Maccabi Tel Aviv may have dodged a bullet a couple of weeks ago when they took care of Hapoel Tel Aviv after dropping a pair of Euroleague games just days before, but against Hapoel Jerusalem the two losses in continental competition the week prior was just too much for the yellow-and-blue. The Reds manhandled Oded Katash’s team from the get go as they raced out to a 29-18 lead after ten minutes of play and that for all intents and purposes that was that as Jerusalem rolled to a 101-84 victory.

Katash’s crew were just nowhere to be found in this game, one that they really needed to be after having finished the first round of Euroleague games with an eye-popping pathetic 4-13 record good for second to last place. Maccabi needed to come into Jerusalem, a place that they have unfortunately for them always have had problems playing in, going for the gold, checking their European problems at the door and winning the game to stay at the top of the domestic league standings. If they can finish the season in first place then at minimum in what is turning into a miserable season, lock in home court advantage for the playoffs that begin, in well, 5 months from now.

For a fragile Maccabi, every Israeli league game is critical and every loss can hurt them badly when it will come to the post-season. As I mentioned last week, the yellow-and-blue have to, must without any doubt concentrate on the local league If they want to come away with at least the championship but after seeing how they came out mentally for this game, that is really in doubt.

“We played on Friday and we landed early Saturday morning and we didn’t have too much time to prepare,” Katash said. “We couldn’t prepare too much tactically for this game and that had an impact. Obviously, after the game you can say that we weren’t mentally ready, but you also have to give credit to Jerusalem. There was too much talk about just two teams in the league and it was all but forgotten that Jerusalem is very high quality club.”

The players were not prepared for a game that should have been a victory due to the fact that Jerusalem have been missing important players due to injuries and that also meant that they were only able to dress 4 import players while Maccabi had five in tow. Add to the fact that the capital city squad had been struggling mightily with their fans breathing all over their backs, the yellow-and-blue were in prime position to take home a win with Levi Randolph returning back to the Arena after having played two years with the reds.

But that was just not to be with one Jared Harper once again taking his game to another level proving once again that he is the best player in the league. 30 points from all over the court in what was yet another tremendous performance proved way too much for Maccabi as the former Euroleague guard took care of the Euroleague team in style.

The fact is that Katash has no player that can match what Harper brings to the table and in this game he had no way to stop him, a problem that most teams seem to have as they look to contain the superstar.

“The way we started the game, that’s how we finished it.” An ashen Katash said following the game. “It was devoid of energy from the tip-off while all the first few baskets came off of offensive rebounds. We were unable to be present either defensively or offensively. We knew it was going to be a very, very difficult game. This week started in Holon which wasn’t easy and somehow we always have issues in the Arena after some tough games in Europe. There are many objective reasons for us being tired but it’s hard to make excuses and it doesn’t justify how this game developed.”

Katash continued, “This always seems to happen to us here somehow after a double week. When we looked at the schedule, we knew that this game could be problematic and this is exactly what had happened to us in the previous two years. We can still fight for our goals. We need to gather ourselves and look ahead. The league is very long, but we can’t stumble again.”

The bench boss also discussed how they are lacking an inside presence right now with Jasiel Rivero injured and out of action while Wenyen Gabriel was sold to Panathinaikos less than 24 hours after the game. With that the club inked Trevion Williams from Alba Berlin just ahead of the transfer deadline, to a 1.5 year deal to shore up the interior.

“Williams will add depth to the team and he can play two positions. He is an offensive force and very talented, let’s hope he integrates into the team very quickly. Historically, this doesn’t always happen during a season, certainly not with what we are going through, but I think his experience in the Euroleague this year will add up and he has a high in game IG. He will be able to help us.”

Prior to the game, earlier on Sunday, rumors out of Greece were abound that Jaylen Hoard was on his way to Panathinaikos which Maccabi shut down, but later on in the day, PAO head coach Ergin Ataman confirmed that they were certainly looking at a Maccabi big man, but it wasn’t Hoard but in fact Gabriel who they were targeting. Gabriel hadn’t fit into Maccabi and has had a rough go after picking up an injury during the preseason which unfortunately for all parties led to a very difficult run that had seen him in and out of the lineup with an injury here and an injury there.

However, despite being a wanted man, Katash didn’t outright say that Gabriel was on his way to Athens and in fact wanted him to continue with the team, “As far as I am concerned, I don’t want him to leave. If there are requests, it’s not necessarily something we have to agree to. I don’t think that in our situation we can release players and vice versa, we need more players to have a bigger rotation. I can’t comment on what Ataman said as we have to make our own decisions.”

Meanwhile as noted above, Gabriel was shipped off to Athens before Katash’s words were even dry on the newsprint.

As for the talk of Hoard, Katash made it crystal clear that the former Hapoel Tel Aviv player isn’t going anywhere, “Beyond the fact that he is a special person, he is also an extraordinary player and we depend on him a lot. There are two or three players that we depend on and the load on them is very heavy. In terms of playing minutes, they are among the leaders in the Euroleague and that is not something natural or good. We depend on Jaylen a lot. We have 2-3 players that we really depend on and the pressure on them is very high, they are among the top 5-7 players in minutes played in the Euroleague and it is not very good either.”

Maccabi has got to pull it together very quickly or else not only will they be non-competitive in the Euroleague, but in their fragile state they will be a non-entity in the Israeli league as well. That would be the last thing that anyone associated with the club would want to have happen but one doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to see the writing on the wall.

There have been endless excuses coming from the Maccabi camp this season and no one around the team would not say that these are all real issues that they have had to deal with especially due to the war. But they are getting old and the fans have really hear enough. They just want an honest effort from everyone associated with the team and is that really too much to ask for?

“I can’t make excuses,” Katash said. “I think the players have a lot of excuses for not always being 100% energetic. We need to get stronger and be better. We built a fairly new team in the summer and nothing has gone smoothly. The Israeli league also poses very difficult challenges and this will continue until the end of the campaign. In terms of the result, losing a league game to Jerusalem in the situation we are in, is not too big a surprise, but up until now we managed to cope and also play better than this game. I am trying not to make excuses.”

Leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.

However, the excuses just still keep coming.