Casspi in Israel's national team

Ron · Aug 13, 2015

Here's Omri's production in the first 3 friendly matches he played for the Israeli national team, in preparation for the Eurobasket 2015 next month.
(All 3 were losses... the team is really not gelled together so far

. Casspi was the team's leading scorer in all 3 games, though).

Game 1, vs Macedonia:
10 pt, 5 rb, 2 as, 1 st, fg: 50% (2/4)
(1/1 from 3pt)
http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/8416/16/13/69/63aZHcurngAI/

Game 2, vs Ukraine:
18 pt, 5 rb, 7 as, 4 st, fg: 40% (6/15)
(but only 1/6 3pt)
http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/8416/16/13/71/88tCJAJTlaSq/

Game 3, vs Macedonia again:
18 pt, 5 rb, 1 as, 0 st, fg: 50% (6/12)
(but only 0/3 3pt)
http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/8416/16/15/69/13e6YFAa5ClU/

KingMilz · Aug 14, 2015

Can you please describe the rest of the Israeli team (or just starting 5/who you think is important) for me (and everyone else on the board) cause I will be watching the Eurobasket and would like to know who to keep an eye out for.

Thank you

Ron · Aug 15, 2015

KingMilz said:

Hi KingMilz!

Sure:

At the 1 they have a good rotation of two equally capable Israeli-born, pass-first PGs, in Gal Mekel (2nd Israeli NBA player of all times, with some minor PT with the Mavs) and Yogev Ohayon (A very talented Euroleague-level guy. The starter PG for Macabbi Tel-Aviv).

At the 2 they have a 3pt specialist, in Dagan Yavzoury (that's how we pronounce it, anyway...) but they lost their experienced veteran combo-guard, Yotam Halperin, to injury.

At the 3 they have our Casspi (who also plays the 4 & even the 5 sometimes) as well as the super-promising 17-year-old (I stand corrected: 21-year-old) Shawn Dowson, born in Israel to an American ex-basketball-player father (Joe Dawson), whom I bet on to become the next Israeli-born NBA player.

At the 4 you'll find another great Euro-talent - Lior Eliyahu (drafted a few years ago by the T-Wolve, but never played in the NBA).

At the 5 they have D'or Fisher, an American with a double citizenship, who used to be a 6-11 decent shot-blocker with a soft mid-range jumper. You could call him a VERY poor man's LMA (Played for Maccabi TA years back, but really not in his prime anymore), and also a strong Israeli ox - Alex Chubrawitz, who might live up to be a formidable big.

Note that in the preparation losses the team was missing Ohayon and Eliyahu.

EuroKing · Aug 15, 2015

Ron said:

I'm sorry to say, But the information you provide is very poor.
http://www.eurobasket2015.org/en/co...9le2.season_2015.roundID_9322.teamID_306.html

the starting 5 most likely will be:

C D'or Fischer
PF Lior Eliyahu
SF Omri Casspi
SG Shawn Dawson (21 years http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2015/05/21/mitnick-top-5-european-2015-nba-draft-prospects/)
PG Gal Mekel

And the only two you can keep an eye for are Dawson and Mekel

KingMilz · Aug 15, 2015

Thank you for that Ron I believe I have seen Lior Eliyahu quiet a few times in Euroleague If it is him he's a sneaky athlete with a good nose for the ball and very talented with good size I always enjoyed watching him play.

I''m trying to remember the name I don't know if you could help me but of another Israeli PG who played for a Euro Cup (not League) team a couple of years ago they were a Israeli club I believe it was Hapoel Jerusalem. I remember them saying he might have played for Israel in the past he's 5'11 with a slight build and short hair and super crafty play-maker.

I have also seen a good amount of the injured Halperin he's played for a number of elite teams in Europe

Ron · Aug 15, 2015

EuroKing said:

Well, I provided a shortened list of 8 core players that I thought were worth mentioning, with some extra flavour about each of them, off the top of my head.
The list was admittedly and intentionally incomplete but I can't really see why you would think it was "poor", or even how it differs from your short-list of 5 players with little extra info...
(Yes, I DID miss Shawn's age too. I was certain the kid was much younger

)

Never mind.

I agree about the starters. In fact, these are the players I mentioned first in each position, except one single deviation - starting Dowson at the 2 (But I wasn't wrong in listing him as a SF - that's his classic position, where he's listed in the roster you provided)

Ron · Aug 15, 2015

KingMilz said:

Thank you for that Ron I believe I have seen Lior Eliyahu quiet a few times in Euroleague If it is him he's a sneaky athlete with a good nose for the ball and very talented with good size I always enjoyed watching him play.

I''m trying to remember the name I don't know if you could help me but of another Israeli PG who played for a Euro Cup (not League) team a couple of years ago they were a Israeli club I believe it was Hapoel Jerusalem. I remember them saying he might have played for Israel in the past he's 5'11 with a slight build and short hair and super crafty play-maker.

I have also seen a good amount of the injured Halperin he's played for a number of elite teams in Europe

The PG you are referring to may be Bar Timmor.

Amit149 · Aug 15, 2015

KingMilz said:

I think you are talking about Lior by the way you described him, he also has a really weird shooting-form.

By your description of a few years ago it can't be Bar Timmor as Ron suggested, my guess is you are probably talking about Yuval Naimy (though he is 6'2 and not 5'11)- and his career didn't go as planned (plays for a small Israely team now).

As far as NBA prospects go- it's Mekel (who already played in Dallas) and Dawson from this team.

Regarding the starting five it will be a surprise for me if Dawson starts and it will most likely be either Ohayon in a dual-PG lineup, or Raviv Limonad.

And considering just how bad Fischer has played thus far it is very possible that Alex Chubrevich (29, 6'11.5 defensive specialist) or Robert Rothbart (29, 7'1.5) will take his place at the starting five.

Ron · Aug 15, 2015

Amit149 said:

I think you are talking about Lior by the way you described him, he also has a really weird shooting-form.

By your description of a few years ago it can't be Bar Timmor as Ron suggested, my guess is you are probably talking about Yuval Naimy (though he is 6'2 and not 5'11)- and his career didn't go as planned (plays for a small Israely team now).

As far as NBA prospects go- it's Mekel (who already played in Dallas) and Dawson from this team.

Regarding the starting five it will be a surprise for me if Dawson starts and it will most likely be either Ohayon in a dual-PG lineup, or Raviv Limonad.

And considering just how bad Fischer has played thus far it is very possible that Alex Chubrevich (29, 6'11.5 defensive specialist) or Robert Rothbart (29, 7'1.5) will take his place at the starting five.

Yes, you're right - it could be Na'imi that he meant.
Could also be Raviv Limonad, Gonni Yizraeli, old Meir Tapirro, or even Yotam Halperin, though KingMilz said he knew him.

KingMilz · Aug 15, 2015

Amit149 said:

I think you are talking about Lior by the way you described him, he also has a really weird shooting-form.

By your description of a few years ago it can't be Bar Timmor as Ron suggested, my guess is you are probably talking about Yuval Naimy (though he is 6'2 and not 5'11)- and his career didn't go as planned (plays for a small Israely team now).

As far as NBA prospects go- it's Mekel (who already played in Dallas) and Dawson from this team.

Regarding the starting five it will be a surprise for me if Dawson starts and it will most likely be either Ohayon in a dual-PG lineup, or Raviv Limonad.

And considering just how bad Fischer has played thus far it is very possible that Alex Chubrevich (29, 6'11.5 defensive specialist) or Robert Rothbart (29, 7'1.5) will take his place at the starting five.

YES! That's him why didn't his career pan out? When I watched him he was terrific.

king07 · Aug 16, 2015

shalom

Amit149 · Aug 16, 2015

KingMilz said:

It's not like it went really bad, he stayed at Hapoel Jerusalem (where he grew up playing) and the team wasn't very successful at the time, he lost his place as starting PG in 2011 (but did won Israeli league 6th-man-of-the-year award), went on to play one season in Russia (Triumph Lyubertsy) before coming back to Israel to play for Maccabi Tel-Aviv- but didn't get any playing time there and was basically cut from the team.

He is still a good player and a starter in the Israeli league, but considering his once back-up (Ohayon) went on to be a starter in a Euroleague winning team, and that he is not even in the picture to play for the national team- I don't think he lived up to his full potential.

Ron · Aug 17, 2015

Hi

KingMilz said:

Hi KingMilz.

I know you said "YES, IT'S HIM",
but just because of the height difference- let me present the list of "probable suspects"

below:

1. Moran Roth - Wiki page
2. Dror Hajaj - Wiki page
3. Yuval Naimy - Wiki page
4. Yogev Ohayon - Wiki page

They all played for Jerusalem in the last 5-10 years

KingMilz · Aug 17, 2015

Ron said:

Thanks for the list but it's 100% him he just looked 5'11/6'0 (he was fairly slender which can lower the height on ones eyes) to me I was not sure if that was 100% his height, as soon as I read the name it came back to me. Thanks for all the info Ron/Amit149 look forward to catching a few of there games once the Euro thing starts.

Ron · Aug 30, 2015

OK - Preparation matches are officially over now.
The real thing will start on September 5th, with Israel facing Russia, Finland & Bosnia in 3 back-to-back tough matches.

Overall the national team looked better and better towards the end of the friendlies' stretch, but still finished it with a 1:7 (W:L) balance.

I owe you the last 5 games:
Omri was sick in the 2 consecutive home games vs the strong Serbia (He tried to play through his illness in the 1st one and was out in the 2nd) so I woldn't count those in.

Then the team went to a 3-day tournament in Zagreb, Croatia:

In game 6, against Bosnia, Israel led the whole game but lost it in the last seconds (80-79), with Casspi giving them 14pt 5rb and 0as. Lior Eliyahu led the team with 16pt.
http://live.fibaeurope.com/www/Game.aspx?acc=1238&gameID=70280&lng=en

In game 7 Israel had its only convincing win (by 19 points) against Estonia.
Casspi contributed a solid 13pt/9rb/3as effort. Mekel and Eliyahu led the team with 16/2/4 and 14/9/4 respectively -
http://live.fibaeurope.com/www/Game.aspx?acc=1238&gameID=70282&lng=en

The last game, a loss vs the host country, Croatia, was Omri's best individual performance: He had an impressive game with 23 points, 8 boards and 5 assists.
http://live.fibaeurope.com/www/Game.aspx?acc=1238&gameID=70292&lng=en
Israel was surprisingly ahead all the way to halftime, against the more talented and physical local team, but the Croatians came back with a vengence at the 2nd half.

Amaranth · Aug 30, 2015

Thank you for the updates, Ron!

Ron · Sep 5, 2015

Money time!!!
Israel and Casspi made it!

Israel's national team just beat the Russian national team (!!) 76-73, after trailing by 10 at halftime (39-29).

Starting at that point Israel made a great run of 30-10 to 59-49 (fuled by an extra-tight defense, Casspi's 3pters, and Eliyahu's crazy floaters) and held on to the lead to win it by 3.

Omri's performance:
(Played 38 minutes of 40 total...)
21pts, 9 rebs (led the team in both), 3 asts
5/10 from the field and 2/3 from 3pt,
a +/- balance of 8 (2nd best)
Casspi was unstable from the line (9/15),
but his greatest stat IMHO was the 10 fouls made on him (!!!) which was almost half of what the whole team had.
Overall - he showed great leadership.

Eliyahu added 16 pts, and Mekel 13.

Addition - it's all here:
http://www.eurobasket2015.org/en/compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2015.roundID_9322.gameID_9323-A-1-1.html

Next the Israelis meet Finland tomorrow.

TheJewishKing · Sep 5, 2015

Ron said:

Great for us no doubt about it, now we need to look forward to the game against Finland which should not be underestimated my friend, they have a lot of supportive crowd behind them, and their leader Erik Murphy is really decent while playing for his national team, the guys need to know that a win against Finland will make us qualify to the next round, let's go get it.

Casspi was very explosive today, showed he was selected to be the national team captain for a reason, played hard and was grinding in order to get rebounds which was our achilles heel in the entire game, we were able to defeat the Russian national team, it's a great honor, now we need to look forward.

Please add to the rubric that Casspi is playing for Israel in the Eurobasket 2015 tournament.

Bosnian Diehard · Sep 5, 2015

TheJewishKing said:

Great for us no doubt about it, now we need to look forward to the game against Finland which should not be underestimated my friend, they have a lot of supportive crowd behind them, and their leader Erik Murphy is really decent while playing for his national team, the guys need to know that a win against Finland will make us qualify to the next round, let's go get it.

Casspi was very explosive today, showed he was selected to be the national team captain for a reason, played hard and was grinding in order to get rebounds which was our achilles heel in the entire game, we were able to defeat the Russian national team, it's a great honor, now we need to look forward.

Please add to the rubric that Casspi is playing for Israel in the Eurobasket 2015 tournament.

You guys are lucky we are missing our three best players

(Teletovic denied participation by Suns, Nurkic had surgery and Djedovic got a German passport).

TheJewishKing · Sep 5, 2015

Bosnian Diehard said:

True that, Bosnia is an uprising basketball nation in Europe, your youngsters showed a lot of promising and great talent, even though I am not really sure how effective Teletovic and Nurkic could have been, I am obviously not underestimating them but a lot of NBA players don't always fit really well in their national teams, and they don't always display what you expect to see due to the fact that they are NBA players.

With all honesty, your national team is very decent as it is now, you just almost beat Poland, and you were able to beat us in the preparation games, even though the call against Casspi in the last one second was outrageous.

How do you analyse your chances to qualify though?

Bosnian Diehard · Sep 5, 2015

TheJewishKing said:

Teletović plays better for us than he does in the NBA. His performance against Lithuania in 2013 was amazing. Nurkić, on the other hand, hasn't played much for the senior team but carried the U20 team to Division A by himself.

I think alour chances of progressing is 20% at most. I expect maybe one win (vs. Finland). Hopes are very low with the lack of depth.

The thing is our future is very bright with the U16 team as European champions this summer and U18 making the semifinals. Džanan Musa perhaps a potential top 5-10 pick in a few years, Sikiraš/Čampara/Atić all also have great potential. Exciting times for Bosnia ahead.

TheJewishKing · Sep 5, 2015

Bosnian Diehard said:

Yeah I knew I watched Bosnia playing in a finals of some European tournament just couldn't decide which, I do remember that Teletovic had a great preparation campaign in 2014 I think and that he was also blasting in the 2013 Eurobasket, I think he had about 20 points per game right?

I personally think that Finland is one of the strongest teams in our division, they way I see it they are on a roll, their national team is only getting better and it is also attracts the attention of the Finnish population, as you can probably see now, they have lots of fans in their game against France, they also fight pretty hard against the supreme French players.

Amit149 · Sep 5, 2015

Bosnian Diehard said:

I thought you were being to pessimistic with the 20%, and than I started thinking on who you are favourites against and I guess you are right (with this squad)... and Finland are pretty good they are going toe-to-toe with France (the best team in that group by a HUGE margin) right now.

Musa should be great in the future and pairing the very good youth teams with someone like Nurkic who should be near his peak- Bosnia should be a scary team in Tokyo 2020.

Bosnian Diehard · Sep 5, 2015

TheJewishKing said:

Yeah, Teletović was top scorer I think with like 21 ppg or something. And he was huge in qualifiers last year.

Only reason I think we can beat Finland is because I have a feeling they migjt underestimate us. They beat us in 2011 in a blowout and will lokely have a lot of momentum at the time they face us.

Bosnian Diehard · Sep 5, 2015

Amit149 said:

Yeah, I'm curious to see what our future generation can achieve. Before Olympics, we should aim for Eurobasket success.

Since 1993 (our first EC) we haven't made it to the Quarterfinals.

TheJewishKing · Sep 5, 2015

Bosnian Diehard said:

They don't have big names but they were able to get France out of its comfort zone tonight my friend, they really showed they are not backing down, my only hope is that tomorrow afternoon they will have to face us, so I hope that they are mentally broken right now after a frustrating overtime loss to the best national team in the division, and I also hope they are tired after a long and exhausting game against France.

I think we will be able to win, because if we do we will advance to the next round.

sono · Sep 5, 2015

Ron said:

That's almost identical to Boogie's bread and butter in rebounds and fouls drawn!!! I see Casspi took a page or two from his friend

.
BTW what position he plays in Israel's team?

Ron · Sep 5, 2015

sono said:

He plays the 3, and occasionally the 4, just like here in Sactown.

jcwkings · Sep 6, 2015

Casspi looked great, what I love is that he played exactly how he would play for the Kings just amplified x10 because he's the best player on his team. Remember young Casspi played with this sort of sense that he was a star, this is what gave him the door in his first stint with us and why he was irrelevant for a while. He has figured out his bread and butter. Play with a ton of energy, shoot the stand still 3 or drive hard to the rim with that quick first step and get out in transition with that long stride. That is what we saw from Casspi today, he didn't try and play like a star because he was the best player, he stuck to his play style. He's the type of guy you forget just turned 27 years old, just entering his prime. With his play style no reason he can't have 5-6 good prime years in him.

Ron · Sep 6, 2015

Israel snatches the 2nd W!
(And they made it look easy)
Final score: 79-66.

Israel met Finland, a team that only yesterday took the mighty French team (with 6 NBA players if I count right) to OT, and the Israeli boys took the lead from the first minute and never looked back (did not lose the lead once)!

They made Finland's star shooter, Koponen, look absolutely miserable (3 points in 1/10 from the field...)

Casspi's production was 10pt, 8rb, 4as in 35 minutes (longest PT),
Once again Omri led the team in fouls drawn (6) and +/- balance (+15).

Israel's offensive leader was Eliyahu, with 22 great points and 6 wonderful assists (leader in both).

Boxscore:
http://live.fibaeurope.com/www/Game.aspx?game_number=9323-A-5

Next game - tomorrow against Bosnia

Casspi in Israel's national team

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