On Thursday night, Jordan Farmar’s Maccabi Tel Aviv squad was able to squeeze by a strong Real Madrid squad led by Rudy Fernandez in Round 3 of the Euroleague, 88-82.
It was Day 126 of the NBA lockout in America, but Israeli spectators were treated to a star-studded game featuring three current NBA players – Farmar, Fernandez, and Serge Ibaka of the Thunder, plus eight players who were either former draft picks or NBA players – Sokoflis Schortsanitis (Clippers), Keith Langford (Spurs), Lior Eliyahu (Rockets), Richard Hendrix (Warriors/Bulls), Sergio Llull (Rockets), Ante Tomic (Jazz), Nikola Mirotic (Bulls) and Sergio Rodriguez (Blazers/Kings/Knicks), as well as two European legends in Theo Papaloukas and Felipe Reyes.
While Billy Hunter, Derek Fisher and David Stern are making headlines discussing luxury tax issues and BRI back in the US, some very high level ball is being played overseas.
Tel-Aviv’s Nokia Center may be a tad smaller than a typical NBA arena, but the acoustics make for an incredible basketball experience. Since Euroleague games are played only once a week, the fans bring an NFL type of intensity to the games that makes the environment all the more exciting.
The presentation is not quite as glamorous as the NBA, with its fancy player intros and entertainment during timeouts, but the intensity of the games, and the spiritedness of the fans more than makes up for it.
The first half was dominated by the NBA players, as Rudy had 10 points, including a beautiful alley-oop, and Farmar managed to get the ball to the basket with ease. The fans came to see a matchup of the two NBA players, and they were completely enamored by the excellent display of ability that both Farmar and Rudy demonstrated in the first half. Maccabi went into the break with a five-point lead after a closely contested half.
The third quarter was a different story, as Rudy put on a disappearing act, scoring no points, while “Sofo” Schortsanitis (16 points) punished Madrid’s big men inside and David Blu (16 points) and Devin Smith (15 points) torched the net from the outside. Despite a solid effort from Rodriguez (7 points, 8 assists) and Reyes (15 points) in the third quarter, Maccabi managed to build up a 12-point lead heading into the fourth period.
Madrid cut the lead to four behind the hot shooting of Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll (18 points), and the high energy of Ibaka (9 points, 8 rebounds), but in the end, Madrid’s defense was simply no match for Farmar. From the opening tip, Farmar managed to cruise to the basket with ease, as he shot 9-of-11 on two-point shots on his way to a 27-point night, and with Rudy only scoring 3 second-half points, Maccabi closed out a 6-point win.
Bulls draft pick Nikola Mirotic had a quiet game for Madrid, with only two points and one assist, but he showed a lot of character and ability. This was my first time catching Mirotic in person, and after seeing his footwork and demeanor, I am fairly confident that he has what it takes to succeed in the NBA. Offensively, he has shown the ability to take the ball out on the perimeter and he has good footwork in the post, and on occasion, he has even showed a knack for being able to defend the paint. He isn’t the second coming of Toni Kukoc, or anything radical like that, but the kid should be a good NBA player.
As for Ante Tomic and Sergio Llull, I don’t know if I can say the same. Both players seem like they will be nice European players for a while, but neither has shown any definable skill that separates them enough to succeed in the NBA. Tomic has the size, but he seems to lack the coordination and physicality to be able to compete with big men in the NBA, and Llull has a way to go before any NBA head coach will hand him the keys to the offense.
On a final note, former Duke guard Martynas Pocius logged 15 minutes for Madrid, posting 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while providing solid defense and playmaking. Maccabi’s Jon Sheyer, on the other hand, didn’t even dress for the game, despite not being injured.
Pocius, who could barely get a minute of floor time at Duke playing behind Sheyer, has established himself as a top level international guard, after flourishing in Zalgiris last year (Ty Lawson’s current team), and with the Lithuanian national team last summer, while Sheyer has struggled just to get on the floor this season. While the game may still be basketball, this is just one of many examples of how different the game is overseas.
AJ Mitnick is an American currently living in Israel and working for Maccabi Rishon Lezion of the Israeli Basketball Super League. A recent graduate of IDC Herzliya, Mitnick also maintains a basketball blog, http://mindlessdribble.net, and is pursuing a professional basketball coaching license from the Wingate Institute in Israel.
I wholeheartedly agree that you cannot evaluate a player based off of one game, however this was not my first time seeing Tomic play. It was my first time seeing him play live this season, but based off of the 20 (give or take) times I’ve seen him over the past three years, I personally don’t think he can make an impact in the NBA.
Your absolutely right that Tomic looked pretty bad going up against a huge body like Sofo, and that it was clearly a poor night to judge his overall ability, but I personally don’t feel that he is a great prospect. But still, that’s just my opinion and I’ve been wrong before, so if you’ve been following him and disagree, then stand strong for your opinion!
Like I said in the article, Mirotec didn’t show his potential through his production during the game, but showed to me a few little things that make me think he has a chance to be a really good player. How a player conducts himself when he is having a bad game is almost as important as what a player does when he has a big night. Little things like footwork, demeanor and attitude go a long way for a prospect. ….thanks for the feedback
Hey A.J.:
I take it form your Tel Aviv location that you follow Maccabi the most closely of the European franchises? What’s the story with Schortsanitis? I think I’ve seen him a handful of times in the past and I don’t remember being near as dominant as he was in the game against Real Madrid. Was it just a particularly good showing? Is he having a good year?
Schortsantiis is definitely not shaped like a classic NBA big man. And I can imagine him having trouble with all of the bigs doubling defensive schemes that are so popular in the NBA right now. But watching him rip apart Ibaka, I couldn’t help but think he could be one of those Carlos Boozer, Big Baby Davis types who are surprisingly effective despite their physical limitations.
Sofo has been dominant this season and last year in short spurts. The problem with Sofo going to the NBA would be that in Europe it is possible for a player to be the focal point of the offense for 15-20 minutes a game and still have a huge impact. He is not an exceptional rebounder, is slow footed on the pick and roll and is not much more than a space eater on the defensive end. He definitely could play a similar role to what Eddy Curry did before he disappeared four years ago, and bring elite level post scoring in short spurts. However, after being a “star” in Europe, I think Sofo would struggle to be a lesser player in the NBA and I doubt any team would use him the right way.
In my humble opinion, Sofo is a Euro star but an NBA dud.
Nice post A.J.
I think you may want to be more fluid in your player evaluations. Your take is absolutely on the money as it pertained the game, but there’s a lot of danger in extrapolating from a single game. I’ve been obsessed with Real Madrid since the lockout began, have watched all their games this season, and many of the games from last year.
I actually like Ante Tomic and his prospects for playing the NBA. He just got beasted by Schortsanitis and was put in early foul trouble. (On that note, I was more than surprised by Schortsanitis’ ability to make Serge Ibaka look bad. Ibaka is one of the best defenders in the NBA and, a last on one night, he was pushed around in the paint.) Tomic has good hands, can finish in a bunch of ways around the hoop, and plays well in a two man game. I view him as a slightly better version of Nenad Kristic. Sergio Llull is a natural scorer, although I agree that he isn’t a good fit for the NBA and will probably never make the leap.
I think you’re being kind on Mirotic. I didn’t see anything from him against Maccabi that made him look like the blue chip prospect that I think he is. I’ve seen stretches of play from Mirotic that make me down right giddy as a Bulls fan, and I do think he could be the second coming of Toni Kukoc. Mirotic seems to struggle offensively when he’s getting beat on defense and the boards, though, and he was getting pushed around all game. He’s still so inexperienced and he’s going to need an NBA conditioning regiment to be they type of player he is capable of becoming — it’s going to be a process.