Euroleague transfer analysis: Group A
July 22, 2008
After the first transfer mania on the European market, I want to take a look at the current roster situation of the Euroleague teams. Of course, right now, you cannot tell how the teams will perform this season as the squads have not been fixed, but let’s take a first look at who did what in the market.
Attendance figures for European competitions
June 26, 2008
After we have talked already about attendance of the different leagues, we take a closer look at the three main European competitions and their attendance figures.
The 2008 National Champions
June 25, 2008
BallinEurope has established a list of all National Champions in the various European leagues as they are known so far. If you have results to add or know who was named Final MVPs in a European league, feel free to add this in the comments so that we can update the list.
The NBA-Euro Exodus continues
June 13, 2008
The transfer season is in full speed in Europe, with rumors fusing all around the different newspapers and websites. And while the NBA teams are still thinking of drafting Europeans in the second round, former picks are thinking about moving back to the Euroleague.
Maccabi hires Effi Birenboim as head coach
June 6, 2008
As Euroleague.net reports, Maccabi Tel Aviv named Effi Birenboim as the new head coach of the club on Thursday. Birenboim, 54, is a veteran Israeli who has made a name for himself by coaching 23 straight seasons in the top league in Israel.
This marks the first time Birenboim will coach Maccabi, although he does have experience at the top European level, having coached Hapoel Jerusalem in the 1997-98 Euroleague. Birenboim replaces Zvika Sherf, who led Maccabi to the Euroleague Final Four last season in Madrid. Sherf is still in talks with management regarding his role with the club.
It wasn’t a big secret that the Maccabi organization and the Maccabi fans weren’t happy with coach Sherf, who is also still coaching the Israeli national team. It just sounds a little bit funny that a head coach would remain in the organization for “some job,” doesn’t it? What does he want to be? Head of scouting? Telling the new coach who to get? I am pretty sure, that Zvika will not have a management role at the club unless no club at all wants him to be the head coach.
The BallinEurope playoff roundup
May 28, 2008
The action continues in full effect, with more and more leagues entering their true decisive phases. And when the decision approaches, players begin to lose their nerves.
F4 - Maccabi - So … WHAT?!
May 2, 2008
Ok, ok, ok. Forget history – far or close and forget those who pay hundreds of Euros to watch these games. Time to talk about those who actually make money by playing them, get all the hot chicks and are taller than most.
First, a few lines about those who won’t be there: Both teams will miss their key regular season players due to injuries. Rimas Kaukenas and Marcus Fizer were the main reasons Maccabi and MPS had good regular seasons, but manage to screw up their knees and send their teams to the higher levels of the Euroleague without them. Both teams made it there, and since CSKA was also missing Smodis for a long period at about the same time, we can say the “well, we had a lot of injuries” excuse from any team isn’t valid this season.
Almost every matchup here will be fascinating. Vujcic-Lavronvic is a meeting between two big guys atabout the same age and height who like to shoot from outside; McIntyre-Bynum is a meeting of two short US point guards who can kill the opponent or their own team on any given night; Sato-Halperin will see one guy bring huge athleticism and decent skills to beat a dude with huge skills and decent athleticism.
But … for me the most interesting matchup would be between the blue collar representatives – Terence Morris and Shaun Stonerook. Rarely do we see US players that enjoy staying in the shadows and working for their teammates. Even more rarely do we see them do such a good job on Europe’s highest level. Once in, we see them go head-to-head in Final Fours.
An international inquiry committee should be formed to figure why Stonerook wasn’t a candidate in the defensive MVP category on the form Euroleague sent to its coaches. A 201-cm monster who leads the Euroleague in steals (OK, he actually has one steal fewer than the real leader McIntyre, but that doesn’t count) meets a 207-cm guy who leads the league in blocks.
It’s kinda funny because they’re built completely differently: Morris is long and lean while Stonerook is short and wide, but their games, roles and importance are pretty much the same. Hardly ever does either force the shot; both are very smart and understand the game; both are good passers; both like to shoot from outside (Stonerook didn’t finish a single game this season with more than two 2FG made); and, as mentioned, each has his own defensive specialty but both can play huge defense that goes beyond the numbers. Neither is a great scorer, but take either off his team, and that team is lost. Oh and by the way, both are represented by the same agent.
Maccabi will have to see what kind of shape Vujcic is in coming into the game. He’s the most veteran and experienced player, especially in Final Fours, among the key players around (unless Sharp or Burstein suddenly show more on-court presence), but if he doesn’t play a large role then the dash is clean.
This is Final Four people, and this is where hands get shaky and palms get sweaty. Rarely does a player in his first Final Four experience know how to disconnect from the noise around him and give his regular performance. If Maccabi don’t use their experienced players, be ready for both teams to make a lot of stupid mistakes, miss easy shots (well, not like Stefanov … but still) and struggle to get their game going.
X-factors: Esteban Batista and Vlado Ilievski. Pay attention: They can be the ones to play big roles and decide the outcome. I got a hunch about Drake Diener (I really like him – as a player), too, but maybe it’s the bad food I had last night.
The bet: Maccabi by a small margin. Experience will talk.
-Yarone Arbel
Euroleague Final Four: Yarone Arbel on Maccabi’s experience
April 30, 2008
Making it to the Final Four made Coach Zvi Sherf untouched in a way. His team has already collected seven losses in the Israeli league (eight including the shocking cup finals loss), but his status is stable. He is making some decisions that most people can’t easily digest, like benching Vujcic and Sharp for 40 minutes, but he hasn’t suffered any hits from media or fans. Yet.
There’s no doubt Montepaschi are coming into the game in better shape, and even when both teams in good shape it’s acceptable to say the Italians are a better team, and play better basketball but…this is Final Four, and in Final Fours there’s another factor: Experience. And it talks loud and clear.
The biggest difference in experience is on the benches. Montepaschi’s head was in two final fours as the assistant, but didn’t complete yet two seasons as a head coach. Sherf? He was an assistant when Maccabi won their second Euroleague title in 1981 and head-coached legends like Berkowitz, Aroesti, Jamchy and McGee. His first Final Four was in 1989 and he’s one of the longest-term coaches in Europe.
Experience will talk on the floor as well; that is, if Sherf has Vujcic, Sharp and Burstein, something he doesn’t seem to often have lately. The addition of Burstein to a team that made it to the Final Four without him was supposed to give Maccabi added value, but he so far hasn’t found his place in the team.
If this trio doesn’t get a lot of minutes, Maccabi has their tradition: This will be the team’s 10th Final Four, more than any other team in Euroleague history (Barcelona ranks 2nd with nine). After that…the players will talk, too.
Euroleague Final Four: Maccabi Tel Aviv’s momentum and the fan factor
April 29, 2008
Since the end of the Top 16, Maccabi isn’t playing the basketball that earned them first place in the group. Against AXA, it was already a little less intense Maccabi, but still it was enough.
The real difference was seen, of all places, in the Israeli league, where Maccabi normally cruises to the title. Last night, the yellows traveled to Nahariya hoping to get back on the winning track. They took the court while Montepaschi was about to finish their close-to-illegal-tantalization over Capo D’Orlando, and ended up losing. Again.
Maccabi lost three out of their four league games, with the single win a 113-111 home win over Hapoel Jerusalem in overtime after Hapoel led by double-digit margins for most of the game up to and including the closing minutes. Sherf’s boys made a huge comeback, like in the good old days, to win the game; but if you think that was Maccabi’s winning spirit, well, think again.
All of those last four games were decided by a single basket or less: 78-79, 113-111, 101-99, 88-87. Maccabi lost three: Not a good sign for a team marching into what could be a game that will go down to the last minute.
The fan factor
We’ve gotten used to seeing mayors asking to host the Euroleague Final Four and eventually having to survive a yellow-and-blue attack taking over the city for three days, but seems like things will be different this time.
In previous Final Fours, Maccabi was escorted by at least 6,000 fans (In Paris 2001, there were about 10,000; well, it’s still Paris), but the prices of the trip packages (starting at 1,500 euros…) made a difference and as it seems right now, after around six-seven flights were canceled, Maccabi will have “only” 3,000 followers. After Maccabi had more fans in Moscow 2005 than CSKA itself, and had gotten used to “taking over” the Final Four arena, this case will be different, although against Montepaschi and “hopefully” CSKA (just in case…) Maccabi is still expected to enjoy an advantage there.
–Yarone Arbel
Euroleague Final Four: Maccabi Tel Aviv’s history lesson
April 28, 2008
Once again thanks to Yarone Arbel for this great series of articles about “his” team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
History-wise … Maccabi couldn’t hope for a better opponent in the semi-finals than Montepaschi. In eight encounters so far, all in recent years, Maccabi has beat the Italian bank eight times.
In fact, most of these games have been tattooed in the memories of Maccabi fans. There was the first buzzer-beater made by Saras in a Maccabi uniform. Another came a year later when the same Saras on the same court against the same team made his first three pointer of the night, after eight misses prior, exactly in the last seconds to put Maccabi on top.
Yet another: Down in Siena, the game was decided after Anthony Parker hit a three pointer plus a free throw shot (a rare scene by itself) in the last seconds.
One more was in the 2002-03 season, when Maccabi came to Siena after a steak of three losses in four days (Back then, they played the Adriatic League between Euroleague and Israeli league games); coach David Blatt was about to get a one-way ticket, but the win in Siena put the team back on track.
Last, and funniest of all, was in 2004-05 when Vrbica Stefanov got the ball under the basket, WIDE OPEN, for a simple layup with his team down by three and less than 20 seconds to play, but he managed to miss it like a five-year-old girl and Maccabi won again.
The players who were active then and are still around today are Bootsy and Eze for Montepaschi, while Maccabi has Vujcic, Burstein (rarely used), Sharp (ditto) and Halperin (he was hardly used back then).
Tomorrow, the next article by Yarone: Maccabi Tel Aviv’s momentum.
