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.
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. It should also be noted that Zach Hankins was a key contributor in the win over Dubai, which was easily his best game of the season.
Brissett has without question been one of the club’s most important players over the past few weeks as the Canadian forward seems to have finally seen everything click into place at just the right time.
Brissett keeps Maccabi in race
The 27-year-old former NBA forward needed time to adjust, perhaps more than the fans and even management were willing to give him, but now there is absolutely no question that Brissett has been the engine under the hood that has kept Maccabi in the race for the postseason.
Brissett has made the right plays time and time again, whether it was the game-tying basket to send the contest into overtime against Dubai, a key block, a big dunk, a massive rebound, or a terrific assist; he has been the team’s backbone. While Jimmy Clark has made the plays by the hoop and has not only scored but has played the point guard position to perfection, Brissett is the glue guy in every sense of the word.
The former Raptors, Pacers, Celtics, and 76ers man played 243 games in the NBA, including 10 in the playoffs with Boston as part of the 2024 championship team, so it’s clear that Brissett has the experience and know-how to help be that leader in helping Maccabi down the stretch.
As amazing as Brissett has been, and however clutch and key he’s been for the yellow-and-blue, it’s been almost the opposite with Walker.
Walker, who also has plenty of NBA experience to the tune of 361 games, including playoff games with the Spurs, Lakers, Nets, and 76ers, just has not shown the consistency of a player who was brought in to be the top of the top and the unquestionable leader of the pack. Sure, Walker has had some fabulous performances, but if you look at the last four games, three wins over ASVEL, Fenerbahce, and Dubai, along with a loss to Milano, the numbers are stunning.
How about 6.8 points on 5-of-35 from the field. YIKES! Add to that 14-of-20 from the free-throw line, and offensively, he has been awful. In the last three games alone, all wins, Walker is 1-of-18! What is going on here?
In Brissett’s last two games (he missed the win over ASVEL due to personal reasons), he shot 13-of-18 and scored 16.5 points per game, quite the difference. But for Brissett, it’s not just the last couple of games; it’s been the last half a dozen or so that he’s been so good and so important for Maccabi.
On the other side of the coin has been Walker. Despite his poor play, Maccabi is still winning, but the question is how long it can keep chalking up the victories if he doesn’t show up and the club keeps losing other players to injury.
At some point, something has to give.
Maccabi has a very favorable final five games coming up, perhaps one of the easiest schedules over this period for any Euroleague team, with Anadolu Efes, Baskonia, Paris, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Bologna. The only team over .500 and in a playoff position is the Reds, and the derby has its own rules. Records don’t matter in those games, as it will be all blood, sweat, and tears to go along with desire and grit. Whoever wants to win that game more will win it.
But there are still a number of games to go until the derby, and Maccabi has to make sure that it continues to collect wins.
It’s crystal clear that Brissett will be one of the players who will carry the yellow-and-blue down the stretch. The unknown question is whether Walker will play a part in that, too?
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