If anyone had forgotten what a former Euroleague MVP could do after two years playing a bit role in the NBA, Vasilije Micic made sure to remind everyone exactly what he’s all about.
With the score 56-52 and 8:04 left in the third quarter of Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 100-93 win at Valencia on Wednesday night, Micic, who was an absolute magician in the period, put his stamp on the phrase made famous by Michael Jordan: “I’m back.”
Micic converted a three-point play, drilled a triple, added a pair of deuces, scored another bucket and drew a foul for an and-one, then scored another bucket for a cool 15 third-quarter points (of his game-high 24 overall on the night) to give the Reds an 80-70 lead and, for all intents and purposes, create the necessary separation to close out the victory.
Having scored seven points in the first half and coming off what he himself would call a subpar performance, 14 points and not having much of an impact, in last week’s derby defeat, Micic wasn’t about to let anyone think that at age 31 he was done. After a mystical third frame, he was anything but finished.
It’s clear why Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay was willing to open the purse strings to bring in the two-time Euroleague Finals MVP. The Reds need to make the playoffs to have any chance to stay in continental competition, as they are not a licensed club. By paying Micic a salary roughly equivalent to the annual Euroleague fee, they’ve put themselves in the best possible position to extend their stay – just as Monaco did when they brought in Mike James.
Most valuable player in conversation
The logic is simple yet brilliant, and all basketball aficionados reap the benefit of seeing the Serbian star play once again in his backyard.
So far, Micic is averaging 16.2 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in four games, but it’s not just the stats that tell the story – it’s the experience and leadership he brings to the table that will help head coach Dimitrios Itoudis and Hapoel Tel Aviv reach their goals.
The consummate professional wasn’t far off from the performances he delivered during his MVP season with Anadolu Efes in 2021, and if he can continue his fine play, he’ll once again be in the most valuable player conversation.
Micic played for Mega Basket between 2010-2014 as he began to hone his craft, then was selected 52nd overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft. While it took him almost a decade to head over to North America, the Kraljevo native featured for a pair of seasons with Bayern Munich before spending a year each with Tofas and Zalgiris, where he really began to flourish.
Off to Turkey and Efes Micic went between 2018-2023, where he dominated the Euroleague and picked up every award imaginable – both in continental play and domestic competition.
His two seasons in the NBA didn’t really showcase what Micic could do; there were flashes here and there during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets, and a short cameo with the Phoenix Suns.
Micic saw that his future wasn’t going to be in the “world’s greatest league” and made the decision to come back to the Euroleague and go for the gold – in more ways than one.
Itoudis is going to ride Micic as much as he can and will rely on the veteran guard, who stands at 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters). In fact, the Greek bench boss has tightened up his Euroleague rotation, featuring nine players – two of whom, Colin Malcolm and Tomer Ginat, played only 8:49 and 10:35, respectively.
The fact that Itoudis used such a short rotation in this game may see the Reds pay a price on Friday night against Paris Basketball in France, but as they say, winning is the name of the game, and if Itoudis feels this gives the team the best chance to win, who’s to argue with him?
It’s always best to get off to a good start, and that’s exactly what Hapoel has done at 3-1. You can always work things out over the course of the first few months with what is a fairly new team when you’re winning – but when you’re losing (see Maccabi Tel Aviv at 1-3), it’s much tougher.
Sure, the Reds are not an entirely new team, with holdovers such as Johnathan Motley, Antonio Blakeney, Ish Wainright, and Tomer Ginat, along with Yam Madar when he returns from injury, but there are also plenty of newcomers in Elijah Bryant, Chris Jones, Dan Oturu, and Malcolm, in addition to Micic. There’s plenty of cohesion that still needs to take place among these players.
One advantage Itoudis has with such a large squad is that he has plenty of players to choose from, including a trio that didn’t see the floor in the win over Valencia, Tai Odiase, Tyler Ennis, and Bar Timor, as well as enough players to form a scout squad.
The scout squad, in essence, mimics the opponent Hapoel will be facing – something Jordan Loyd once told me he had done with the Toronto Raptors when he played the part of Steph Curry as the team prepared to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
In theory, a player like Israeli guard Iftach Ziv, who has only featured in the domestic league, could have taken the role of Omari Moore, who carved up the Reds for 22 points, while Oz Blayzer might have been Nate Reuvers, and so on. These players would have watched film together with the coaches and then played as Valencia would, the best way to prepare for any opponent. It would surprise me if Itoudis isn’t doing this with his roster and staff, though of course it’s not as simple as it sounds.
Itoudis has plenty of tools at his disposal to make this season a special one. But above all, it’s Micic who will be the barometer of this team, and Hapoel will most likely go as far as he can take them.
If the game against Valencia was any indication, the Reds are certainly heading in the right direction.
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