Israeli Basketball

[la bomba]

so much for israeli basketball.Hapoel jerusalem have not done them a favour.
Unics 98 Hapoel Jerusalem 45!!!!!wow.one game means nothing I admit but it never helps.

[b.jerk]

so much for israeli basketball.Hapoel jerusalem have not done them a favour. Unics 98 Hapoel Jerusalem 45!!!!!wow.one game means nothing I admit but it never helps.

Hapoel Jerusalem had to play the game one hour after the plane landed and they beat Unics by over thirty the last game. Israeli basketball is a lot like the SEC, lot's of local talent and a culture that believes in a standard. Their teams will learn to play hard two games a week in the next two years. After that happens their national team will be good enough to beat any team including team USA. Let's hope in the future that game will be played, in the past team USA played in fiba events even if team usa refused to take a fiba drug test. Nba players may not show up to future fiba events if fiba required nba players to take their drug test.

[berraco]

Hapoel Jerusalem had to play the game one hour after the plane landed and they beat Unics by over thirty the last game. Israeli basketball is a lot like the SEC, lot's of local talent and a culture that believes in a standard. Their teams will learn to play hard two games a week in the next two years. After that happens their national team will be good enough to beat any team including team USA. Let's hope in the future that game will be played, in the past team USA played in fiba events even if team usa refused to take a fiba drug test. Nba players may not show up to future fiba events if fiba required nba players to take their drug test.

I really doubt Israel can reach that level in just two years, but I think they could be in their way to increase the chances to be a contender in the future. If I remember well, they were 5th or 6th in the U20 eurobasket, so the initial talent is there. But reaching the level of USA (with their best players), Argentina or Spain is difficult. And they probably will need to protect these young players limiting the number of foreing players. We will see.

[b.jerk]

I really doubt Israel can reach that level in just two years, but I think they could be in their way to increase the chances to be a contender in the future. If I remember well, they were 5th or 6th in the U20 eurobasket, so the initial talent is there. But reaching the level of USA (with their best players), Argentina or Spain is difficult. And they probably will need to protect these young players limiting the number of foreing players. We will see.

A real test for a basketball culture is the performance of their lesser national teams. It's true that the israeli youth teams aren't good as they should be since the maccabi youth players selected aren't always the best player available but israel still has a winning history with their university teams and other B level competition. America, Spain and Argentina are larger countries with great basketball coaches but a smaller country like Greece has been competitive to those bigger countries. A lot(really most) of america's best athletes come from a relatively small area of southern military bases where it's hot and there's a culture of athleticism. It wouldn't surprise me if israel does really well in basketball in the future since Israel has a comparable subculture where it's even hotter with more of a focus of athleticism that the majority of countries don't have.

[b.jerk]

Saw the Maccabi and Unicaja game and Maccabi looked more like the team in preseason than the team at Ramat Gan. Omri Casspi wasn't the only side story of the game but his was the best. Management didn't realize how good Omri Casspi was until a visit from a San Antonio Spurs scout. Omri Casspi played eleven minutes and he looked like the Omri Casspi from Galil-Elyon and not the player at Maccabi. A casual fan could tell he matured this year with maccabi by his improved defense and decision making but he hasn't learned to play the game with all his athleticism. Omri Casspi was dominant enough for Unicaja to choose not to exploit David Blumenthal foul-prone and weak defensive play to keep Casspi on the bench. For the eleven minutes Casspi played he was the best player at 19 not in the nba.

[b.jerk]

Two interesting side notes, Lior Eliyahu is unhappy with his lack of playing time at maccabi tel aviv and may part ways next season and commentators are saying the youth players will be best prospect ever even better than Omri Casspi(The only player that made Michael Beasley look bad).

[la bomba]

Two interesting side notes, Lior Eliyahu is unhappy with his lack of playing time at maccabi tel aviv and may part ways next season and commentators are saying the youth players will be best prospect ever even better than Omri Casspi(The only player that made Michael Beasley look bad).

Any ideas or rumors about where he might go?It seems strange that he doesn't play,every time he plays he looks dangerous,Was it with the same coach when he played the eurobasket in spain? He didn't play the first game then played against Croatia(i think) and was great.

[b.jerk]

Any ideas or rumors about where he might go?It seems strange that he doesn't play,every time he plays he looks dangerous,Was it with the same coach when he played the eurobasket in spain? He didn't play the first game then played against Croatia(i think) and was great.

Eliyahu can play but I think he's too much of a hebrew school kid rather than a diamondair or other less kind elements people ignore. He's behind Marcus Fizer who plays the game on the offensive end my opinion the right by using his body to go through the defender and Terrance Morris and he plays good enough in the euroleague. Him and Omri Casspi are being used as "safe wall" in the bsl to prevent upsets. Since the rotation didn't change when Oded Kattash resigned I have a feeling Sherf was always in charge of the rotation. I think Lior Eliyahu will play more either because of an injury to Terrance Morris or Marcus Fizer or as a rotation adjustment to a CSKA, Paok, Tau or Olympicos in the second stage. Maccabi seems to rather build around foreigners or some of their youth prospects rather than Eliyahu and I would be surprised if Maccabi and Eliyahu didn't part ways this offseason.

[la bomba]

Where do you think he will go?very few israelis actually play outside israel.I know Halperin played in Slovenia.I think he would do well in spain or greece.I know he had been drafted but I think his career has gone back a step because of his lack of minutes this season.

[b.jerk]

Where do you think he will go?very few israelis actually play outside israel.I know Halperin played in Slovenia.I think he would do well in spain or greece.I know he had been drafted but I think his career has gone back a step because of his lack of minutes this season.

Only him and his agent would know but he played well today on sport5+. Preseason last year coach of maccabi and this years coach of Tau Victoria requested Lior Eliyahu for a loan.

[la bomba]

Only him and his agent would know but he played well today on sport5+. Preseason last year coach of maccabi and this years coach of Tau Victoria requested Lior Eliyahu for a loan.

yes he did well for spahija but will spahija still be at tau next year?There are rumours that dusko ivanovic will return to TAU as he finishes his contract with barca who are definately not going to offer him a new one.

[b.jerk]

I think the Rockets will offer him the standard nba contract next year since the Rockets like most teams want to save money and the league standard for a second round draft pick is 500K. But basketball is a business and he will be offer more money to play in europe and likely won't leave. It won't surprise me other players like Rudy Fernandez or Tiago Splitter will be offered more money to stay in europe or better nba players are offered competitive contract. Two selling points I periodically read about Lior Eliyahu and Omri Casspi are their leaping and athleticism didn't come from doping(hgh) and players that do dope won't have the same longevity and athleticism throughout their careers.

Saw the game with AJ Milano and Sherf played Batista at center and Vujcic at small forward as if Vujcic could stop any power forward that can jump two feet. It looks like Maccabi is going to Yaniv Green, Lior Eliyahu and Sharon Sasson, Omri Casspi. I believe both will rather leave Maccabi than waste their careers on maccabi's bench and the better israeli players will refuse to sign with maccabi. Sherf succeeds because he is surrounded by better talent, maccabi won't have the same magnitude advantage next year and will be exposed.

[b.jerk]

It's been a great two weeks for Israeli basketball 6-0 in international competition, Raviv Limonad(the only elite player Le Mann has) leading Le Manns to their first euroleague victory and the construction of a new stadium at euroleague standards for Hapoel Jerusalem advances. If Hapoel Jerusalem could sign Raviv Limonad, Lior Eliyahu and Yaniv Green this off season they could make it to the euroleague and be a force against maccabi.

[b.jerk]

Typical and eventful week in the bsl there were multiple fights during multiple games and the Hapoel Jerusalem and Bnei Hasharon game was the most violent. There were some many forearms to the throat and back hands to the head the referees stopped caring and didn't call them. There was one point Dror Hagag through one of the ex-nba american center over his back and to the ground. Maccabi is still a mess Lior Eliyahu is sick of maccabi and wants to leave, the coach Sherf to the media complained about the officiating and the Galil coach called maccabi a bunch of crybabies and even said maccabi was so out of touch that maccabi eventually fall and Galil had more of a future in israeli basketball. All in all a typical week of israeli basketball including the usual death threats, racist chants by fans and the entire league having no respect and hating the national team coach. On the positive side no maccabi players ran over a pedestrian three times, or homemade bomb thrown on the court threating player and maiming a security guard, or vandalization of the bsl headquarter with the typical graffiti of "we know where you live and we want to kill you, traitors".

[b.jerk]

Thank you for being polite, but you totally missed my point.
I wasn't talking about this year in particular, but rather on the long-term ability of the franchise.

Yes, Hapoel Jerusalem kind of fell on their faces this year but a franchise with 5,000,000$ and a potential to bring 6,000 fans every game, could make it in the ACB.
But Beni-Hasharon and Holon, despite having a good year, and other clubs like Naharia and the Galille simply don't have the budget and fan base to compete in the ACB for a long term.
Perhaps Holon, Naharia, and Galille together with the late Hapoel Tel-Aviv have the potential to be there at some point in the future, but not now.

If you're saying that the stadiums are better and the operation are better in the acb than the bsl than I completely I agree with you but israel is building some new stadiums. You may think I'm crazy and delusional but I really don't want the bsl to become the acb and one of the bsl most endearing features is it's lack of size and it's small town feel. It's one of the few leagues were a guy who is a great pickup basketball and has the size and attitude doesn't have the barriers preventing them from the major league. Sometimes when I watch professional basketball I wonder if I'm seeing the best basketball possible because there's a lot of politics involved and people who could be great players do get discouraged and quit. With the shekel rising and strong television ratings it's not inconceivable to see a $4-5 budget average in the near future.