What is the true face of this “Žalgiris”?

“I do not know if we will maintain that level throughout the game. “Žalgiris will react after the break, you have to know,” said the Maccabi coach during the big break in Tel Aviv. Ioannis Sfairopoulos.

Of course, no Euroleague coach will say after two halves that his team already won the match with a solid lead. Especially this restrained Greek.

However, it was during those first two quarters that the Israeli giant reminded Žalgiris of those cards, against which the Lithuanian champions could raise their hands and pack for the trip home even before the break.

The Maccabi players came out of the locker room after two quarters with a thirty (!) Point advantage and lost 53 points. For a general understanding of how big the difference is, the fact is that Maccabi has never been so strong in his history after two halves. A similar case occurred just six years ago, when an Israeli club emerged with a 28-point lead in a match against Partizan Belgrade. By the way, a very young Frenchman played for the Serbian club that year. Joffrey Lauvergne’as, and Maccabi became Euroleague champion that year.

The hosts hit as many as nine 3-pointers in Žalgiris’ basket before the break, when the Lithuanian club suffered a prolonged starvation and missed any of them during both halves. The only one fell in only the third half and did Marius grigonis.

Yeah a sniper tested like Artūras Milaknis, in which at least two of the three throws ended with bow balls. Shots were created but did not fall. There were a lot of them for other players.

Žalgiris’ attempts to create successful two-on-two situations have been completely neutralized. M. Grigonis with creative opportunities with Thomas walkup together makes a single effective transfer. It all consists of 23 points obtained by “Žalgiris” in two quarters. Is this a failure? Basically looking for excuses, you can write off for a black day.

But not what we saw on the opposite side of the field.

Before the game, much attention was paid to Maccabi’s shortcomings. A warm, cold and cold mobile center, which is extremely important for the defense of the team, cannot play Othello Hunteris. Israeli basketball star still can’t play Omri casspi.

Much has been said about the star Maccabi Scottie WilbekinąBut at the start of the game his bill was “dry” and certainly not this American was a “Žalgiris” problem. Besides Wilbekin, the Israeli club has more than one individual strength player: Elijah Bryant, Tyleris dorsey, a brilliant defender Chris jones.

This time it was an individual talent for the defense of “Žalgiris” that became the biggest knife: the defense of the residents of Kaunas bled one by one.

An example is ch. Jones effect. When the match finally broke in the second half, although Maccabi was still relatively close, this American defender directly contributed to at least eight consecutive points for his team. This series, which drowned Žalgiris, contributed not only with effective points or passes, but also with movements in the first moments of the attacks, when in defense the one-on-one was suddenly left behind. Lukas Lekavičiusand A. Milaknis slower.

And when you find yourself in the penalty area against an unbalanced defense, there are many variants of the continuation of the attack: at least two long-range shooters lurking at the three-point line or attacking yourself. This is how the triples were chosen by players, as the season has been considered a disappointment until now. Draganas Benderis With Ozas Blayzeris. This is just one of many examples: both T. Dorsey and E. Bryant and S. Wilbekin, who had not been as loud this time, had similar situations when dealing with a rival.

In general, there was a lot of talk about Maccabi’s proven celebrities, but most of it (47) was noted by basketball players who got off the bench. It was his contribution that largely determined that famous 20: 0 streak at the Av Aviv club.

“The problems in attack are not tragic, although we did not score up to 60 points. But the defense needs to start. When the defense is successful, it is possible to run fast, which is best for us,” M. Grigonis told Žalgiris television. After the match.

“We had a lot of trouble keeping the rivals ahead,” Schiller did not hide. – They ran well under the basket and threw the balls. The Tel Aviv team developed good shots and hit them. We couldn’t stop them and it hurt us. “

Schiller spoke out loud for the first time after this game about how his team is suffering due to defense. Patricio garino to lose. This is certainly not just an excuse: due to the lack of a real, strong and physical third number, “Žalgiris” has suffered in many matches so far and will probably suffer for a long time.

“We invited Patricio to be the main defender of the perimeter,” said the strategist.

“Žalgiris” loses the third game of the last four games, and little by little that heady start of four wins is forgotten, and in the first weeks of the season the stuck and great are discovering their rhythm little by little.

But even during that series, Žalgiris did not appear to have played reliable long-distance basketball. It is true that the essential difference was that this basketball player had been winning for at least a while. However, after eight rounds, we still don’t know what the real “Žalgiris” is like this season.

The Lithuanian grandmaster, who radically changed the philosophy of the game in the summer, became the biggest enigma of the Euroleague at the start of the season, when he managed to settle among the leaders. But now, the last four games have lost an average of 86.5 points, and it seems that Schiller’s defensive streak in the Euroleague is no longer a surprise to the continent’s elite coaches.

At the start of the season, even the people of Žalgiris were surprised at how severely restricted the four competitors were, when the Kaunas club averaged just 69.7 points. Now the mood is radically different.

“What can you get out of Tel Aviv? Unless the weather. There was nothing more positive here ”, M. Grigonis briefly but expressively drew the match.