The Euroleague season of Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Euroleague campaign is coming to an end, and the team is preparing and working or at least trying to work on the team model for next season. Already now it can be said that at the moment there are only four players who hold a guaranteed contract for next season and most likely they will also continue: Scotty Wilbkin, Ante Žižić, Angelo Cloiaro and John Dibertolomao. Of course there are a number of other players that the team likes and want them to continue but make it clear that it already depends on a combination of several factors, the main ones being? Group budget and market situation.

The current season of the state champion opened when, despite all the summer events (which the team members did not really have), last year’s skeleton remained for the most part, and the uncertainty that Maccabi talked about for the current season seems to be only growing for next season. At Maccabi, there are already working assumptions according to which they can work and the situation is now fluid, in the sense that anything can happen, which means that no final decisions have yet been made since the hidden rabbi prevails over the visible.

Tyler Dorsey and Scotty Wilbkin (Itzik Belnitsky)Tyler Dorsey and Scotty Wilbkin (Itzik Belnitsky)

It is important to clarify already at this point, that in a normal reality, without corona and uncertainty expressed on several levels, Maccabi Tel Aviv model 2021/22 was already much more cohesive, the new model or even the new model was already closed, even if not all players were gentle The actual signed staff has already been closed for next season.

The existing question marks ahead of next season are relevant to all league teams, but given the economic model and caliber of players as well as the pool of players and other teams competing for them can put the national champion in a somewhat problematic situation. First the subject of the crowd, in Israel there is a huge improvement in this trend but still for the time being, the number of fans that will be allowed next year is still unknown, which does not exactly contribute to the Yellows as well as other Israeli teams competing in Europe.

Maccabi fansMaccabi Tel Aviv fans (Radad Jabara)

What did the four players who hold a guaranteed contract do for next season as well?

Scotty Wilbkin
Euroleague numbers: 14.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 14.4 index in 27:07 minutes.

League Numbers: 12.9 points, 2 rebounds, 4.4 assists 14.2 index in 22.3 minutes

Scotty is the club’s franchise player, to his credit countless shots in the crucial moments of the game, just as he scored the three clutch against Zalgiris from the right wing that brought the Yellows closer to the turn in the fourth quarter, Scotty who made it clear what price he charged him this season on a personal level Also on the physiological level, he was perhaps one of the most emotional players this season, whose level of nervousness and frustration stood out more with each loss and even more so with each close loss. These emotions must be the anger in losses shows how much Scotty wanted to win.

Scotty Wilbkin (Itzik Belnitsky)Scotty Wilbkin (Itzik Belnitsky)

Ante Žižić
Euroleague numbers: 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 10.3 in 19:12 minutes

League Numbers: 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 20.3 points in 23.2 minutes

The most impressive signing of the Yellows last summer. “Ziza” was the chosen one, the one who was marked and maintained continuous contact with Maccabi since December 2019, was in the team’s top plan for the current season and was almost kidnapped by Real Madrid, showed the potential in terms of which It can be destructive if he gets the balls in the right places. In the local league Ante has already shown that he is unstoppable based on his size alone, in the Euroleague as mentioned things are a little different when it comes to size, and in games where they managed to run it properly, Žižić would look like the same talented youngster who burst into basketball fans’ minds while playing drushpaka.

Ante Žižić (Courtesy of CeskAnte Žižić (courtesy of CSKA Moscow) (ONE system)

Angelo Cloiaro
Euroleague numbers: 6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 8.3 index in 26:43 minutes

League numbers: 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 8.2 index in 20.4 minutes

Cloiaro belongs to a very specific breed, the hassle and the bonus, the hassle that is expressed by detectives the body in order to blackmail an offense, jumps on the parquet for lost and free balls. The bonus concerns the offensive contribution from a player who by definition is a complementary player. This season along with Dragan Bender the two in the original planning should have backed up positions 3-5, but reality has put them in a role with a more serious weight.

Angelo Cloiaro (Itzik Belnitsky)Angelo Cloiaro (Itzik Belnitsky)

John Dibertolomao
Euroleague numbers: 4 points, 0.7 rebounds, 1 assist, 4.6 index at 09: 19 minutes

League Numbers: 6.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 6.6 points in 19.2 minutes

Last season John was a defensive expert and threes by Yannis Sapropoulos, maximum damage in minimum time, one who knows how to harass and put pressure on the ball, score in good percentages and when the yellows’ attack needs to be navigated. The injury just before the Corona League devoured the cards for him and his team. He started the season late as remembered, and as expected he needed time to get into the rhythm, yet his percentages from all ranges are almost exactly the same as those from last year.

John Dibertolomao (Courtesy of Zalgiris Kaunas) (ONE System)John Dibertolomao (Courtesy of Zalgiris Kaunas) (ONE System)

The point of light

The safety net, similar to the issue of crowd size is unknown as well. At the same time, what is well known and gives Maccabi time is the situation in Europe. It is no secret that the big teams are the first to operate in the player market, only the remnants of the continent have marked players, and just like Maccabi inquires about them, but the teams that direct all market moves have not yet started operating, as they now operate mainly according to estimates. Apart from Israel, Russia is the only country where there has been an improvement in terms of the number of people entering the halls, according to reports by Zenit Set. Petersburg has received approval to allow fans to enter at 75% occupancy.

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