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“It’s simple, we have to win four matches. If we win all the remaining matches, our chances will be very high. If we win three matches, the odds decrease. And two wins can open the door to the quarterfinals, but in that case, many miracles must occur. That would be a simple explanation of the situation. ” 15 minutes Martin Schiller, the Kaunas helmsman “Žalgiris”, said before the match with “Maccabi” in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
The Lithuanian champions, who are on the brink of the abyss, face a battle of maximum value, in which defeat would prevent even the guests of Israel from breaking into the Euroleague playoffs.
At the end of the Euroleague regular season, four games remain, which all Lithuanian champions not only need to win, but also expect favorable results in other fields.
“I don’t think there are teams in the Euroleague that have nothing to lose. All the games are important, you can make the Euroleague playoffs or not. If you don’t know, then you are lost, said Schiller. – Every game and every Euroleague situation is important. This is how this tournament is. It is not the case that a team that loses its chances in the quarterfinals will spit on the rest of the match. That is not the case with our work. Of course, it is more It’s fun to play when you have access to the playoffs, I don’t deny it, but you have to understand that there are no situations in basketball where there is nothing to lose. “
Eriko Ovcharenko / 15min nuotr./Martinas Schilleris
The Israeli club was one of the tournament favorites last season, finishing fourth in the Euroleague before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to a halt.
The Ioannis Sfairopoulos students face the match in Kaunas three places behind Kaunas “Žalgiris” – only 11 wins, 17 losses and a failed dream over the quarterfinals.
It is true that in the first round of the Euroleague season, Maccabi recorded Žalgiris’ biggest loss so far this season, when Martin Schiller’s troop capitulated in the Menora Mivtachim arena until 57:85.
“We had a lot of problems in that match,” Schiller recalled in the first match. – One of them – we lagged behind in speed, we couldn’t control three players who controlled the ball perfectly – Wilbekino, Jones, Dorsey. You can still add Bryant. Dynamic and versatile players that added a lot of inconvenience, especially when we didn’t have Rock due to COVID-19. The speed of the rivals was the best. The next moment is Dragan Bender’s long pitches, which he gathers in fifth instead of fourth. These things have made life difficult for us. “
Recently, the Maccabi field, like “Žalgiris”, has not smelled of victories – the Israeli club triumphed only once in the last 7 matches, at that time the Kaunas team – twice in 8 matches.
Delving into the statistical protocols, the Tel Aviv club’s attack rating is only 16 (average 107.5 points per 100 attacks) in the tournament, long range shots (average 35.3%) – 17th and 15th place ( average of 15.8).
“This team is dominated by defenders,” explained the Lithuanian champion helmsman. – Three defenders with excellent ball control play at the same time. Maccabi has losses on the top line, so Dragan Bender will play in fifth position. We came across the same Maccabi lineup that we played against Tel Aviv a few months ago. Many great ball players, many skills that come up with D. Bender in center position. Sure, with that they lose muscle under the basket, but it raises the skill. There is a great challenge ahead. “
Grunwald and Maccabi
Maccabi’s defense is seventh in the league (110.5 points missed in 100 attacks), and according to the balls recovered in attack, future opponents of Žalgiris are in fourth place, averaging 10.3 per game.
“They have improved their defense. At the beginning of the season, Maccabi were not a good defensive team if we look at the statistics. But they have definitely improved. The strength of Maccabi’s defense depends on tall players. Elijah Bryant is a tall defender. Angelo Caloiaro in third position is also a great man. Under the basket: Against Žižičius and Othello Hunter. These tall players are very important in defense, they protect the backs of defenders, “said the coach of” Žalgiris “from Austria.
Euroleague photo via Getty / A difficult night in Istanbul: Fenerbahce – Žalgiris
Maccabi’s solid defense doesn’t promise an easy life for the attack from Žalgiris, who has been in last place in the Euroleague since round 19, with just 103 points accumulated from 100 attacks.
Where are the causes of a drip attack?
“It just came to our attention then. The most important moment is the lost space on the field, which makes it difficult for the ball to move. Now we have to move the ball even more when attacking. We are working on that, “Schiller said.
On Tuesday, the Argentine Patricio Garino played at Žalgiris, who scored 3 points in the basket of Dzūkija de Alytus in 15 minutes. Schiller has doubts about his participation in Thursday’s game.
“It hurts, but everything is fine on the road. We will discuss this situation later, as we don’t have much information now. It is part of the recovery process, we do not expect it to bring much benefit now. We will decide later, “said M. Schiller.
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