The first round of the Euroleague ended, and last night (Tuesday) Maccabi Tel Aviv provided a game that contained elements that were repeated throughout the round: chronic instability, severe energy problem, dysfunction in the decisive minutes and overly predictable basketball, which consists of very few offensive elements Too many defensive elements, so it turned out that during all 17 rounds of the first round, the Israeli champion failed to put together more than two victories in a row.
No Plan B – Part One. Maccabi Tel Aviv’s main problem is the clear dependence on its two leading players: Othello Hunter and Scotty Wilbkin. When one is injured, the front line fails to cope with the defensive hole that opens; and for the other, when all of Europe already knows the last ball will go to him and is prepared accordingly – to the bench Yellow has no contingency plan, no alternative.
When we asked the Yannis Sapropoulos At the press conference that his basketball may have already become too predictable, because it is clear Wilbkin will take the last shots, he replied succinctly: “The shots he took were under guard or was he free? He was free, twice. Scotty is our leader, we will live with him And we will die with him. “
Elijah Bryant, Who can and should possibly be the alternative to Wilbkin in Money Time, chose a diplomatic answer to the same question: “I concentrate mostly on my work on the field. It’s the coach’s decision, if he needs me to take rebounds or anything else to win, that’s what I will do. He makes the decisions. And we trust him. “
No Plan B – Part Two. At Maccabi, many were debating whether to dress Othello Hunter for the game, after not training regularly all week due to back pain. Finally it was decided to share, and after only 2 minutes the bad luck hit again, when Hunter received a strong blow under the eye and had to evacuate for further treatment at Ichilov Hospital, where he needed stitches. As things stand now, the Yellows tend to give Hunter another rest and not endanger him in the game against Hapoel Jerusalem tomorrow.
In his absence, Maccabi’s color was completely broken: the Russians were accurate in 18 out of 28 attempts at color throwing (65%). Alex Poiters equaled his career high in the Euroleague with 16 points and a lot of explosiveness that Lanta Zizic and Dragan Bender simply had no answer for. And just as Sapropolos has no alternative in case Wilbkin misses the crucial shots, so he has no secondary scenario in case Othello Hunter is not available.
“Hunter’s disadvantage affected our rotation,” he admitted Sapropolus“When you do not have two chins and you are missing one, it must hurt and we played in teams with Dragan at 5, which is not his original position. I tried to find ways to cover up Hunter’s lack. Originally, the matchup was supposed to be between Žižić “Arturas Godaitis and between Hunter and Poiters, but as soon as Hunter came out we lacked energy, intensity and athleticism.”
John Dibertolomeo He does not think his team is developing too much dependence on Hunter and Wilbkin: “I do not think we are so dependent on them. We have options and in money time we go to Scottish a lot, but others make moves too. If someone is missing, others have to rise.” Bryant He added: “Othello is a big part of our team, but basketball is a team game and next in line has to rise. We concentrate on the game plan and the coach’s instructions. Everyone is important in the team, not just Othello. Everyone who is missing creates a problem. As a team we need to bring more Energies no matter who plays. “
