Before we begin, it’s worth going over this year’s system, which
obviously
changed from last season. The 10 teams will play two rounds (18 games).
The
top six teams advance to the elite playoffs while the bottom four will
play
in the lower playoffs. The teams in the elite playoffs will play one
more
round (5 games), and 4 teams with the best record make it into the best
of 5
semi finals series. The top seed will play the 4th seed and the 2nd
seed
will square off with the 3rd seed. The winners will play in a best of 5
championship series. In the lower playoffs, teams will play 2 more
rounds (6
games) and the team that finishes last will be relegated.
Ramat Hasharon
The Good: Where do I start? Maybe with the fact Ramat Hasharon has the
deepest frontcourt in the league. The marquee player is of course
Michelle
Snow, who’s known for her dunking ability but proved this season as the
WNBA’s Most Improved Player that there are plenty of other aspects to
her
game that deserve more attention. Snow’s Comets teammate, Octavia Blue,
will
start at the 4. This is Blue’s 3rd season in Israel, but she didn’t get
much
exposure in the first two years playing for small teams. Blue’s a
tough and
aggressive player who can score around the basket and from mid-range,
but
the team’s most versatile player is without a doubt Lithuania’s Gunta
Basko.
Basko (23, 6’0), who graduated from Siena College in 2003 as one of the
best
players in school history, can play inside as well as beyond the arc.
Her
driving ability, post up game and 3-point shot will cause quite a few
problems for her defenders. Ljijlana Latinovic, who played for
Haifa/Motzkin
last season, is the team’s new point guard. Natasha Branchikova will
start
at the 2 and on the bench there’s no shortage of options with Tamar
Maoz,
Aluma Goren & Anat Goldberg.
The Bad: Last season, Latinovic averaged 13.9 ppg and shot a league
leading
67.9% from two point range. Obviously in Ramat Hasharon her first
option on
offense should be the pass, but in pre-season she seemed to pass up
good
shots and didn’t pose a threat on offense. If that should carry onto
the
season it’s definitely a reason for concern. Also, don’t think we
haven’t
noticed Branchikova took Ina Gourevitch’s spot in the starting lineup.
Yes,
Branchikova will be a role player and not a star like Gourevitch was
but
still, Gourevitch knew how to win games and will be missed. Something
else
to consider is whether this team is tough enough for those physical
games,
can they fight when needed or are they soft?
Prediction: 1-4
Elizur Ramla
The Good: 1) Ina Gourevitch is no longer in Ramat Hasharon. 2) Ina
Gourevitch is in Ramla.
Apart from the biggest move of the off-season, Ramla was able to
re-sign our
beloved Amber Hall for her 4th straight season in Israel – no thanks to
the
Israeli basketball union and it’s weird rules. This season Hall’s
frontcourt
partner is Ayana Walker, from the world champion Detroit Shock. Ramla
is a
lot more balanced this season thanks to their decision to go with two
foreigners and two Bosmans. Yugoslavia’s Monika Veslovski will start at
the
3. The backcourt of Dragoslava Zakula and Ina Gourevitch appears to be
the
best in the league. On the bench we find 3 quality guards in Nili
Nataho
(ex-Raanana), Liron Cohen and last season’s newcomer of the year, Tal
Salz.
The Bad: Ornit Shwartz left for Italy and Ramla has no backups for the
PF
and C positions apart from Luda Rom. Foul trouble for Hall or Walker
could
be critical for Ramla.
Prediction: 1-4
Maccabi Ramat Hen
The Good: Ramat Hen presents one of the league’s most exciting lineups,
with
a young and athletic team that can really light it up. Ramat Hen signed
the
league’s top scorer and her runner up from last season, Edwina Brown
and
Tawona Alhaleem. The team’s 3rd American is Plenette Pierson, who’s
coming
off a good rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury as Brown’s teammate.
Though she scored 23.5 ppg last year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find
Brown only 3rd on her team’s scorers list this season. Pierson is one
of the
most gifted post players we’ve had in the league in recent years, and
Alhaleem is an excellent scorer who needs no introduction. Last season
she
racked up 22 ppg for Bnei Yehuda.
Along with Brown, Ramat Hen also signed Naomi Kolodny and Shira Haelyon
from
Raanana. Kolodny will be the starting point guard. Ina Boutenko also
joined
from Bnei Yehuda, and will provide experience and accurate 3-point
shooting.
This season’s front-runner for newcomer of the year is Meirav Dorie,
who’s
supposed to see significant playing time. Defensively, a lineup of
Kolodny
and Haelyon along with the 3 Americans looks perfect for pressing.
Brown was
last season’s league leader in steals, and Alhaleem was ranked 3rd.
The Bad: Lena Fedulova is the team’s starting center, and her only back
up
is Pierson.
Ramat Hen could struggle against bigger teams if they’re forced to play
Alhaleem or
Dorie at the 4 in case Pierson or Fedulova are benched. Ramat Hen’s
talent
will have to
Make up for their lack of balance.
Prediction: 1-4
Maccabi Ashdod
The good: Ashdod returns 3 key starters from their Cinderella season,
and
is the only team in the league that returns more than one starter.
Kenya
Larkin, a member of ‘Safsal’s 1st team last year, will continue to run
the
team from the point guard position. Vika Rudovski returns as the team’s
sharp shooter and Sarit Arbel’s skills and leadership will be there for
Ashdod from day 1. To complete the lineup Ashdod signed two American
posts,
Ebony Tanner and Denise Woods.
The Bad: Ashdod’s budget is much more humble this season, and that
will
make it hard for the team to duplicate last season’s success. Woods and
Tanner are unproven and the team’s bench is practically non-existent.
Prediction: 5-6
Bnei Yehuda
The Good: The team is in business, they have 3 foreigners, and two of
them
play in the WNBA. Actually, that’s more than what Bnei Yehuda had for
most
of last season. After all the drama and the near folding the team went
through in the off-season, the fact it’s still operating is a cause for
celebration. However, Bnei Yehuda built a team that seems capable of
more
than just surviving. They signed G/F Kelley Gibson, a 4-year veteran
from
the Houston Comets and center Leigh Aziz, who’s coming off a rookie
season
in Indiana. Joining them is Detrina White from LSU who’ll play the
forward
next to Sarit Menashe. Taly Klain will start at the 1.
The Bad: The bench is very short, the key names are Katia Agronovic and
Hila
Izhar.
Prediction: 7-10
Maccabi Raanana
The Good: Defense is definitely Raanana’s strong point. The Mercury’s
Ednisha Curry will be Raanana’s key player and leader. She’s awfully
quick,
an excellent defender who can also score. Allison Trapp is a lesser
known
player, but seems like an exceptional defender with a nice shooting
touch.
In the paint Raanana has Canadian center Susan Murray and Elena
Morchova.
Inbar Vaksman will complete the starting lineup.
The Bad: Raanana must force its defensive style of play on opponents
since
the offensive talent is seriously lacking. Trapp and Murray will have
to be
reliable scorers, otherwise Curry might try to do it alone and it’s not
going to work, especially after teams get to know her and focus on her.
Raanana’s inside game isn’t going to scare many teams, and a lot
depends on
the production of the Israeli guards – Vaksman and Inbal Shnapper.
Prediction: 7-10
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin
The Good: Haifa/Motzkin is this season’s dark horse. They have the
total
package with an American frontcourt, a talented floor leader, a 3pt
specialist at the 2 and aggressive defense. Crystal Givens joined the
team
after a great season in Ashdod, where she averaged 14.6 ppg & 7.4 rpg.
Lynn
Pride, who spent the summer with the L.A Sparks after 3 seasons in
Minnesota, is an incredibly athletic player who can play in the post,
drive
the lane and stroke it from outside. Center Nakia Sanford, from the
Washington Mystics, is a physical player who should be able to take
advantage of her size against players like Snow and Walker.
Yelena Mustafina hit 46% of her threes last season, and will be one of
the
targets for PG Laine Selwyn. The Pittsburgh grad should be among the
league
leaders in assists, and is also a good shooter. Defensively
Haifa/Motzkin
looks primed to be one of the top teams in the league. Pride, Givens
and
Selwyn are very active and agile defenders, and are contagious to the
rest
of the team.
The Bad: Haifa/Motzkin’s intensiveness on the defensive end could
result in
foul trouble, at least until the new players get to know the local
refs. If
they do get in foul trouble the bench, which consist of guards Adi
Kindler
and Michal Miron, won’t be of much help.
Prediction: 1-4
Elizur Holon
The good: Holon was supposed to play in D2 this season and yet they’re
still
around. They signed two Americans after finishing last season with an
all-Israeli roster. The Americans, Shala Reese and Kristina Covnigton,
graduated together from Western Kentucky College in 2003 and this is
their
first season outside of the states. Holon also added Sivan Ballalis
from
Ramat Hen.
The bad: It’s no secret Holon will have a tough time competing against
most
teams. Such is life.
Prediction: 7-10
Hapoel Petah Tikva
The good: The newcomers from division 2 look like they plan to stick
around.
Petah Tikva brought in PG Tali Noy from Ramla and G/F Rivi Grinboym
from
Ramat Hen, to provide much needed experience to the new team. The team
also
signed three Americans. Guard Molly Creamer is a great scorer who can
also
play the point and is known for her flashy passes. In her senior season
at
Bucknell College she was ranked 2nd in scoring in the NCAA with 27.1
ppg.
She was selected 10th overall in the 2003 WNBA draft but was later
released
during training camp in NY. Chanel Wright-Green starts at the 4 and
makes up
with hustle what she lacks in height. Like Creamer, Wright-Green leaves
it
all out on the court. Center Tiffany Listenbee will provide inside
scoring
and rebounding.
The Bad: Creamer’s unselfishness and experience at the 1 makes the
coach
play her at both guard positions, which seems to confuse her and hurt
her
offensive game. Creamer’s a natural shooting guard, and can contribute
17-20
ppg from that spot. The vertically challenged Petah Tikva cannot afford
to
pass up on that kind of production like they’ve done in preseason. In
addition, like most of the teams, Petah Tikva’s bench is very short.
Prediction: 5-6
Asa Jerusalem
The Good: Jerusalem has four foreigners and isn’t the leading candidate
for
relegation. Center Valerie Muoneke played well for Ashdod last season,
averaging 13.2 ppg & 7.6 rpg. Telisha Quarles, who graduated from the
University of Virginia in 2002, is a combo guard who scored 12.7 ppg
and
dished out 2.7 assists per game in her senior season. Jerusalem also
signed
two Serbians, Tijana Rus and Ivana Tuvic.
The Bad: Except for Muoneke, Jerusalem’s foreigners are rather unknown
which
makes them somewhat of a mystery.
Prediction: 7-10