By Doron Jamchy
In my point of view, it’s extremely tough to win two games in 48 hours. It’s not only defense or offense, but if you think about it, after PAO won by 20 points in the first game, Maccabi had nothing to lose at the second game. At Game 2 the difference was only Blue’s crazy shots and the excellent performance of Ohayon which nobody expected from him, at this level. Nobody thought he could show such high abilities, being able to convert also from outside.
Concerning Ohayon, we couldn’t imagine what he would do. He plays with amazing energy and his personality is very important for this kind of games. Because after a good game he can still come to court and play in high level. He has a very good mentality. And it’s safe to say the series is 2-2, because of his games. You see, if you stop Sofo, the only other Maccabi player who can give you something extra is Ohayon from the perimeter.
About last night, I am sure that Obradovic knows very well how to close the paint, he also knows how to destroy Sofo and if you know all this, you understand that Maccabi will rely exclusively on three point shots and the one-on-one game of Langford.
Yesterday Sofo had zero points and Diamantidis stopped Blue, so if you stop the player who won the second game, you are in a very good position. There was also Papaloukas, who didn’t play so much and gave nothing to Maccabi yesterday. At the same time, Saras had 13 points and some of them exactly when Maccabi seemed ready to come back. As everybody knows these are the minutes Saras had difficulties at Game 3. Maybe he was excited after coming in to Nokia Arena again for the first time since he left.
I don’t think Maccabi had any fuel in the tank, after the +60 games they have already played this season. You have to understand that after losing by 20 points, it’s the ego of the players the element which takes control and after you win the second game, you find the energy to continue. Everybody saw that. But yesterday, when Maccabi came to the last quarter, you could see that they were tired.
Please, ask Blatt why he left Maccabi without a point guard and specially without Ohayon, at the last minutes. What happened was Langford playing one-on-one with Diamantidis (the best defensive player in Europe) and the other players stopped Maccabi’s shooters. So, it was only normal for PAO to win! But I have to say, I believe Maccabi can still do the job at OAKA, if they play smart for 40 minutes.