Sitting as the franchise player of Maccabi Tel Aviv, the undisputed star, and accordingly the top earner in the team – Scotty Wilbkin is already used to the fact that every action, every word, every body language – everything is constantly examined and at any given moment. But you don’t need a magnifying glass or a microscope to understand that something bad is happening to the yellow superstar in the second round of the Euroleague.
- At 21:00 on SPORT5: Panathinaikos and Katsch against Maccabi Tel Aviv
Whoever opened the season in a storm, including 11 consecutive rounds with shooting in monstrous percentages and double digits, today looks like his own shadow, with a drop in almost all statistical parameters. Without him, it is no wonder that the Euroleague story of Maccabi Tel Aviv is close to being finished, with 8 more rounds left to end the regular season.
Crash on all fronts
At first glance the comparison between Wilbkin of the first round and that of the second round, one can be mistaken and think that these are two different players. After all, how can one explain such a glorious crash in the amount of points, in the percentage of shots from any range, in keeping the ball, in choosing shots – and what not.
Note the differences between Dr. Scotty of the first round and Mr. Wilbkin of the second round: 17 points per game versus only 9; 52% to 2 compared to only 37%; 35% solid for 3 versus 26% dismal; Two losses versus three; And a decrease in all types of shots he takes, whether under guard or completely free shots.
In the advanced features courtesy of the Instat statistics platform, three parameters stand out: In Wilbkin’s minutes on the field in the second round, Maccabi’s points share as a team fell by 19% compared to the first round. With Wilbkin on the floor, Maccabi scores an average of 47 points in the second round, compared to 58 points in the first round.
In addition, a dramatic drop can be detected in the way Wilbkin makes his points: For the entire second round so far, the talented guard has taken just 2 shots in catch-and-shot mode – just two shots in nine games (compared to 18 shots in the first nine games in the first round) . On the other hand, in Wilbkin’s favorite weapon, which is isolation, there was no change in the number of shots per game (2), but there was a free fall in the percentage of success – 17% today compared to 37% in the first round.
When he is good Maccabi is bad, when he is bad Maccabi is good
Outwardly, the message that Maccabi sends out on the subject of Wilbkin is consistent: it is natural for players to have ups and downs throughout such a long season. This is of course true and acceptable, but behind the scenes Maccabi captains are following with concern the clear setback in the ability of their biggest star. Note the following inconceivable figures: Maccabi Tel Aviv has had 15 losses so far in the Euroleague, in 10 of them Wilbkin was the leading scorer. On the other hand, in 11 victories of the champion this season, Scotty led the scoring list in only 2 games!
It is especially interesting to compare Wilbkin’s ability to wins and losses last season: Maccabi lost 9 times in the Euroleague last year, Wilbkin is a partner in 8 of them, and only in 3 losses was the leading scorer. On the other hand, out of 19 victories, Wilbkin led Maccabi in 12 games. What can be learned from this? That last season Maccabi usually won when Wilbkin was good. barometer. This season, when he is good Maccabi usually loses, and perhaps worse, when he is bad – Maccabi finds a way to get along.
This creates a sensitive Lose-Lose situation here, a situation where in fact the team does not receive from its leading player the output for which it is here. And after all that, one has to be very careful with the words of eulogy to Wilbkin: he was and remains one of the best guards in Europe, and as the message page says – every player has ups and downs, but when combined with the failure of the whole team – cracks are born.