Frequently overlooked given the quality and flashiness of his teammates in Maccabi Tel Aviv these last couple of years, Burstein has been the perfect fit rounding out a starting five which is already written in golden letters in European basketball because of its incredible playing level and achievements. They are Sarunas Jasikevicius, Anthony Parker, Nikola Vujcic, Maceo Baston and our focal point Tal Burstein.
What in Maccabi seems like a perfect complementary player, flying solo with his National Team has been revealed as one of the most complete wing players in all of Europe. Burstein does everything, and everything well. He’s a 6-7 athletic and well built player. He is skilled and fluid athlete who can dribble, slash, shoot, pass, rebound and defend at a great level, being an extremely fundamentally sound player.
Contrary to his usual role in Maccabi, with Israel he’s assuming the lead as the go-to guy. He’s virtually playing point guard in many situations, being the primary distributor of his team (3.7 assist per game, fifth in the Eurobasket), the offensive catalyst, assuming responsibilities and never hiding. As you can guess, he’s a very smart and ductile player who easily adapts his game to the situation he’s placed in, and that would likely include the NBA, for which he has good enough tools.
Burstein is looking better day by day, gaining confidence as the tournament advances, but he will now face an extremely demanding test: Greece and its awesome perimeter defense. This is perhaps an excellent chance to make his definitive leap into European stardom.
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