When we want people to know we’ve arrived somewhere, we ring a bell or knock on a door. We can also tell a joke, dye our hair, or maybe show up wearing a neon shirt. At Hapoel Tel Aviv, they built one of the deepest, highest-quality and most expensive rosters ever seen in the EuroLeague and that’s how everyone knows that someone new has arrived.

Together with Valencia, they’ve produced one of the most spectacular entrances in recent years (if not the most) and after 19 games Hapoel shares the top spot of Europe’s premier competition. Truth be told, I’d happily leave the Spaniards out here if only they had scored two fewer points or conceded two more, but that’s exactly what puts them slightly above the Reds, who held that top spot for many weeks, during which we felt like we were dreaming.

The geopolitical circumstances were supposed to stand in the Reds’ way at the start of this season. The war pushed home games to Bulgaria and made Israel a far less attractive destination for top players. The costly logistics of ping-ponging between the two countries have already taken their toll for two years on the city rival’s roster and it didn’t look like profitability was on the horizon. But despite all that, Hapoel built a dream roster for Itoudis.

Alongside Antonio Blakeney, Yam Madar, Ish Wainright, Johnathan Motley and the rest of the group that achieved a historic EuroCup title, another battery of proven EuroLeague stars was added. From the very first moment, the team was built to go as far as possible in the EuroLeague, with an emphasis on reaching the playoffs, which would also secure a contract for next season. When Vasilije Micić was signed to an astronomical deal, together with Elijah Bryant and Dan Oturu from Anadolu Efes as well as Colin Malcolm from the City of Lights, what could possibly go wrong?

Indeed, Hapoel Tel Aviv introduced itself to the EuroLeague with six wins and just one loss, only in the derby against Maccabi. They beat Barcelona, Valencia and Monaco, all of whom failed to find an answer to the Reds’ incredibly deep and talented roster. At any given moment there was at least one player on the floor who could take the ball and score without caring about the opponents or even his teammates who, under the Greek coach’s instructions, would stand on the side and at worst, set a screen to help him. The first team to find a crack in the red machine was Olympiacos, which held Hapoel to just 58 points by turning basketball into a battle of shoves, scratches and bumps a practice later adopted by Fenerbahçe, Real Madrid and Panathinaikos as well.

Hapoel still managed to collect its wins in Milan, Dubai and even against Crvena Zvezda, victories that kept it at the top. Against second-tier EuroLeague opponents, it played its basketball: simple, nonchalant basketball, based mainly on its qualitative superiority on offense. Elijah Bryant shows his quality and experience every week, turning him into the real owner of this team, especially when Micić struggles to find his rhythm. Oturu looks like the best center in the EuroLeague, and Motley complements him perfectly where needed. Chris Jones and Blakeney have stretches where they are utterly unstoppable, while Wainright and Malcolm are the ones who also take care of the defense and allow flexibility for all those mentioned before them. The problems, as noted, came against teams that arrive with a knife between their teeth, teams that stick to the red jerseys and don’t let talent do the talking, that learned Blakeney’s tendencies, pressured Micić, or simply beat up Oturu. Last week’s loss to Žalgiris, in Hapoel’s European debut at Yad Eliyahu Arena, showed that the team is still vulnerable and even knocked it off the top spot.

At the end of the first EuroLeague round, it’s of course possible to be very pleased with how the Reds look and where they stand. Who would have believed that the team which two years ago dreamed of an occasional derby win would today be the team everyone in the EuroLeague wants to beat? Still, appetite grows with eating. Very quickly, the Reds made it clear they aren’t satisfied with merely securing a ticket for next season. Hapoel Tel Aviv has set its sights on winning the trophy in its very first attempt and considering that, there are still several things it needs to improve before being seen as one of the leading contenders to go all the way.

The level of defensive intensity must continue to rise. There has been improvement in this area since the meetings with Olympiacos and Fenerbahçe, but against top-quality opponents the team has yet to win through defense. In addition, it often seems that Hapoel lacks a Plan B for those gloomy days when its Blakeneys and Bryants are less effective. This is, of course, also related to the uneven first round experienced by Vasilije Micić, who often couldn’t rescue the team and at times did more harm than good.

The Israeli players also struggle to find their place within this puzzle. Tomer Ginat fights for the scraps left by Malcolm and Wainright and Madar, returning from injury, also has to share minutes with Tyler Ennis alongside Micić and Jones. As for Guy Palatin and Bar Timor, there’s not much to talk about. For now, Itoudis is managing close to 20 personalities on this roster with a firm hand, with the Israelis waiting for their meaningful minutes in the league while leaving the European stage to the foreigners.

In the near future, after Dubai, the Reds face a more comfortable stretch against the four weakest teams in the EuroLeague in ASVEL, Bayern Munich, Anadolu Efes and Partizan Belgrade, one after another. This will be an excellent opportunity to rack up wins and move as close as possible to securing a playoff spot quickly. In complete contrast to the start of the round, Hapoel will finish the regular season with four extremely tough games (Panathinaikos, Fenerbahçe, Olympiacos and Monaco) and it would prefer that these not be the games that determine its fate next season.

To sum up this column, if I had to distill one conclusion from the Reds’ first round heading into the rest of the season, I’d say this: if Itoudis’ team continues to play as freely as it does in its wins, it will go very far this season. If it also draws the right conclusions from its losses, it has a chance to make the most impressive debut in EuroLeague history.