Monaco player Jacoba Avatra in an interview (Sasha Vargas, Walla! Sport)
Maccabi Tel Aviv will take to the parquet in Monaco tonight (Wednesday, 21:00) with the aim of becoming the first team in Euroleague history to win the fifth and decisive game of the playoffs. But even if they lose and are eliminated, the Yellows could crown this season as a success and one in which they have made significant progress.
This success can be seen in the squad that was built and could serve as a foundation for years to come, as opposed to the permanent revolutions that took place every summer. Lorenzo Brown, Wade Baldwin, Bonzi Coulson, John DiBartolomeo, Jake Cohen, Roman Sorkin and Josh Nivo will remain and make the task of consolidating the 2023/24 season much simpler – but as the decisive stages approach, there are also those whose futures are shrouded in uncertainty. This is the current snapshot of each of them.
So what do you do with a 1-of-15-to-three player in the playoffs? Jerel Martin (Photo: Liron Moldovan)
Jerrell Martin: Should stay, despite the decline
He is the least known foreigner to arrive at Maccabi Tel Aviv this year, and was signed as a rookie bet at the power forward position. In the early stages of the season, many did not understand why a player who is supposed to live on shooting simply does not score. In the run that put the Yellowjackets in the playoffs, everything changed: Martin progressed, reset the handle (54% to three in the last seven turnovers) and in some games scored the important baskets. It was when Cohen started that he became the leading option at the No. 4 position.
But in the series against Monaco, Martin went back. His status was undermined by his lack of experience in really big positions (with all due respect to the Australian League), along with the return of Alex Poythers. Over the last four games, he's averaging 3.5 points and 1-of-15 from beyond the arc, but Maccabi doesn't see a situation in which Martin won't continue next season. "We've come a long way with Jerrell, we've been patient and he's shown progress on his part," says one of the sources involved in the decision-making process.
The Yellowjackets have an option on Martin for another season, and his salary is estimated at $600,<>. After the financial suspension involved in keeping Brown, Baldwin and Coulson, the Yellows will enjoy a reasonable contract for a significant player, and it is quite possible that they will take advantage of this to bolster both interior positions with a more significant, proven and expensive outsider.
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It's highly appreciated, but the combination of it and Nivo raises questions. Alex Poythers (Photo: Danny Maron)
Alex Poythers: May fall for the adjustment clause
Maccabi Tel Aviv has built itself this season around proven and experienced Euroleague players, who are more and who are less, and Alex Poythers certainly meets this definition. It is difficult to judge his contribution from the simple taste - he hardly played. In the first part of the season, the combination between him and Josh Nivo on the court did not work well, while he played with a hand injury; Then it was shut down for four and a half months, and was not actually part of the playoff journey.
Poythers returned just before Monaco and looked pretty good, although his pairing with Nivo still creates problems, and their minutes together don't look ideal. The obvious question is how Oded Katsch will behave with him when asked to choose foreigners to register for each of the playoff series in Israel. It is doubtful whether the chin will be among them.
In this case, too, Maccabi Tel Aviv has an option for another season, but one of the most significant things about it is the price tag - about a million dollars. The team knows that with Poythers, Martin, Nivo and Sorkin they lack an option at the No. 4 position, and the number of possible combinations doesn't seem to be very high. "Alex is a good player, and it is possible that with the process with him he would not have stopped because of the injury we would have been in a different place today," said one Maccabi official. As of now, the chances of Poythers continuing for another season appear to be low, especially given the contracts of Nivo and Sorkin.
Too expensive for a complementary player. Darren Hilliard (Photo: Danny Maron)
Darren Hilliard: Farewell, tentative
Another player who came loaded with Euroleague experience and didn't fit in, but not because of injury. Darren Hilliard was in all possible films, both as a lead actor and as a complementary actor, but the connection between him and Ketch was not successful, and in many games he found himself benched, including blowing a one-game suspension after a problematic tweet.
In the second and most important part of the season, after losing the State Cup final, Hilliard seemed to change his perception and began to accept his role in the rotation. Ketch began to believe in him more, and the guard began to return with good numbers and significant moves. The climax came with the important basket in extra-time against Real Madrid, when Brown was injured, and also with good minutes in the current series against Monaco.
Hilliard is a very expensive player, especially considering that even if he stays, his role should not be upgraded and improved, after Maccabi Tel Aviv already signed Baldwin and Brown, agreed with Coulson and DiBartolomeo and also closed with Brian Angola.
Hilliard's departure is not entirely final, and Maccabi tends not to release players with an option until close to its expiration date. As of now, the apparent direction is towards parting ways at the end of the upcoming season.
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