The flight is back
A professional basketball career is often filled (unless you're Luka Doncic) with frustrating and frustrating nights.
I didn't dress, I didn't play, I played bad, I didn't hit, the coach didn't hold me, I injured my ankle, I tore the muscle, we lost at the buzzer, we didn't make the playoffs, I don't have a contract, I have corona.
The mind is saturated with negative thoughts, and these buzzes tear you apart, especially when returning from away games, and certainly on return flights when you are in an international setting.
And so the best hours of Maccabi Tel Aviv's busy week were on the flight home from Spain, with the tremendous relief, sincere joy and positive reinforcement from the victory in Valencia.
And what makes it even sweeter is the fact that it ends in a point difference.
So close to being the other way around, then the happy flight would have turned into a flight of mourning and shame.
But here we run through check-in, down a drink on the plane, enter the websites and social networks and enjoy the posts and articles, and see that we are back in the top eight, and that there is a very significant double victory over a direct competitor for the playoff spot.
And then even manage to sleep on the crowded plane.
There are moments that you just have to enjoy, because they happen sparingly, and give fuel for the rest of the way.
And a great victory on Spanish soil is cause for celebration.
Party on.
Harper on his way to the basket between Ziv and Sorkin, photo: EPA
Learning from Barcelona
The game in Valencia was almost an exact copy of the loss in Barcelona, 48 hours earlier.
A weak start with an uncoordinated five, substitutions that sort and balance a bit, falling to the half and falling behind at the break, a motivational talk and adjustments followed by a wonderful third quarter that leads to a double-digit lead and then fades to a small lead, and a messy and stormy fourth quarter.
Only this time it ended in a sweet little victory.
And the differences can be attributed to the fact that Valencia does not have the tools of Barcelona, and certainly not the experience of Wesley, Higgins and Saturnski.
And also to the fact that Katz expanded the rotation in a way that took the load off of Baldwin and Martin, who only played 25 minutes instead of 33. And to the fact that John Dee is finally getting the confidence to throw and score three-pointers with disturbing percentages.
And to the judges who this time were not bad either way.
You can say all this, and it's all true... A B L ....
But the truth is, there was a lot of luck here and help from Fortuna.
Two more inches to the left, and Chris Jones' ball goes in, and Maccabi loses, ending a week of three away losses, and is out of the eight, and the pressure would explode.
Then all the above that did happen, would be interpreted as coincidences, and we would look for the weak points and what needs to be fixed.
And the beauty of it is that it is allowed and must be corrected even after victories, and Maccabi has a lot to learn from this game, despite the fun flight home.
And it all starts with Baldwin's second foul, already in the 5th minute. Because this is the event that brought about the entire change in attitude, and ultimately led to victory.
Baldwin is on his way to the ring.
A coordinator is not, photo: EPA
The Baldwin jumped at him
Oded Ketch believes that Wade Baldwin is a coordinator.
This is his professional right, although I do not agree with it, and the numbers do not agree with it either.
Maccabi played well in attack only when someone else carried the ball.
Even if it was Adams or John Dee who just passed the half and handed it to him, it completely changed and radically improved Baldwin's ability to produce for himself and others.
The formations in which Baldwin was a single guard with four other forwards were bad for Maccabi, both because Baldwin had no one to pass the half, and also because the height advantage did not translate into anything real.
But his stupid second foul in itself forced Ketch to deepen the rotation and bring on Yeftah Ziv already in the first set, and Rafi Manko for 8 significant minutes in the second half.
12 minutes of defensive players, team and energy, which expanded the rotation and eased the muscles at the end.
Baldwin was calm and stable throughout the game, and it can be said that the ratio of good moves to nonsense improved from 1:2 to 1:4.
We will mainly remember him losing the illusory ball 4 seconds to the end, when Maccabi was in the lead,
There is no one around him, and he takes a one-handed dribble unnecessarily towards the bench.
It was a bit beyond his concentration ceiling.
But Chris Jones kept his overall sanity.
I don't want to think what would have happened if his ball had gone in, and Maccabi loses, and it's all about Baldwin's nonsense.
Braymo against Jones, last night in Valencia, photo: EPA
The quality of basketball
Ketch is persistent in putting together bad fives throughout the season.
In the opening with five foreigners without balancing players, the continuation with the high five without the guards which did not bring about a change, and thus Maccabi lived most of the game from garbage balls, personal intrusions by Baldwin, three-pointers in single moves by John Dee and especially offensive rebounds.
Not really basketball, when the defense can't handle a simple pick and roll.
To Ketch's credit, he manages to generate motivation in his halftime speech, only that it might be better to do it at the start of the game, and not fall behind every time.
Maccabi has very few drills in attack, if any, and everything is based on free movement and especially Baldwin's dribbling.
It's not good enough because sometimes you need a basket, so a classic player like Hilliard can't find a shot, and Bonzie Colson, who is in top form, has to fumble for offensive rebounds and loose balls to get to the basket.
The choice of Briemo over Jake Cohen does not prove itself, despite the relative diversity of Briemo in the attack.
In Braimo's minutes last night, Maccabi lost by 11. Jake Cohen is very important to the team and this is Ketch's biggest mistake.
And also the protection of the automatic exchanges that produce a lack of aggressiveness and indolence.
Even when it is allowed to change, you don't have to do it for every change of position.
This results in unnecessary miss-matches, even in the high lineup.
And now, what now?
But as written above, what fun to try to fix after a victory.
And that's what needs to be taken first.
So to fix a little, and expand the rotation even without Baldwin's offense problem, and give Jake Cohen back the place in the top five.
And as I argued in the Positives podcast yesterday - the best thing that Maccabi Tel Aviv can do now is to announce a contract extension for Oded Ketch for next season as well.
This will give confidence and stability and a different status to the coach in front of the players.
But even if not, one should encourage a week to work and fix and arrange, insert nails and feathers, and beat the Red Star.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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