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Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Efes Pilsen
Maccabi Elite hosts Efes Pilsen on Thursday at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, in a much-anticipated matchup for two Group B powers. Although the two clubs are traditional rivals, the reason for the excitement is the man on the Efes sideline, David Blatt. The head coach is very popular among Maccabi circles after spending the first half of the decade with the club. Blatt helped Maccabi win two European championships as an assistant coach and guided the club to the 2002 Euroleague Final Four as its head coach. This game marks the first time Blatt will coach against Maccabi since leaving the team in 2004. Another headline in Tel Aviv concerns the status of All-Euroleague center Nikola Vujcic's knee, which will cause him to miss several games. In his place, Esteban Batista could make his first start, while Marcus Fizer and Terrence Morris may be looked upon to provide more offensive firepower. Maccabi will need its big guys to produce, as the team has had trouble rebounding and ranks last in the league in that category. Efes hopes to have the answer for whatever look Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash throws at it. The visitors boast a deep frontline with Loren Woods, Andre Hutson, Ermal Kuqo and Kerem Gonlum. And small forward Kenny Gregory could make a big impact in the Efes transition game if his team controls the boards. Another Maccabi weakness has been its three-point shooting (24.1%), despite the fact that it has two great marksmen on the roster in Derrick Sharp and David Bluthenthal. Efes guard Drew Nicholas has made just one fewer triple this season than the entire Maccabi roster. As playmaker Scoonie Penn takes more of a role since his late signing with the team, the more open threes Nicholas and Serkan Erdogan are likely to see, too. Without Vujcic being there to run the offense from the low post, Vonteego Cummings, Will Bynum and Yotam Halperin will all need to help setting up the other big men. Maccabi arrives with plenty of pressure after suffering an 18-point loss last week at Lietuvos Rytas. Coming off a loss, being without a superstar and facing a former mentor is the perfect storm for head coach Oded Kattash and Co., who will have the opportunity to show what they are made of in this game. For the visitors, who topped Armani Jeans Milano last week, a road win in Tel Aviv would send a message that the club is coming together and ready to challenge for the Group B leadership. There is no favorite in this encounter, which has the potential to be one of the most emotional and exciting basketball games of the week.
KATTASH, ODED (Maccabi head coach)
"It's a very critical game for us. We play at home, and in this game it doesn't matter who's standing on the other side. Even if it's Efes Pilsen – one of the strongest teams in our group – we still must win the game. We received a big hit with Vujcic's injury. It's bad luck but we need to now how to handle that. If we try to find a good side in this bad situation then this is a chance for other players.
BLATT, DAVID (Efes Pilsen head coach)
"Maccabi is a very very great traditional rival of Efes Pilsen. They also have a very strong roster and many many options offensively and defensively. They are also a fairly new team with many new players on the roster. And like any new team, they have had their ups and downs during the beginning of the season. Certainly, this is the team to be reckoned with, as they have great potential and of course their wonderful tradition and great fans behind them. We're excited to be coming to Tel Aviv for what should be and outstanding basketball game. Personally it's my first time back to Tel Aviv for an official game, playing against a team that was my home for many years. I look forward to it." Match Forecast
Maccabi is really not looking as good as it was last few years. It's difficult what are the true reasons but I think most important are money and beginning of the season. Maccabi signed many good players like Bluthental, Fizer, Cummings but unfortunately they are not in form currently while others "go-to" players are not so hot as board expected to. Vujcic, Sharp are veterans and their best years are in the past especially talking about Sharp, while Vujcic is not showing his level of play yet. And with this injury it's hard to expect to see him old great Vujcic until New Year at least. Another man who play under his level is Bynum.. After injury he is still not in best conditions so far and it's hard to expect from him great game. All in one in my opinion Maccabi is not yet ready for season and still needs time to adjust their game. And here we have another problem - coach problem. Oded Katash was great player but good player is not good coach sometimes. And honestly speaking I am not sure about his level to carry this team under pressure. Maccabi have 0-2 balance and will try to do their best today to get 1st win in front of their supporters but I have serious doubts about completing this task.
Because on other side we have Efes Pilsen with David Blatt. Different from Maccabi Efes is improving his performance game by game and will play with full roster today. No missings, no panic, full motivation and all chances to play good game in Tel Aviv. Blatt knows Maccabi perfect and he knows how to prepare team for big matches. Efes have 1-1 record and will play without pressure today and this could very important because Maccabi still can't play quality basketball and under pressure they could struggle a lot against Turkish team power on both sides of the floor. Efes have deep bench (in my opinion even better than Maccabi's), they have very powerful centers and power forwards to control boards and finally they have positive balance against Maccabi. Maybe not these players and coach but as a structure Efes won 2 of 3 games against Maccabi in Tel Aviv in last 8 seasons. And now they have perfect chance to win this game because they are currently in better form than Tel Aviv team.
I expect Efes to see favorite during a game and would not be surprised to see them building 10-15 points lead in the first half. Such scenario often happens in Tel-Aviv and by this scenario in 3rd quarter Maccabi cut the lead and win game in 4th quarter. But this time I think they will lose. I can't say on the paper but probably this is because I don't take Maccabi as super club anymore and today I will go against public opinion.
In my opinion if this would be played on neutral field Efes would 2.5 pts favorite to win this game and looking into bookmaker odds I can't agree with +4 pts line. Looks like line is going to drop to +3 for Efes so I again will use unique bet365 option to buy spread points . But pick is only for medium stake because we should not understimate Maccabi even when they are out form. At home this team capable to win anyone and they showed this last year few times. Expected score: Maccabi 79 - 84 Efes Pilsen Pick: Efes Pilsen +5 @ 1.71 Bet365.com 5/10
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