Maccabi need to close gap with the likes of Barcelona as Katash looks for consistency

Nov 11, 2022 | Holyland Hoops

While the resignation of Maccabi Tel Aviv Sports Director/General Manager Nikola Vujcic will overshadow the team’s 86-79 loss to Barcelona, there is definitely plenty to discuss about the Yellow & Blue’s performance which was definitely better than last week’s debacle at Baskonia, but still not enough to down a very, very good team.

More on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s defeat to Barcelona:

Liking the fight: Maccabi Tel Aviv – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly after falling to Barcelona

Unwrapping Maccabi’s loss to Barca, Baldwin talks, Nikola Vujcic resignation, Israel Nat’l Team on Episode #343

Vujcic steps down with record of mixed results, but does he have one more rabbit to pull out of his hat?

The defeat to Saras Jasikevičius’s Barcelona team really was a very good litmus test for Maccabi as it certainly showed Oded Katash the gap that there is between the teams. While the hosts may have taken a 43-40 lead at halftime via a Bonzie Colson 3-pointer at the buzzer, the second half was all Barca and all Saras who in essence schooled Katash and didn’t allow his team play the game that they wanted to.

It was the visitors who controlled the pace of play and Katash was unable to make the necessary adjustments to run the fast break, to get the ball inside to the big men for an alley-oop or an easy hoop and perhaps most importantly in today’s day and age the 3-pointer is such a lethal weapon and an important part of the game, but it’s not part of Maccabi’s lexicon.

Wade Baldwin – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman

Add on top of that, Wade Baldwin being ejected late in the fourth quarter put the proverbial nail in the coffin on this night. Katash has plenty to work on this upcoming week ahead of Friday’s game at Partizan Belgrade.

“To beat a team like Barca you need to play a complete game and you need to have steadiness,” Katash said. “The guys wanted to win and we were a bit short and missing some players. Maybe it was the fact that we went with a shorter rotation but we also have to give them credit on defense. To beat a team like Barca you need to play very well on offense. Slowly but surely we will improve but this performance was a big difference than the loss at Baskonia.”

No question that this was a better showing than the one in Vitoria but it also shows what Maccabi needs to do in order to be able to compete at the highest levels.

Lorenzo Brown – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman

Lorenzo Brown offered some insight into the game, “It was hard fought. They made the best out of the opportunity that they had and that was our downfall. I feel like they took away the lob, they impacted the paint and they hedged.”

“You can’t question our fight tonight we gave it our all,” Wade Baldwin commented. “You can’t undermine Barcelona they are well coached and made some big plays. We gave up some open threes.”

There were plenty of open 3-pointers that Baldwin was referring to especially five of the six that Nicolas Laprovittola made as Maccabi had issues on the defensive end of the court as well.

But that seemed to be the least of the problems on this night as the Yellow & Blue had so many problems trying to play their game as indicated before.

Lorenzo Brown – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman

“Push the ball more,” Brown told The Sports Rabbi. “We needed to do that more, that is our strong point and our defense as well, defensive rebounding and there was miscommunication on our end.”

Over the course of the second half, Barcelona was able to impose their will as they pleased plus in some cases it seemed that at times the referees played a bigger factor than they who’ll have in this game.

“Mysterious things happened when that happened. I find it ironic on one hand Higgins got a free throw opportunity, Josh had contact down low to prevent his dunk, and that was it,” Baldwin who was sent to the showers after picking up a technical and his 5th foul of teh game.

Credit needs to go to Baldwin as he was in the lockerroom ready to answer the questions thrown his way from the media. There have been many a player that have went to the showers and hid from the press after a tough moment, but Baldwin was a man’s man and was there answering every single query. In today’s day and age that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Oded Katash – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman

“We know Wade and up until now he has been great for us,” Katash warmly said of Baldwin. “He is very emotional and he has been great controlling it so far. We don’t want these things to happen and he has to keep focusing as he does day by day and be a leader as he has done. He is still young and he can improve and he can make the next step up.”

One player who made his return to action last week is Darrun Hilliard and he featured in the first half to this game but was nowhere to be found in half number two for Maccabi. Perhaps he could have been a help as the Yellow & Blue desperately needed to find a way to score more than five triples in the game as they went 5/20 for 25% which in today’s basketball isn’t going to win you any contests.

“I feel great thankful and blessed to be playing this game,” an open Hilliard said. “Play at a high level deal with that mentally and physically and feeling 100% healthy thank god. I thought we had a good first half. But I can’t say much from the second half as I didn’t play.”

As for what Hilliard thought Maccabi could do better over the final two frames, the swingman pointed to the experience factor, “That just goes with experience. The more experience on the floor the easier it is to prevail. The players they have, you have to play a full game to beat them.”

Wade Baldwin – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman

Maccabi now has a week to get ready for a road date at Partizan Belgrade and the Yellow & Blue will be looking to find their first win of the season away from home explained Baldwin, “Hoping to pick up our first road win in Belgrade.”

But it’s not just Partizan, but Olympiacos, Red Star, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem. There is a rocky road ahead for Maccabi.

“The schedule is not simple. We knew things would not be as simple as they have been up until today,” Katash remarked. “There are no easy games in the EuroLeague. From my point of view we all wanted to win and we also wanted the players to play the way they did.”

One of the keys will be for Katash to find the players that he can trust and work into the proper flow of play along with that necessary consistency in order to take their game to the next level as Hilliard said, “Hopefully we find a good rotation and cohesiveness. We have a long season.”

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