Maccabi Tel Aviv keeps Play-In hopes alive
With five games left in the Euroleague, the yellow-and-blue are within striking distance but need all hands on deck. The Maccabi Tel Aviv train just kept on rolling as the yellow-and-blue picked up yet another win, this time over Dubai 104-100 in a dramatic overtime tilt that kept Oded Katash’s squad in the mix for a Play-In postseason spot.
OSHAE BRISSETT has been rising to the moment, delivering several clutch performances to keep Maccabi Tel Aviv firmly in the Euroleague Play-In race. (photo credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN) With five games left in the Euroleague, the yellow-and-blue are within striking distance but need all hands on deck. The Maccabi Tel Aviv train just kept on rolling as the yellow-and-blue picked up yet another win, this time over Dubai 104-100 in a dramatic overtime tilt that kept Oded Katash’s squad in the mix for a Play-In postseason spot.
Not only did Maccabi win, but it also beat a direct competitor for one of the Play-In places in Dubai and holds the tie breaker over the United Arab Emirates club with two wins over it, plus the victory moved the yellow-and-blue to one game over . 500, 17-16, for the first time all season long. With five games left in the season, it looks like Maccabi will have a legitimate shot of making the playoffs, but it still does remain two wins outside of 10th place but also out of sixth (!
) due to the fact that there are five teams – Zalgiris, Monaco, Panathinaikos, Red Star Belgrade and Barcelona – who all sport 19-14 records. What makes this effort even more incredible is that Iffe Lundberg is out injured and will still be on the shelf for 2-3 more weeks, TJ Leaf had surgery over a month ago and is done for the season, Jeff Dowtin Jr. primarily collects splinters on the bench and hasn’t had any meaningful minutes in weeks, and Gur Lavy is now out for some time with a knee injury.
However, last but not least is Lonnie Walker IV , the Million Dollar Man, who is an absolute shell of the player Maccabi thought he would be when they inked him to a two-year deal. FORMER NBA guard Lonnie Walker IV, shown here during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, brings his scoring punch and playoff experience to Maccabi Tel Aviv. (credit: Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports) The players who have been the key to Maccabi's success have been Roman Sorkin and Tamir Blatt, Will Rayman and Jaylen Hoard, John DiBartolomeo and Marcio Santos, and Jimmy Clark and Oshae Brissett.
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