By Aris Barkas
Keith Langford is the top scorer of Maccabi Tel Aviv and the most dangerous guy for Panathinaikos on the court. The crucial Game 5 of Euroleague play offs between the Greens and the Yellows can be decided by his hands.
It seems strange, but he doesn’t seems to feel any pressure. As coach David Blatt said “the right word is challenge” and his guard agrees. He is ready for the challenge of the biggest game yet of his career: “I don’t know if I agree that this game is the epitome of Euroleague basketball. My experience in Euroleague is quite shorter than a lot of guys, but for me this is the highest point of my career. So for me this game is the apex. I have to be ready to bring my best”.
He knows that in Israel the two teams are compared to the Lakers and the Celtics, but he doesn’t exactly agree on the comparison: “It’s more a color comparison, more than anything. I don’t know if anybody has the caliber of players like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, but it does make for a good conversation. It has been a really good series. It’s been exciting, it’s been a pure form of basketball and I think that a lot of people enjoy it”.
And he will certainly enjoy it. After all, even in a sold out gym with 18.700 “crazy” Green fans, anything can happen: “The think is that it’s a Game 5. Not only there is pressure on us, but also on them too. You have to understand that this team is dealing with the same things that you are dealing with. They are injured, they are tired too, we are tired. Everybody is fatigued and this game…the crowd, all that, don’t matter! Only five people can play at the time, so we have to focus on those five guys on the court and make sure that we are doing our job. It’s a Game 5 and in 40 minutes anything can happen”.