this game, Maccabi's transition from a small team based on guards to a team based on its front line is complete and pushes a ball into the paint at every opportunity.
Williams, Reynolds and Žižić scored 53 points out of the team's 79, and Maccabi sailed to victory despite 0 (!) Points from its senior guard.
What's nice is that the high Maccabi still wanted to burst, and mostly manages to get to a passing game that the high ones implement better than the guards.
Zizic runs for bursts like a sparrow, greatly improving mobility and speed, and showing wide orientation even in the standing game.
He brilliantly uses the ring to keep him from the defender, and the vast majority of his baskets are scored by Barbers.
Wilbkin, whose absence is not only not felt but Aflo eased the current game, is still an important player and Maccabi will need his handle against the big ones, but Scotty is already a rotation player and will not be "killed and unbeaten", and not just because of a minor ankle injury.
Structure and hierarchy, not a pair-swapping party:
In this game, Keenan Evans also finally took over the center position, and James Nanley established himself as the sixth player to rise and change a game from the bench.
Maccabi has a structure and hierarchy, critical elements for the rest of the way.
Only the matter of the leader has not yet been finally clarified, and because of the personality structure of the players the role will probably remain in the hands of the coach.
But the coach may not yet be finally closed on the corners of his rotation, and continues with experiments that cost him in losing unnecessary advantage and pressure.
And this is because not yet the face that the method is more important than the specific situation.
For example, he delayed with the introduction of Nanley in the first quarter because Maccabi wanted well.
And this is an error, this replacement must be automatic regardless of the result.
The team with John Dee and Jake Cohen collapsed in the second quarter and led to a 13: 0 run.
Luckily for Yannis, Wilbkin's injury balanced the game and got Maccabi back on track.
Yiftach Ziv.
Not impressed, Photo: Alan Schieber
The desire to put more players in the rotation is true and understandable, and he must not exhaust the seven. But it must build accurate rotation and built-in exchanges. Exchanges should be made gently and individually, and a structure maintained with a leader on the field (from Evans, Wilbkin and Nanli, it is desirable that two be always on the field). The draw continues to help him, and against the weaker teams, Maccabi has time to recover and correct. But against the big ones it could cost a loss.
The Israeli corner:
Yiftach Ziv came in for the last two and a half minutes, but looked completely lost and insecure and managed to lose two balls.
It's not fair for him to go in like that, but he must go up in flames and play well in that pressure as well.
Together with Jake Cohen's fatal mistakes in his two minutes, and John Dee's lack of influence (6:30 minutes), they reinforced the notion that this year we will not see the Israelis play a significant role in the Euroleague.
And when you win and reach the second place in the table, it is difficult to argue with the coach's decisions, even though the connection between Maccabi of the Euroleague and an Israeli team is absolutely coincidental.
Hopefully at least they will be released for the team games at the end of the month.
Yannis.
Stabilize the ship,
Paragon for the Scouting Department:
In recent years it has been easy to get down on Nikola Vujicic and the Scouting Department, due to the unsigned players signing.
But this year comes a big cheer for the selection of Derek Williams and James Nanley.
Maccabi does not have the money of the big clubs, and if it wants to get to the top, it must take risks.
Either find promising youngsters and gamble on their blossoming, or find stars who have faded for some reason, and gamble on their return to form.
Williams and Nanley are an example of such stars, and now they are also committed to a club that has given them a chance to come back to life.
Win Win
