Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s head coach after the 70 – 66 win: “I’m happy overall with the decision-making, but we need to improve our rebounding.” Farmar: “We took our foot off the gas pedal in the last quarter.”
By Amy Samin
“We really eased up in the fourth quarter,” said head coach David Blatt. “This is the kind of season where we need to enjoy our wins and forget the losses, because there just isn’t time. We need to build confidence, to look ahead and to stay positive. We can learn from the game, especially from our rebounding (Partizan had 41 boards to Maccabi’s 29), but our decisions for most of the game were good ones. We’re a bit unstable yet, but the main thing is to win and keep going.”
When asked about Maccabi’s three point shooting in the game, Blatt replied, “We were 4 of 16? Many of those were open shots, like Pnini’s and Blu’s. In the end, another day has gone by and our averages are evening up. I hope the shots that didn’t go in today will on Saturday. It’s always tough to play against the same team more than once in a short period of time. It’s especially hard to play against teams with target players; we hope we’ll beat Partizan again on Saturday.”
On the subject of Jordan Farmar, Blatt said, “I’m happy that Farmar played well, and I’m not so sure that this was his last game [for Maccabi – Farmar will leave when the NBA lockout ends]. He’s a player who likes to and is used to coming into the game off the bench. He makes a contribution and does it in a good way. It’s good that he’s with us, and that he contributes the things he does.”
“We’re not tired,” declared Guy Pnini. “We played well for three quarters, but we lost our focus at the end. It’s a shame about the point difference, because it will be important later. Instead of winning by 15 we ended up winning by 4. Personally, it looks like I’m getting back to normal. I had a period of about three not-so-good games where I didn’t get the ball much. But I’m gradually getting into the rhythm.”
Jordan Farmar added: “We played tough defense for three quarters, but we took our foot off the gas pedal in the last quarter. I don’t know what’s going on with the lockout, I’m here and for now I’m enjoying the great atmosphere.”
Keith Langford: “Just to come into the game and feel the atmosphere was great. I’m happy we won, and now we’re looking ahead. It’s still early and Maccabi can achieve a lot more in this league. We still have some work to do. These guys have been working hard lately, and I still need some time to get acclimated.”
