24 Nov 2008; Full article Yotam Halperin suddenly comes to life
The only positive surprise for Olympiacos was Israeli sharpshooter Yotam Halperin, who posted 20 points on 7/8 shooting – including 4/4 from three point range – from the field. The 24-year-old is able to play both backcourt positions, but on the current Olympiacos roster he’s playing the two spot exclusively, with Theodoras Papaloukas and Milos Teodosic leading the floor at the playmaker position. Halperin is usually starting for Giannakis but averages less minutes than his aquivalent off the bench, Lynn Greer – at least facing tough opposition in Euroleague and A1. Halperin can be an excellent player when he is aggressive and makes clear decisions instead of hiding and letting the others do the work. He possesses an excellent, high-arcing, jumpshot, which he likes to utilise in pick and roll play, and possesses solid passing game. His game is a bit reminiscent of the current (not the early) Sani Becirovic in terms of his ability to shoot the jumpshot off the dribble using the ballscreen. The problem is: he has not yet been able to establish that kind of aggressiveness over a longer timespan. He’ll have a good game here and there, but when the going gets tough, he disappears. He was surprisignly emotional in this game, something you rarely see from him, and there may be hope that Halperin is finally starting to become more than just a good player.
Halperin had his breakout season as a 22-year-old with Olimpija Ljubljana in 05/06, on loan from Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, who he had played a minor role for prior to that season. The comboguard averaged 13.9 points and 3.6 assists per game in the Euroleague that year, earning him 53th spot in the 2006 NBA Draft. The Seattle SuperSonics decided he was not ready yet, so Halperin moved back to Tel Aviv to play for Maccabi in the 06/07 season. It was also a step back, with Halperin faltering under the big pressure. He finally took a big step in the 07/08 season, leading his team to the Euroleague Final Four. In fact, Maccabi would have never made it even to the quarter finals, had Halperin not hit a contested three pointer against Real Madrid with three seconds left to send the game into overtime. Olympiacos is his second career station outside Israel.
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