Maccabi Tel Aviv 2022/23

[Ball Fiend]

Does anybody have a link to Maccabi vs Milano?

[MikeMaccabiFan]

Does anybody have a link to Maccabi vs Milano?

I couldn't find any stream... Jokerlivestream only had fake betting links.

[ronmercer80]

Objectively all these preparatory games mean little. It seems that Martin is inadequate for the El level as almost any other player coming from Australia.

[Ball Fiend]

Objectively all these preparatory games mean little. It seems that Martin is inadequate for the El level as almost any other player coming from Australia.

Martin was always a high-risk high-reward acquisition. Maccabi seems to try those every offseason with varying degrees of success. If he continues to struggle, hopefully, he can be loaned to another team like Kameron Taylor was last season.

I am really looking forward to today's game. Gilboa Galil has some players that could test Maccabi for sure. It will be interesting to see how Kattash handles this one.

[MikeMaccabiFan]

Martin was always a high-risk high-reward acquisition. Maccabi seems to try those every offseason with varying degrees of success. If he continues to struggle, hopefully, he can be loaned to another team like Kameron Taylor was last season.

I am really looking forward to today's game. Gilboa Galil has some players that could test Maccabi for sure. It will be interesting to see how Kattash handles this one.

I watched both games, only half of second game against Holon (it was early morning here in Sydney).
As for impressions from first game, Martin actually started to show some things he did here in Sydney Kings. He got even one very nice ball where he is used to so he hit 3pointer, he also was pretty good in defence. Hilliard was good. Coulson needs get over his excitement, but he played quite well. Baldwin showed leadership.
Second game - Lorenzo, Lorenzo... He is very effective, made game simple, and 12 assists I would buy any game...Add to this 6 assists by Baldwin and passing looks much better. And, with 3 best 3 point shooters not playing (Hollins, Martin and Hilliard) Maccabi managed to get 47% from 3. Matter of giving balls in the right positions. Menko was good and enjoyed great assists from Brown. JonDi was good too, may be that will make our forum clown happy. Poythress, Nebo and Coulson were satisfactory, just need to be better pitting layups in...

[Ball Fiend]

I watched both games, only half of second game against Holon (it was early morning here in Sydney).
As for impressions from first game, Martin actually started to show some things he did here in Sydney Kings. He got even one very nice ball where he is used to so he hit 3pointer, he also was pretty good in defence. Hilliard was good. Coulson needs get over his excitement, but he played quite well. Baldwin showed leadership.
Second game - Lorenzo, Lorenzo... He is very effective, made game simple, and 12 assists I would buy any game...Add to this 6 assists by Baldwin and passing looks much better. And, with 3 best 3 point shooters not playing (Hollins, Martin and Hilliard) Maccabi managed to get 47% from 3. Matter of giving balls in the right positions. Menko was good and enjoyed great assists from Brown. JonDi was good too, may be that will make our forum clown happy. Poythress, Nebo and Coulson were satisfactory, just need to be better pitting layups in...

I watched the Gilboa Galil game live and a replay of the Holon game last night. The first game was a mess, which you would expect this early in the season. Kattash seemed to experiment with some strange lineups that I doubt we'll see much going forward. The absence of Lorenzo Brown was clearly evident especially after watching the second game. The offense ran so much smoother with him in control. While some of their offensive sets are a bit "old school" (Maccabeo don't lose your mind lol) they at least seem to cater to this team's strengths. Despite the high three-point percentage, I think it's still a weakness which is why the offense appears to emphasize high-percentage shots. By no means am I sold on Kattash being the right guy for the job, but I am willing to give him a chance and see how he handles this roster on and off the court. If he can keep Baldwin's ego in check and convince him to allow Lorenzo Brown to steer the bus, the game will get infinitely easier for him and the rest of the team. I am also very interested in seeing how Kattash maintains harmony in the locker room between the US and Israeli players. This has been an issue in the past that can not and should not happen again.

[MikeMaccabiFan]

after two last games - one against Zalgiris, and second against Nes Ziona, it is clear that JonDi has to go. No defence, no offence, nothing. Maccabi needs to sign Brisker, as Israeli, and find replacement PG, preferably with good 3 point shooting. There should be some on the market (Like Green in Holon...).
Martin is getting better, I am hopeful about him.

[Ball Fiend]

after two last games - one against Zalgiris, and second against Nes Ziona, it is clear that JonDi has to go. No defence, no offence, nothing. Maccabi needs to sign Brisker, as Israeli, and find replacement PG, preferably with good 3 point shooting. There should be some on the market (Like Green in Holon...).
Martin is getting better, I am hopeful about him.

Martin looked good against Ness Ziona and showed some positive signs against Zalgiris in the 2nd half. Hopefully, he and the other bigs get stronger on the boards. The rebounding against Zalgiris was appalling.

I agree, this team needs a pg that can shoot the ball and as important, stop penetration on the other end of the floor. I get why guys like Diba and Ziv are on the roster but there is way too much of a drop-off when Lorenzo Brown is out of the game. I am encouraged by the way Brown and Baldwin have been playing off each other. Their chemistry is vital to this team having success. I would also like to see Hilliard get more minutes with those two on the floor when size matchups are favorable. I assume his minutes were limited against Zalgiris due to how well Bonzie was playing and the rebounding deferential.

[MikeMaccabiFan]

Well, we had a long break on this thread, so it is about time to conclude the season.
So we finish with championship, cup final and 7 minutes from F4.... Not bad, even though we could have at least two titles.
Teamwise - we had a good team chemistry, even multiple injuries and players incompatibility (or Kattash's unwillingness to change a style) did quite a damage.
I must say that JohnDi re-invented himself, or found himself, finally doing 3+D which he supposed to do all the time. Cohen was good, Lorenzo and Baldwin found their synergy, even though Brown was very very tired at the end of the season, so his decision to play or not in Mundobasket (as for today he won't) will be crucial. Colson was fantastic, hopefully next year he will score more and more consistently, Sorkin advanced a lot, I hope that he will stand whole summer on 3 point line and shoot. If he adds range shooting he will be much more valuable.
Nebo was Ok, injury at the end was unfortunate.
Now to disappointments - Hilliard, probably as much because of Kattash in offence, but entirely because of himself in defence, didn't bring bacon home. Hollins came injured, didn't fit and got injured even more, too bad. Braimo was Kattash's failure, shame he was signed. Adams was pretty good, but injured and will not continue. Martin, not really disappointment to me, more to fans... I still think he will be better next year. Poythress came injured, used wrongly by Kattash as 4, got injured more and came at the end of the season... Some say he disturbed some balance, other say he was Ok, we will see if he continues.
As for Kattash... I was against him most of the season, and I am not entirely happy even after championship. And I am not talking about 2nd game - there was no sport value in it, so I choose to ignore it at all. But Kattash game management still lacking, we almost lost championship because of him. Same as with several losses during the season, which cost us home court advantage.
He will continue, we shall see what he will rebuild and see...