# Spurs easily handle Maccabi



## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

With all the hits Philly and the Clips have taken lately, the Spurs deserve props for taking care of business and beating one of the better (best?) teams in Europe. 

Spurs coasted after jumping out to a 34-17 lead in the 1st qtr but outside of the last few mins with guys like Vaughn, Bonner, etc. playing had a comfortable 20+ pt lead. 

They look real sharp, Parker in particular. Expect them to jump out to a fast start this season.


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

Benedict_Boozer said:


> With all the hits Philly and the Clips have taken lately, the Spurs deserve props for taking care of business and beating one of the better (best?) teams in Europe.



Spurs were nice....but don't say Maccabi is now one of the best in Europe:
1) They are training not much longer than SAS
2) They have a TOTALY rebuilt team: They've changed their coach. 3 leading players left the team.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

^So Maccabi is not one of the best teams in Europe? 

I guess we will see for ourselves when they matchup against CSKA, that game will be televised on NBA TV.


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

We'll see) But anyways they're not at the level they were a year ago, when they defeated raptors.


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## MagnusPinus (Aug 27, 2003)

Maccabi is almost a completely new team..In the years they lost Saras,Parker and BAston..their 3 best players.. this is new team so they also have to learn how to play together,but the sensation is that they have a lot less talent now.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I dunno, I think when all is said and done, Bynum and Buford will be studs for Macabi. Buford especially. He's not in the NBA because of what's between his ears, not for lack of talent. He's probably one of the more talented small forwards in the league. Just never put it together.

I really do believe, Heat title aside, that the Spurs are the best team in the world. Though they could lose to some idiot team tomorrow, there is still no better mix of talent and style of play. They can play any way they want and be successfull. They can be a fast break team, and half court team. Their defense is amazing. They also don't want for talent, with many of the better players in the entire world.


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

Maybe...maybe not.
One more thing about this game is, that MTA never had a ultra-strong D, so they could not be stronger (even potentially) than SAS neither on D, nor on A.


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## kochamkinie (Jan 23, 2006)

MagnusPinus said:


> Maccabi is almost a completely new team..In the years they lost Saras,Parker and BAston..their 3 best players.. this is new team so they also have to learn how to play together,but the sensation is that they have a lot less talent now.


The best 3 players in Maccabi in previous years were Saras, Parker and Vujcic. Nevertheless it's true that Maccabi is rebuildong and no one really knows what to expect fromt them this year. Having this in mind they are still easily a TOP5 team in the Europe.


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

Maybe....

For now the best teams in europe, without "if" are:

Panatinaikos, Olympiacos - both Greece
Tau, Barcelona - Spain
Benetton - Italy
CSKA - Russia
Efes - Turkey

Maccabi will be among the best too, but now they need time to start unerstanding each other....


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Does Abramovic own CSKA's basketball team? I know he's a secret owner of their soccer team.


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

Not really.
The basketball team is mostly sponsored(means owned)by another rich russian - Prokhorov))))


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Does he also have ties to the mob?


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

futuristxen said:


> Does he also have ties to the mob?


Can you, please, ask with other words...i didn't catch it....what does "have ties to the mob" mean?


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Organized crime?
A lot of Russian rich guys like Abramovic got their money in bad ways.


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

futuristxen said:


> Organized crime?
> A lot of Russian rich guys like Abramovic got their money in bad ways.


Ok. Thx for explanation. 
No crime there.... Prokhorov owns NorilskNikel.NN is the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium and one of the largest producers of platinum.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

But does he hang rivals off the balcony of their hotel rooms to make them make deals?


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

At least i don't know about that....

You also have to understand, that Abramovich is very clever businessman...you can earn millions using crime methods...but billions....i guess not...

But wait.....weren't we speakin' about MTA-SAS? 
P.S. sorry...gotta go to sleep - it's 0:30 in Moscow right now))))


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Who is the absolute best team in Europe? I'm assuming CSKA based not only on their play against the Clips, but the fact they apparently won the Euroleague and Russian cup?

http://www.cskabasket.com/schedule/?season=54&lang=en


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## LuckyAC (Aug 12, 2004)

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Who is the absolute best team in Europe? I'm assuming CSKA based not only on their play against the Clips, but the fact they apparently won the Euroleague and Russian cup?
> 
> http://www.cskabasket.com/schedule/?season=54&lang=en


I would rank:
1. Panathinaikos
2. CSKA
3. Olympiakos
4. Tau Ceramica
5. Maccabi Tel Aviv


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

CSKA is the best. On paper. Look at my post with the list of the strongest team in Europe...
Any game against the NBA team is interesting....the more the better. 
CSKA has very strong D, but it will be strong in spring, when the playoff-time comes...but if they play at 70-80% of their potential the will win against MTA, they HAVE to win against 76rs(but they won't play against them i guess)....Playing vs.SUNS will be nice....CSKA never played against such an offense.... SUNS will win +7. But....i haven't seen SUNS this year....don't know what they can do)))
Anyways i wouldn't bet "SUNS -5"))))

LuckyAC, i wouldn't do ANY ranking until January....


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

One question to you guys. Was the CSKA's win against LAC a surprise 4 you?


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## IbizaXL (Sep 21, 2005)

DjPro said:


> One question to you guys. Was the CSKA's win against LAC a surprise 4 you?


no. maybe 5-10 years ago i would be like "whoa..." but not today

i wonder where all the haters are with this Spurs win..... 
nothing to say apparently.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

DjPro said:


> One question to you guys. Was the CSKA's win against LAC a surprise 4 you?


Mildly surprising, but I (along with most NBA fans i'd bet) had no idea CSKA was so good. They didn't just beat the clips, they pretty much spanked them handily and their defensive intensity was remarkable. 

I dismissed Euro ball before but after watching that game...it's obvious there are some solid teams outside the US.

These games with the NBA are a great idea, next time only the top Euro teams should participate (and vice-versa) so all the games are high-level.

Even better would be if the two champs could play each other, but the NBA season is too long.


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## IbizaXL (Sep 21, 2005)

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Mildly surprising, but I (along with most NBA fans i'd bet) had no idea CSKA was so good. They didn't just beat the clips, they pretty much spanked them handily and their defensive intensity was remarkable.
> 
> I dismissed Euro ball before but after watching that game...it's obvious there are some solid teams outside the US.
> 
> ...


thats something i always wanted to see. :cheers:


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

DjPro said:


> One question to you guys. Was the CSKA's win against LAC a surprise 4 you?


Not really. It's really not even close compared to when the US first started dropping games at the worlds in Indiana, and then again in the olympics in Athens. After that I think I was pretty much prepared for any sort of result internationally. I think teams are good enough that if you don't bring a good game, the result could go against you. NBA teams on vacation--it's not that suprising to see them get a few rude awakenings.


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## Ron Mexico (Feb 14, 2004)

> Nelson said he had put together for his players a scouting report on Efis Pilsen, the Turkish club the Warriors will face in their exhibition opener on Thursday. That's an unusual step for a game that doesn't count in the standings, but Nelson didn't want to be another NBA team to lose to a European squad this fall (Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers have both lost): "I don't want to lay an egg."


it comes down to this now :sad:


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Even better would be if the two champs could play each other, but the NBA season is too long.


If the champs play against each other in june, than the NBA champ will win it by 20 or 30...it's just because of physical strength, speed etc. of the NBA players....

Some info, that could be interesting:
The BEST european teams spend $13-15 Millions a year.... 
CSKA played 76 official games last season ( beginning in october, last game 27th may


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Ron Mexico said:


> it comes down to this now :sad:


Nelson does want to change a culture of losing with the Warriors though, and starting off his reign with a loss would be bad.

Plus I don't know why we don't scout these guys, because they scout us. Even in the world championships we didn't really scout that well. I mean Coach K didn't even know greek players names!


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

Europeans ALWAYS scout the opponents....but it's a question, why the americans don't....

Each 2 years we are hearing: "Next time we will be prepared for the european basketball....we will scout"....no changes noticed))))

P.S. Argentina plays european basketball too )))))


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

It's pathetic that a big program like USA basketball can't hire a full-time scout to keep an eye on international teams. It's embarrasssing when our coach doesn't even know the opposing players he just coached a game against. And our players are at a huge disadvantage when they don't even know the basics of what their opponents are about.

Case in point, we had no idea who greece was, so they took advantage of that. Spain actually knew Greece's players and how to play against them. They beat them easily.

Good scouting is often the diffrence between winning and losing a close game.


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## IbizaXL (Sep 21, 2005)

DjPro said:


> Europeans ALWAYS scout the opponents....but it's a question, why the americans don't....
> 
> Each 2 years we are hearing: "Next time we will be prepared for the european basketball....we will scout"....no changes noticed))))
> 
> P.S. Argentina plays european basketball too )))))


just curious....why do you put so many ")))))))"?


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## DjPro (Oct 8, 2006)

why not? )


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## IbizaXL (Sep 21, 2005)

DjPro said:


> why not? )


i just wonder. ive never seen anyone post like this)))))))))))


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