not sure if this goes here, or international, but since we retain his rights I thought i'd start here. this from draft express: http://www.draftexpress.com/blogs.php?blogid=4 Maccabi vs Roma The game was very close in the early going, with Vlado Ilievski pacing Roma, and Lior Eliyahu keeping Maccabi close. After Eliyahu tied the game at 14 with a dunk, Ilievski quickly scored 5 points in a row on a 3 pointer and breakaway layup. Nikola Vujcic countered with a layup, cutting the Roma lead to 19-16 at the end of the first quarter. Forward Dejan Bordiroga started to heat up in the second quarter, but Maccabi made a surge about halfway through the second quarter behind the play of Rodney Buford and Will Bynum. Eliyahu made a layup late in the second quarter off a steal to increase his first half point total to 14, but he then picked up his third foul with 3 seconds left. At halftime, the score was 36-30 in favor of the Israeli team. Will Bynum started off the third quarter with a nice make from the three point line, and Buford then made a hook shot in the paint. Vujcic made a pair of free throws after being fouled on a move in the paint, and Bynum made another three to cap off a 15-0 run by Maccabi to start the second half. Loukas Mavrokefalidis broke the drought for Roma with a tip-in at the hoop, but Bynum drained another three, followed by one from Rodney Buford. Bodiroga was able to help his team go on a little run late in the third, and the period ended with Maccabi up 58-46. In the fourth, Bodiroga displayed some of the magic that his made him a 3 time Euroleague champion, and was able to cut the lead to single digits. Eliyahu came back into the game however, and made some timely baskets to allow Maccabi to cruise to a 78-65 win. Lior Eliyahu, whose draft rights belong to the Houston Rockets, played an excellent game despite foul trouble. Most people thought Eiliyahu would have to play small forward in the NBA, but the Rockets want him to play power forward in the NBA. He moves very well off the ball, and scored his first 4 points of the game on open dunks off of cuts from the weak side. Eliyahu has been known to have the tendency to only drive to the right side of the floor, and early on, he did drive from above the three point line on the left to the right side of the hoop for a layup. Later in the game, he did drive to the left on three different occasions, and he was able to finish twice. Eliyahu has two main weaknesses which will need improvement before he tries to make the jump to the NBA. His defense needs a lot of work, as evidenced by the foul trouble he struggled with throughout the game. He misses a lot of rotations playing help defense, and is a liability against quicker players who beat him off the dribble. The other thing that must improve is his outside shooting. He didn’t take any shots in the game outside of 15 feet. He missed his first two free throw attempts, and his shooting mechanics need a lot of work. These two weaknesses will be less of a problem for Eliyahu if he’s playing as a face the basket 4, but he needs to bulk up first if this will happen in the NBA. He has a good frame for adding weight, but his body is undeveloped. Eliyahu finished the game with 18 points on 8/9 from the field, and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes.
He played surprisingly well in the recent NBA-international exhibition games, and the NBA-TV announcers often gushed at his potential. I too am concerned about him being too much of a tweener to make an impact anytime soon. Not sure which position is best for him. If he can really bulk up and keep his athleticism up, he might have a shot at PF.
Okay, it says outside shooting, but 8/9 from the field - I know, mostly dunks and layups, but if that's all you got, if you can get it, that's okay, too!
