This is my seventh season in the Euroleague and my fifth year playing for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. I have truly been blessed to play for such a historic club and have the opportunity to live in a great city. Some say Tel Aviv it is one of the best places to play in Europe, and they would be correct!

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and have grown accustomed to year-round sunshine, beaches and good restaurants. Of all the cities I've lived in, Tel Aviv is the closest thing to home. As part of the Maccabi team in 2004, we won the Euroleague championship. We've been close several times since I returned here, but haven't made it to the top yet. So we are looking to win another championship this season.

In order to reach our goal, the team has changed many players as well as the head coach. Under David Blatt, we have a new, dynamic and different style of play. This season, we have the overall best record in the Euroleague, at 9-1, having won 9 games in a row. We were fortunate enough to qualify for the Top 16 with two games remaining in the regular season, but we continued to have a professional attitude and won the last two games of the round. The playing field is now even, however, as all the Top 16 teams start at 0-0. We have three other strong teams in our group – Lottomatica Roma, Union Olimpija Ljubljana, and Regal FC Barcelona – and we will have to raise our level in terms of preparation and focus.

Our first game is this Thursday in Barcelona, which is a great test for us to see where we stand. Barca is a strong competitor and the defending Euroleague champion. Fortunately, as a team we are all healthy and coming into the Top 16 playing with a lot of confidence. We have been beating teams in the Israeli League by large margins and have not had to really fight for the entire 40 minutes to win games. That is about to change as we start the next phase of our journey. The key for us in Barcelona is to once again remember the speed and intensity of the game. We cannot start the way we did the first Euroleague game of the regular season, against another Spanish power, Caja Laboral. In that game, we lost in Vitoria and were down by as much as 30 at one point. We eventually came back and almost regained control, but they were too much for us in the end. That game was a mental reality check for us and helped us prepare for the rest of the season, especially on the defensive end.

One of the best things about this season is that our team has great personal chemistry together. We really enjoy being around each other, as you can see on our Top 16 promo video on www.maccabi.co.il. That was the key for Maccabi during our 2004 championship run, and it’s great to have it back this season. Good chemistry along with defensive focus and offensive execution will be the keys for our success.

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned to the next D Blu Blog......