Monaco – Maccabi Tel Aviv
International - Euroleague, Round 5
26/10/2023 - 21:00 CET
Monaco had a terrible start in the EuroLeague, and it seemed like head coach Sasa Obradovic could be on the verge of being fired. However, his team responded. First, they defeated Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, and then they won against Alba Berlin on their home court, significantly improving their situation. Kemba Walker made his debut last week, and there are high expectations for the former NBA All-Star. He and Mike James are expected to form one of the most dangerous backcourts in this competition, alongside Elie Okobo and Jordan Loyd. Loyd is still injured and will be out for some time, but even without him, the mentioned three players bring significant quality. In their last two games, Monaco improved their three-point shooting, which was a huge problem against Virtus and Valencia. Players from the bench like Petr Cornelie, Yakuba Ouattara and Jaron Blossomgame have made a valuable contribution, and when that happens, this team looks entirely different.
Maccabi Tel Aviv is going through an incredible situation. Due to events in Israel, they are training in another country, and according to the latest reports, their home games will be played in Belgrade in the near future. This situation has surely affected the team. In the double round last week, they first lost to Valencia, and then they defeated Panathinaikos in a game where both teams performed poorly. The difference was made by Tamir Blatt and John DiBartolomeo with their three-point shooting. Their defense is doing a decent job, but until the injured Wade Baldwin returns, they have limited options in the backcourt. They heavily rely on the shooting percentages of DiBartolomeo and Blatt, and they won't always be hitting at high percentages, as was the case in Athens last week.
Monaco has been building good momentum after a horrible start to the season. Coach Obradovic recently mentioned that they practically didn't have a proper preparation period and are only finding their rhythm and form through games. As time goes by, they look better on the court, and there's no reason for them not to continue in this manner against Maccabi Tel Aviv. If Baldwin were healthy, Maccabi's chances would be considerably higher. Without him, Monaco will do half the job by slowing down Lorenzo Brown, and they have defenders capable of doing that. Moreover, there are no secrets between these clubs. They played against each other six months ago in the EuroLeague quarterfinals, and Monaco won the series 3-2. On paper, Monaco is even stronger now, while Maccabi is missing one of its two key players. When you add everything up on the court and consider the whole situation around Maccabi, it's clear why the home team should come out on top.