Maccabi’s head coach was satisfied after the win, and is already looking ahead to next week: “We started out a little too wild and that led to mistakes. We can’t let that happen against Caja. We’re hungry and modest.” Chuck Eidson: “Everyone contributed tonight, and it was really fun to see.”
By Amy Samin
“I’m glad we took this game seriously.
We could have fallen into the trap of not taking our opponent seriously, and scaled down our game,” said head coach David Blatt after the win against Asseco Prokom Gdynia.
“We came to the game with fire in our eyes and played outstanding defense.
We get a lot of love from the fans and the guys got excited and lost focus for a few minutes.
We started out a little too wild and that led to mistakes.
I mention that because the same thing could happen against Caja Laboral and that could cost us dearly.
It happened in the previous game against them and we can’t let it happen again.
We need to come to the game relaxed and focused on both ends of the court.”
“We respected our opponent and we respected ourselves, and so we played the way we did,” added the coach during the post-game press conference.
“We’re working on defense.
Defense isn’t just about legs, like they used to say in the past.
Of course athleticism helps, but defense is also about technique, judgment, and practice.
That’s our identity today.
When I coached the Russian National Team we had this type of defense.”
“We go deep to our bench and we get good contributions from those players,” Blatt continued, then addressed the subject of Chuck Eidson. “Chuck is a very special player.
Before Maccabi signed him, I warmly recommended him because I played against him more than a few times while he was with Rytas.
I can’t comment on what went on with him last year because I wasn’t here and it wouldn’t be fair, but this year Chuck is giving great performances, and a player who smiles is different from one who doesn’t.”
“Derrick Sharp uses the expression “hunger and modesty” and that’s what we’re about, exactly that,” added the coach.
When asked about the future, Blatt said, “I think that mathematically speaking we haven’t advanced to the next stage, so let’s hold our horses.
We’re constantly thinking about the kind of reinforcement and the type of player we’d like to bring without distorting the fabric of the team we have now, and that requires a lot of thought.
We have the game against Caja next week, and they’re a team we have a tough time playing against, for a variety of reasons.
Our group in the Euroleague is very closely matched and unpredictable.”
MVP of the game, Chuck Eidson said, “We put on lots of defensive pressure; everybody contributed and that was really fun to watch and be a part of.
Defense is something our team has bought into, and that’s the way we like to play.
We’ve still got some work to do.
We’ll do what we have to do.
If we finish first, okay.
We’ll worry about the next round when it happens.”
When asked whether Maccabi was a fun team to play on, Eidson said, “When you have guys like this, really good guys, it makes it easier on the court.
These are all quality people so it’s fun out there.”
Doron Perkins added, “Our defense did real well today, we put a lot of pressure on them so that made a difference.”
When asked if the team was a bit over-excited at tip off, playing in front of the home crowd, Perkins remarked, “We’ve been coming out to good starts since the first game, it’s been a staple of our team and if we keep coming out like that with the energy of the fans it’s going to be great.”
