Despite one of its lowest offensive outputs of the season, Maccabi clamps down to improve to 3-0 at Menora Mivtachim Arena
New defensive identity lifts Maccabi past Panathinaikos in Tel Aviv
Rungtynių ataskaitos
3 Minutė skaityti
Regular Season
Round 24 of 38
Regular Season
Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA
7571
Panathinaikos AKTOR AthensPAO
Overview
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv’s usual recipe for success is explosive offense, with an average of 94.8 points per game during the Israeli team’s nine victories ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.
And that kind of offensive output has generally been necessary, because Maccabi has been afflicted by defensive problems throughout the season, allowing an average of 92.5 points per game – the second-worst in the EuroLeague.
But this time it was different.
Maccabi boosted its postseason challenge on Thursday night in an unfamiliar fashion, grabbing its tenth win of the season with a 75-71 victory over the Greens that owed very little to free-flowing offense and nearly everything to the grittier qualities of hard work and hustle.
It was by far Maccabi’s lowest winning points tally of the season (previously 83 points on the road at Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 14), and the team total of 10 assists was less than half its season average of 20.3. Maccabi could only convert 9 of its 33 three-point attempts (27.3%), and its 18 converted two-pointers was also well below the team average of 20.9 per night.
Nevertheless, those modest offensive numbers were compensated by a determined and disciplined defensive effort that never allowed Panathinaikos to gather any momentum – aside from a 0-7 burst at the very start of the game before Maccabi had found its defensive rhythm. From then on, it was an exceptionally close and physically contested game, which saw neither team hold a lead of more than 5 points at any stage during the last 26 minutes.
True, Maccabi led throughout the fourth quarter after starting the period with a 6-0 burst – but that doesn’t mean it was easy. The hosts could never find the offensive flow required to make the game safe, and Panathinaikos had opportunities to go ahead after pulling it back to 73-71 inside the last 2 minutes. But long-range shots from TJ Shorts, Kostas Sloukas and Jerian Grant would not drop, and Iffe Lundberg sealed the deal from the foul line.
The hard-fought triumph – which also came with a bit of fortune via those late missed shots by the Greens, some of which were wide open – means that Maccabi is now a perfect 3-0 at Menora Mivtachim Arena after returning to its home floor last month, and the opportunity to play in front of its famously loud and loyal fans clearly makes Oded Kattash’s men an entirely different proposition.
“We really missed playing here,” admitted forward Roman Sorkin, who powered his team’s efforts with 13 points and 8 rebounds. “Every night we play here, it’s amazing energy and an amazing atmosphere. We’re happy to play here, and it just means more to us to play at home.”
Those views were echoed by Tamir Blatt, who scored all his 15 points from long range as he converted a personal best 5 of his 6 three-point attempts in an isolated example of offensive efficiency.
“The energy in the arena was unbelievable,” said the playmaker. “We’re blessed to have these fans pushing us, and we’re enjoying this kind of atmosphere.”
Fans can only do so much, of course, and coach Kattash emphasised the defensive work undertaken by his players.
“Great effort,” Kattash noted. “In the second half, defensively we stepped up, and that was a team effort. It wasn’t always nice, especially offensively – we could do better. But still, we were fighting, we stuck to the game plan and I like the effort. We had a specific game plan against Kostas Sloukas and we did a good job on him.”
The win keeps Maccabi hoping that it can recover from its terrible 2-8 start and climb all the way into the playoff places, but Kattash certainly wasn’t getting carried away as he concluded: “Every game we have to keep improving and be better for our next challenges.”
There are indeed many challenges ahead and Maccabi’s chances of making the postseason are still slim, but if the kind of defensive effort displayed on Thursday night becomes a weekly habit, you never know.
