As Maccabi Tel Aviv licks its wounds after losing to Monaco in Game 5, European basketball fans took the time to analyze the series and the decisive game. The BasketNews podcast had an extensive discussion, focusing primarily on Lorenzo Brown, who struggled mightily in Game 5 and was not at his peak in most games in the series. Brown finished the series 8-of-23 on shots near the basket, and missed several winking situations in Game 5 as well.
"It's strange to see a player who led Spain to the EuroBasket win and was very stable for Maccabi this year, unable to buy a basket suddenly in Game 5. He seems to have a security problem," they analyzed. "His shots were weird. They were all very short. You expect to see misses like that from players the opposing team allows them to throw, like Alpha Diallo for example — but not from a star like Lorenzo Brown. With Maccabi Tel Aviv still in the game in the final quarter, Baldwin scored a three and Sasha Obradovic took a timeout. Monaco did not score after that, but Lorenzo Brown tried to suddenly become a hero, and Baldwin did not receive the ball. There were decisive moments, and Lorenzo took on the game for an unknown reason. You don't have to go down on Lorenzo Brown, but it just wasn't his series."
One ditched, the other crashed. Baldwin and Brown (Photo: Danny Maron)
On the other hand, Wade Baldwin extorted great compliments. "He was the best player in the playoffs, in all the series. What he did yesterday... I love how Ketch allows him to play. He gives him freedom and when you give him that, you see the results. That's exactly what happened to him with Andrea Trinchieri at Bayern Munich. And when Baldwin makes threes like he did in this series, he's almost unstoppable. His numbers in this series were like Devin Booker in the playoffs."
Many criticized the referees, who gave Monaco numerous penalty shots at crucial moments in the final quarter. "Maccabi was in a good position to win in the last quarter. Monaco had serious problems in attack, everyone missed free throws. Maccabi couldn't get any rebounds, and that's what killed them, more than the referees," they analyzed. "As far as I'm concerned, those whistles were justified. Ever since Zaza Pachulia's story with Kawhi Leonard in the NBA playoffs, everyone has been whistling such fouls on shots from three. Jordan Lloyd did stretch his leg and look for those fouls, but Bonzi Coulson should have been smarter defensively, and Jerrell Martin's offense on him was also correct. Both of Lloyd's three-point fouls were correct. That's when the momentum of the game changed."
"Should have been smarter." Bonzi Coulson (Photo: official website, Elad Goldstein, Instagram Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Finally, summarize the Yellows' season in perspective. "Maccabi had a great season. They lost the battle in Game 5, but we have to talk about their great season. We had doubts about this team, but they have been through a lot this year, becoming one of the most fun and fun teams in the Euroleague. Maccabi should get a lot of respect for this season, it has a lot to build for years to come."
- sport
- basketball
- Euroleague and European basketball
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- Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball