A lot has happened in the Middle East over the past two weeks. Leaders have been assassinated, shipping routes have been blocked, regional powers and their proxies are battling for control of the skies and local heroes like Liran “Gray Shirt” and Tomer “White Sunglasses” are fighting for control of prime time. One thing hasn’t happened: no basketball has been played in the Middle East for more than two weeks.

To the disappointment of the fans of Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv (and Dubai, of course), the EuroLeague won’t be returning to our region anytime soon. But at least yesterday we could take some comfort in our Middle Eastern teams as they enter the final stretch of the regular season. Two games played simultaneously, a small consolation.

In the empty Palau Blaugrana, Hapoel Tel Aviv secured an important 80–75 win over Barcelona. The entire game revolved around the number two (2). It was Hapoel’s second straight win after a run of losses, following two weeks without basketball. It moves them to within two wins of second place, with two games in hand. They won thanks to a dominant and elegant performance by two players who simply cannot seem to miss when shooting for two points. Enjoying this? Let’s explain.

Hapoel Tel Aviv’s offense in recent games has been based primarily on the pick-and-roll. Itoudis’ regular starting five opened the game last night with the ball handler receiving a soft screen from Colin Malcolm, who then moved toward the baseline. Immediately after, Dan Oturu set another screen and rolled toward the paint.

This combination managed early in the game to create mismatches in the Catalan defense that translated efficiently into precise offensive outcomes.

One mismatch down low: Oturu receives a smaller or slower defender and walks him right into the heart of the paint before help can arrive. One mismatch up top: Elijah Bryant or Vasilije Micic gets a taller defender and can more easily draw a foul (Jan Vesely) or blow by him on the way to the basket (everyone else). Especially in the first half, Hapoel Tel Aviv did not bite into the apple of outside shooting (1/6) and instead squeezed every drop of juice from those mismatches.

That showed in a remarkable 16/20 shooting from two-point range (80%), and in Vesely picking up foul trouble already in the first quarter. That sent to the floor big men who don’t know how to deal with the pick-and-roll and also can’t score on the other end — Hernangómez, Parra, Fall, and Keita (who in just 1:59 managed to record a +/- rating of -8, the worst on his team).

I wrote recently (just one round of games and one regional war ago) about the Bryant–Oturu pairing. Their dominance and efficiency when running the pick-and-roll together are pushing me toward some far-reaching conclusions that I’ll share in the next paragraph.

Looking at the big picture, Elijah and Dan are the leading scorers (15.7 and 13.3) and rebounders (6 and 5.8) for the Reds. Oturu leads the EuroLeague in two-point field goals made (5.8 per game) at 72.6%, while Elijah ranks 14th in the league (4) at 59%. They are the main reason their team leads the EuroLeague in two-point percentage. The two of them alone are responsible for an astonishing 41% of Hapoel’s made baskets inside the three-point arc.

On the court last night in Barcelona, they combined for a monstrous stat line: 43 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists on 80% shooting. The two truly complement each other. For example, all four of Elijah Bryant’s assists went to Oturu and the last of them was a dunk that effectively sealed the game with a minute remaining.

All this efficiency, precision and chemistry between the former Anadolu Efes teammates makes me wonder about Vasa Micic’s role in Itoudis’ starting lineup. So far, most of the Serbian guard’s minutes have come alongside Bryant and Oturu who, simply put, don’t really need him to create their own points. Micic finished yesterday with only 6 points in 28 minutes, overshadowed by Bryant’s (massive) presence.

On the other hand, the second unit yesterday lacked a ball handler who could feed Tai Odiase under the basket, as Jones finished with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. In addition, two of the three assists to Odiase came from number 22. So the question arises: maybe it would be better for Itoudis to play Micic and Odiase together with the supporting unit, rather than starting him alongside Oturu and Bryant. It could benefit both players and improve the Red rotation overall.

Speaking of rotation, yesterday we saw the first performances from the two new signings. Levi Randolph made his debut and Kessler Edwards received his first significant minutes. Hapoel Tel Aviv had two major runs in the game: in the second quarter, when they turned a 26–19 deficit into a 36–29 lead (a 17–3 run), and in the third quarter when they pulled away to their first double-digit advantage.

The common factor in both stretches was the presence of Kessler Edwards. The forward, who got only 50 seconds against Milan, played 20 very active minutes last night. With eight (!) defensive rebounds including one where he was surrounded by four players in blue and maroon along with two excellent blocks and the highest plus/minus on the floor (+19), Edwards provided an excellent defensive answer at a position that has been vulnerable for the Reds this season.

In addition, with hustle plays on defense and a beautiful dunk, he helped build the momentum needed to overcome the selfish comeback attempts by Will Clyburn and Kevin Punter for Pascual’s team.

The win is a big and important step toward securing a playoff ticket against a direct rival. Next week in Sofia, Hapoel will face two teams from the second tier of the competition. On Tuesday, the twice-postponed game against the Parisians is finally expected to take place. On Thursday, the Reds will “host” Virtus Bologna.

Two wins and a little luck on other courts could practically guarantee season number two.