2019-10-25T14:55:06+00:00

2019-10-25T14:55:06+00:00

2019-10-25T14:55:52+00:00.

Tyler Dorsey must earn his playing time from Giannis Sfairopoulos and that’s just one sign about the change in Maccabi’s mentality

By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net

Maccabi was always a fast-paced team and loved foreign stars. The Israelis traditionally feel and play like the showtime era Lakers of Europe, but this mentality seems utterly different under Giannis Sfairopoulos.

The 52-year-old head coach took over about one year ago, last November. Since then, he nearly got the Israelis back into the EuroLeague playoffs and captured the domestic league title earning Coach of the Year honors in the process. Enter defensive effort to understand his open secret.

Getting his players on board

Sfairopoulos is up to a 2-2 start in EuroLeague following Thursday’s home victory versus Valencia and 3-0 in the Super League. It is still way too early to determine playoff berths in Europe’s premier competition and the conclusion of the Israeli League is far away as well, but one can easily touch on Sfairopoulos’ overall effect on Maccabi.

His tactical knowledge and head coaching abilities were not his only attributes moving to Maccabi last winter, but the Greek mentality about defense as well. Fans have come to know the Yellows as a side with speed in execution packing an offensive mentality, but, under Sfairopoulos, defense has been prioritized. The experienced coach always reminds his players of this fact.

Defense builds rhythm

From his years with Olympiacos and even before in his earlier experiences with other Greek clubs, Sfairopoulos has been a firm believer that through defense a team can find its rhythm in the offense. You can’t have one without the other, especially if you want to play uptempo.

And it’s easier to control the rhythm of a game from the defensive end, than doing it via pure offensive talent. This is the mentality he brings to his players in Maccabi as well as what he wants to see by newcomer Tyler Dorsey.

“He did not play a lot, because I am not pleased with his contribution,” he said on the 23-year-old guard during the postgame press conference following the game against Valencia, “He has to play better to earn more opportunities.”

Dorsey being on the court for just over 36 minutes through Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv’s first four EuroLeague games would not be a popular bet last summer. Following a couple of NBA seasons, he joined the Super League champions on August 17th but has since struggled to find his role.

Up to Round 4, he is averaging 9:03 minutes per game with a total of 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists to show. A gifted shooter by any account, Dorsey still has to learn how to read the game and also how to adapt to his role in a team that is aiming high. And of course, that means also playing “D”, a mantra that applies not only to Dorsey but to the whole Maccabi team which kept Valencia to 63 points last night.

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