Lior Eliyahu

Lior Eliyahu - 44th pick, 2006
Unique player who relies on the mid-range area and high pick-and-rolls without a jump shot, who shoots in the paint and the post without getting to the line, with declining yet decent athleticism but little defensive impact, who moves off the ball only to shoot weird flippy things, and whose passing vision is somewhat negated by a handle unbefitting of a perimeter player. His NBA window has shut.

Lior Eliyahu (44th pick, 2006)

- After being drafted, Eliyahu has been in a good year/bad year cycle. He was picked up from smaller Israeli team Hapoel Galil Elyon by the country's powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and was a key producer in his first season. But then in 2007-08, his role was greatly reduced, and his production decimated. In 2008-09, after Maccabi's coaching situation had sorted itself out, Eliyahu was back to his best, averaging 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in Euroleague play, and a move to Caja Laboral in Spain followed. But in his first and only season there last season, Eliyahu somewhat disappointed, averaging only 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in ACB play.

Eliyahu has now returned to Maccabi, and is back on the upswing, averaging 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21 minutes per game in Euroleague play. He's a fairly unique player, capable of running both halves of the pick and roll, a capable passer and decent slasher, an athlete who can create for himself and others, and finish shots from the mid-range. But he's also the poster boy for tweenerism. Yahoo's handle is decent for a power forward, but not for a small forward, and the jumpshot doesn't stretch much beyond the 15 feet range. He's also weak and just not willing to take contact - Eliyahu plays little from the post, and if confronted by an obstacle on a drive to the basket via his face-up game, it invariably results in a floater. The same sort of tweenerism affects him defensively, as does the softness. There's still time to find a niche in the game, perhaps one akin to that of Travis Outlaw. He's certainly doing OK, even if he's leaving unfulfilled potential on the table. But it won't now be in the NBA. He's more Steven Smith than Josh Smith.

Chances of making the NBA expressed as an arbitrary percentage: 5%

- Lior Eliyahu

Before Omri Casspi came Lior Eliyahu. Yahoo, an athletic Israeli forward whose rights are owned by the Houston Rockets, left his native Israel this summer and joined Caja Laboral in Spain. The side effect of that has been a dramatic decline in playing time; Eliyahu averages 17.9 minutes per game in the Euroleague, but only 12.8 minutes per game in the ACB. He averages 7.1/3.6 in the Euroleague and 4.4/1.8 in the ACB.