Maccabi Tel Aviv takes aim at second half of season, despite setbacks

Maccabi Tel Aviv ended the first half of its Euroleague season as best as it could have possibly hoped for, with a 10-7 record.

With a double week coming up - with games on Tuesday and Thursday against Monaco and Fenerbahce, respectively - the Israeli team hopes that it can use these contests as a springboard for the next part of the campaign.

Despite having to play home games at an empty arena in Belgrade, save for the season opener when the yellow-and-blue defeated Partizan Belgrade at Yad Eliyahu two days prior to the October 7th massacre by Hamas, head coach Oded Kattash couldn’t have been any more satisfied with the on-court situation that sees his club in sixth place in the continental competition.

A respectable rally following a tragedy 

After defeating Zalgiris 78-70 in Lithuania, Maccabi, which has been without star guard Wade Baldwin for seven of the ten games, showed the grit and character that has been its calling card all season long as it has dealt with one challenge after the next, from having to leave the Holy Land at the start of the war and make a home base in Serbia, to playing games with no fans, and from the restart of the Israeli season to the many questions as to which foreign players if any will play in those games, what Kattash has done is no less than miraculous.

Following the win at Zalgiris, and just before the second round of games gets underway, the Maccabi maestro spoke in depth about a myriad of topics.

“This was a great win for us under the circumstances; it wasn’t easy,” Kattash began. “We were together for just 24 hours to prepare for the game, and losing Wade Baldwin wasn’t easy for us, but players stepped up to the situation, and we were really focused defensively for 40 minutes.”

While Maccabi may be three games over .500 with 17 games to go in the regular season, there are plenty of hurdles that it will have to maneuver around, over and under, during the first few months of 2024. Of the 17 remaining games, 10 of them will be on the road, with the first one of those ironically being held in Panevezys, where Fenerbahce will host a “home” game due to the difficult security situation the war has wedged between Israel and Turkey.

One of the reasons to play in “Ponovezh” is due to the fact that Fenerbahce’s new head coach, Saras Jasikevicius, is Lithuanian and was also a star for Maccabi when it won back-to-back Euroleague titles in 2004 and 2005.

“We knew we wouldn’t be able to play in Turkey for security and political issues,” Kattash said. “We were waiting to see where we could play. I like to come here to Lithuania as basketball is more than just a game here. I love being here and have spent time here. But in our crazy world since October 7th, we can’t really plan more than 4-5 days ahead. It’s not the optimal situation, and we are facing a number of difficulties, and this is one of them.”

From there, the yellow-and-blue has four Euroleague games coming up in two weeks, with one being against Monaco in Belgrade. The following week will see two more games in Serbia, at home against Bologna and on the road at Partizan. Four very, very tough games await Kattash and his team, without a doubt.

Throw in a trip to Greece and Spain along with four domestic league games, including a derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Maccabi has one difficult month of January ahead.

A period of uncertainty

Add to that the fact that Kattash doesn’t even know which import players will be able to count on to return to Israel - after having played the past two domestic clashes with Sabras only as all of the foreigners refused to come over the Christmas holiday - and the situation becomes that much more challenging.

“We have to handle this crazy situation, which is not easy, and hopefully, things will be better, and we can keep the team together. The schedule is challenging, and in general, the Euroleague schedule is tough too, as well as playing without our home crowd. We are putting a lot of effort and emphasis into that.”

Kattash also commented on the roster.

“As for the players returning to Israel, there are different reasons, and each one has his own issues. Hopefully, we can solve that. Obviously, as a coaching staff, we want the entire team together, and we know we will have to travel. I hope we will find a way to do it.”

 Every one of the players has had to step up, whether it has been the Israelis in the domestic league or in the Euroleague due to injuries, whether it has been Baldwin or captain John DiBartolomeo. The roster still does not have the depth that it has had in the past, and any player who may not be 100% is going to be tough to replace.

In fact, as the Zalgiris game neared its end, Josh Nebo, who had a career night with 22 points in one of his old haunting grounds, came up lame, which is no doubt a concern for Kattash, “Hopefully, it’s not that bad, and that he will be OK, he will be checked out. I think Wade Baldwin will be ready next week as we decided just an hour before the game that he wouldn’t play as we were scared to take a risk with that and didn’t want to take a chance.”

With Baldwin’s absence, Tamir Blatt has been able to fill in more than admirably as the guard has raised the level of his game both in scoring and creating with 14 points and eight assists, while Rafi Menco, who was stellar in the two Israeli games, also received a chance to show his wares in the Euroleague that he grabbed with both hands.

“It was a great performance from Tamir Blatt, he really helped us and has given the team a lot from the beginning of the season. He stepped up, and John DiBartolomeo helped with that as well, while Rafi Menco from the bench and Josh Nebo had a great game. Tamir is confident, and he knows what he is doing.”

However, Kattash knows that the upcoming 17 games will be no picnic, and that begins this week.

All eyes will be on Maccabi Tel Aviv to see if it can continue its solid play from the first half of the season, and also if the full team will return home. But until then, the bench boss will continue to hold out hope that sports, and especially basketball, will be a light unto the nations.

“I think basketball always has to be above politics, but unfortunately, things happen. I don’t even know what the main reason is for not playing in Turkey, if it’s politics or security. I wish basketball and sports would bridge us to world peace. We play sports for the fans, and I hope things will be better. I wish that the entire basketball world will all have solidarity.”