Maccabi Tel Aviv will continue its EuroLeague campaign today, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. against Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana. Maccabi enters the matchup in 18th place in the standings with one win and three losses, while Barcelona sits ninth with two wins and two losses.
Maccabi held its final practice in Tel Aviv yesterday before departing for Barcelona. The coaching staff has almost its entire roster available, with only Gur Lavi, who is sidelined with a long-term injury, unavailable. Two players will have to be left out of the squad. In the previous game, those players were Amit Ebo and captain John DiBartolomeo, although the latter impressed in Saturday night's game against Galil Elyon.
A tough week in spain
After a difficult start to the season, Maccabi knows it needs to start collecting wins, even on the road against formidable opponents. The team's double week in Spain offers an opportunity to do just that. Maccabi has identified controlling the pace and winning the rebounding battle as key factors in giving itself a chance to defeat Barcelona on the road.
Ahead of the trip to Spain, head coach Oded Kattash discussed the pace of the two teams Maccabi will face this week.
The pace factor and returning to israel
“We’ll be facing slightly different teams, but if there’s one thing they have in common, it’s the high pace at which they play, and we need to be ready for that. No matter how much we talk about it, we’ll only really experience it on the court. We’ll have to know how to choose the right lineups and perhaps the players who are better suited to that style, because we’ve watched them play against each other and in the EuroLeague, and the pace is high, as is the level of execution from their guards.”
Reflecting on a successful week for the Yellow-and-Blue, Kattash said: “It improved the atmosphere, and I hope it also helped us develop a certain level of toughness, mentally as well. But it’s still a test when we’re away from our fans. I definitely see a connection between playing at home in front of our crowd, where we feel better and believe we can compete, and our performance. It’s pretty clear that their support helps us get off to good starts.”
Asked about his record against Barcelona, which he has yet to defeat during his current stint as Maccabi Tel Aviv's head coach, Kattash replied: “I didn’t even remember that. Maybe now I want to win even more. Thanks for the reminder.”
Kattash also addressed the possibility of EuroLeague games returning to Israel.
“I heard it was very significant, and that the message and the experience were conveyed in order to reach this logical decision. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface, and I do think it has more to do with politics, because there’s no reason to play in Dubai but not in Tel Aviv. We have an overwhelming desire to return to normality.”
A new-look barcelona squad
Barcelona underwent a major overhaul last summer. Following considerable upheaval, Slovenian coach Aleksander Sekulic ultimately took charge and is now tasked with guiding the storied club toward success.
Barcelona's leading scorer is Kevin Punter, who stayed with the club for another season and is averaging 17.2 points per game. Justin Robinson, who joined from Paris, is averaging 11.5 points, while Omoja Gibson, who arrived from Ljubljana, is averaging 10 points per game.
Josh Nebo has returned from injury and impressed against Valencia this week. He shares the frontcourt with Polish center Olek Balcerowski. Other notable players include guard Dario Brizuela and four forwards who had no previous EuroLeague experience before this season: British player Tosan Evbuomwan, Finnish player Oliver Nkamhoua, Nigerian player Stanley Umude and American Tyrese Martin.
Ohad Scheuerman contributed to this report.