Israelis Omri Casspi, left, of the Houston Rockets and Gal Mekel of the Dallas Mavericks sharing a friendly moment at the Toyota Center in Houston before their teams squared off in a preseason game, Oct. 21, 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A reprise will occur imminently — this time when it counts in the standings — when the Mavericks return to Houston’s Toyota Center on Friday night in the first of four regular-season meetings between the Southwest Division clubs.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no telling if those games will feature the chanting, adoring, Israeli flag-waving fans who punctuated Casspi\u2019s NBA tenure early on or whether the adulation bestowed upon an Israeli pro in America has fizzled out before Mekel can feel the love, too.<\/p>\n
The players, both 25, say they expect the atmosphere to resemble the former. While their in-season games will likely draw plenty of Israeli media, JTA spoke exclusively last week with Casspi and Mekel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big thing, I think, for such a small country to have two [NBA] players. It\u2019s something unique,\u201d Mekel said at the Mavericks\u2019 downtown hotel here as Casspi sat across from him. \u201cI saw the excitement when Omri came into the league, and I\u2019m really looking forward to experiencing that, so hopefully we\u2019ll bring pride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casspi acknowledged that he “got excited” upon seeing that Dallas was Houston\u2019s second opponent this season.<\/p>\n
At 6-9, Casspi towers six inches above Mekel, so they won\u2019t be matched against each other unless there is a defensive switch. Their coaches and teammates note similar characteristics in both players — primarily their competitiveness, commitment to improve, determination on defense and team-first mentality.<\/p>\n
Like nearly every NBA player, they possess basketball pedigree — Casspi as a 2009 first-round draft choice of the Sacramento Kings, Mekel as the two-time Most Valuable Player in the Israel Basketball League. But Casspi’s output has declined steadily in his four NBA seasons and Mekel is a rookie, so they both have much to prove playing as reserves for talented teams in the strong Western Conference.<\/p>\n
With Houston, Casspi is light years from his previous clubs, the lowly Kings and the rebuilding, post-LeBron Cleveland Cavaliers. The Rockets are loaded, featuring new center Dwight Howard, forwards James Harden and Chandler Parsons, and point guard Jeremy Lin.<\/p>\n
Mekel\u2019s accomplished teammates include forward Dirk Nowitzki, who led Dallas to an NBA title three seasons ago, along with frontcourt partner Shawn Marion and guards Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis.<\/p>\n
Helping the Israelis fit in is the extraordinary diversity of both clubs, with players hailing from Germany, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Haiti, Turkey and Brazil — to say nothing of Lin, the son of Taiwanese immigrants who ignited “Linsanity” during his brief tenure with the New York Knicks two seasons ago.<\/p>\n
Mavs center Samuel Dalembert, a Haitian, stands out even beyond his 6-11 frame. Having played with Casspi on the Kings, he is the only one to count both Israelis as teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m making history,\u201d a laughing Dalembert said.<\/p>\n
Casspi already has found a kindred spirit in Lin. On the team bus, on the road and at Sabbath dinner at Casspi\u2019s apartment, the two have talked about their ethnic pressures and struggles in establishing themselves in the NBA.<\/p>\n
Lin says he and Casspi have gone through \u201csome of the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Rockets, coach Kevin McHale has shifted Casspi into the stretch-4 position: a power forward capable of rebounding and reliably draining shots while playing away from the basket. It\u2019s a job McHale, an authority on forward play by virtue of his Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics, believes Casspi is equipped for because \u201che\u2019s big and is not afraid to bang.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, McHale says he has eyed Casspi ever since the Israeli was an 18-year-old on his national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was aggressive, he moved, he had a good overall feel,\u201d McHale said in his office. \u201cI thought he had a really good rookie year, a really good start to his NBA career. For the last couple of years, I didn\u2019t think it worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Casspi became a free agent, McHale said he and general manager Daryl Morey went after him.<\/p>\n
\u201cOmri fits in with our style and, hopefully, our style fits him. It has so far,\u201d McHale said. \u201cI really like him. I think he\u2019s a guy who\u2019ll help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson called Casspi \u201cthe surprise of our team\u201d for whom the position change is making all the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he plays the 4, he shows what he can do,” Sampson said. “When he plays the 3 [small forward], he shows what he can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mekel has adapted, too, following injuries to guards Shane Larkin, also a rookie, and Devin Harris that thrust opportunity upon him. His learning curve was steep early in training camp, said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. He was mistake-prone on offense — going airborne before deciding whether to shoot or pass, trying to split defenders he couldn\u2019t beat and turning over the ball often, a huge no-no for a point guard.<\/p>\n
But in four starts, Carlisle said, Mekel \u201cmade progress each and every game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s knowledgeable, rugged and a very good playmaker, and his shooting is improving every day,\u201d the Mavs veteran coach said.<\/p>\n
Entering the NBA, outside shooting was the area Mekel most needed to improve, said his Maccabi Haifa coach, Brad Greenberg. But he added that the team\u2019s run to last year\u2019s IBL championship really showcased Mekel\u2019s solid skill set: penetrating to the basket, distributing the ball, playing tough defense and providing leadership.<\/p>\n
A close State Cup championship loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv, which Haifa later defeated for the IBL title, \u201cwas when I realized he was pretty special,\u201d Greenberg said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe scored, he made clutch plays,\u201d he said. \u201cHe had a standout game in a high-pressure situation against a great team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mekel and Casspi actually honed their skills as teammates on junior clubs, including Tel Aviv’s, before Mekel headed to Wichita State to play two years. Casspi would win an IBL championship with Tel Aviv in 2009; Mekel won it the following season with Hapoel Gilboa Galil.<\/p>\n
They have remained friends. Casspi referred Mekel to his Florida-based trainer after Mekel signed with Dallas. And last summer in Israel, Mekel watched Casspi and the rest of the national team practice for the EuroBasket tournament.<\/p>\n
Their chat with JTA was akin to a family reunion.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my father tell you? He saw your aunt in Slovenia,\u201d Casspi said of the early-September tournament.<\/p>\n
The aunt and Mekel\u2019s father will fly in from Ramat Aviv for the Mavs-Rockets game on Friday, but Casspi\u2019s family will wait for a longer homestand so they can attend more games.<\/p>\n
Throughout the season, \u201cwe\u2019ll watch each other, look up to each other,\u201d Casspi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s great to have somebody to \u2026 get tips from,\u201d Mekel said. \u201cAll the things rookies go through, I have a guy I can ask, and have a friend to speak the language with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casspi and Mekel were ready to conclude the interview and head off to dinner. Perhaps down the line, they may even get to break bread with more Israelis in the NBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we do well and represent the country well,\u201d Mekel said, \u201cwe could open the door for other guys, like Omri opened the door for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/mekelcassspi.jpg\" "\\"mekelcassspi\\"")