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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Basketball / Euroleague preview / Facing a real test, for a change By Aviv Lavie Tags: Maccabi Tel Aviv, Euroleague  The good news is that in its previous four Euroleague contests, which all ended in victory, Maccabi Tel Aviv has been improving consistently. The bad news is that tonight begins the tough part of the squad's schedule, relative to the cup-cake competition that fell into Maccabi's division. The complexity of the standings forces Maccabi to keep its home record spotless, but if there's a Group B team that can win in the friendly confines of Yad Eliahu, it's Rytas Vilnius. Rytas boasts the best defense, yielding only 70.8 points in away games. The mass of bodies the team puts into the paint, led by 2.07m Marijonas Petravicius and 2.08m Matt Nielsen will pose a serious challenge to Marcus Fizer. Physicality on defense provides the litmus test for Maccabi's true mettle and for Fizer and Will Bynum. Against soft defenses, their athleticism provides a huge advantage. Just look at how Fizer took Le Mans last week for 36 points in 37 minutes, and Bynum dished out 13 assists over the previous two games against just one lone turnover. The question is what happens when they come across a defense that requires more than just one-on-one pizazz to crack. In the last meeting, the Vilnius litmus test revealed Maccabi's forlorn face. Tonight we'll get an updated look at that face. When Katash's players looked at the videotape of their 92-74 pounding in Vilnius, it's safe to assume they didn't need much explanation. The Lithuanians crushed them under the boards, pulling down rebounds at a 40-17 advantage, including an embarrassing 17 offense boards that led to numerous second chance points. They also shot 52 percent from behind the arc. It was Maccabi's first drubbing of the season, and the entire roster reacted in total shock. Watching 11,000 dancing Lithuanian fans didn't make it any easier for them to leave the arena. The return to Yad Eliahu never made them happier. Advertisement It's been a while since so much was written about point guards who played so little basketball, but there's no way around it - tonight's the true test for Vonteego Cummings and Bynum. Hollis Price, the point guard they'll have to cover, averages more (17.4 ppg) than the two of them combined, shoots twice as good from three-point range (43 percent to 20 percent), and turns the ball over less often than they do. Bookmark to del.icio.us Blast from the past The donkey is making a comeback as the prevalent form of transportation in Gaza. U.S. anti-Semitism The ZOA condemns the U.S. government for failing to protect Jewish students.

Today Online Experts: Far right will up violence in future settlement evacuation Responses: 161 Israeli Arab group seeks 'supranational regime in historic Palestine' Responses: 257 Harel: Palestinians live in squalid refugee camps by choice Responses: 137 IDF soldier seriously hurt, seven militants killed in Gaza raid Responses: 173 American Zionist group slams U.S. gov't on campus anti-Semitism Responses: 181 More Headlines 23:43 PMO denies Israel holding talks with Hamas on Gaza truce 02:02 ANALYSIS: Is a truce between Israel and Hamas possible? 21:54 IDF soldier seriously hurt, seven militants killed in Gaza raid 19:48 Israel sets up express passage into Bethlehem for pilgrims 01:23 Report reveals new details on Gibson's anti-Semitic comments 19:38 Bush: My patience with Syria's Assad 'ran out a long time ago' 16:39 Housing Minister backtracks, says no new E. J'lem housing plan 20:55 IDF officer charged with causing death by negligence in car accident 18:00 Barak: Labor Party won't support budget if stipends remain frozen 18:09 Transportation Min. proposal could reduce prices on Israeli airlines Previous Editions Select Day 20 dec 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 14 dec 13 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 07 dec

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