There’s no secret according to both Hapoel Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon and Captain Yovel Zoosman.

No secret at all.

But somehow the Jerusalem seems to be absolutely unbeatable any time they tip-off against Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Whether it was last season’s playoffs, this year’s league, Winner Cup, State Cup, this cup and that cup Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad can’t find a way to defeat the team from the capital city. It’s been their kryptonite from day one, weakening Hapoel Tel Aviv just as Superman is any time he is near the crystalline material.

Perhaps it’s Jared Harper who plays the role of Superman, but in reality he is Superman each and every game he plays no matter who the opponent is. Harper hits his shots from the inside and from the outside, he goes strong to the hoop and drawing one foul after the next. The guard does it all and Hapoel Tel Aviv never seems to have a solution to slow down or stop the MVP.

But it’s not just Harper, it’s Khadeen Carrington, it’s Cassius Winston, it’s Justin Smith, it’s Austin Wiley and now it’s also Anthony Lamb who seems to have awoken from his slumber. For all intents and purposes, Lamb created the gap with a trio of third quarter triples that Jerusalem needed to put away the game and keep Hapoel Tel Aviv at a distance for the balance of the second half.

While Alon and Zoosman claimed there is no secret, in fact, the secret is that they come into the game and know they need to put together a full 40 minutes to beat Hapoel Tel Aviv, something that they have an issue doing against what some would consider lesser opponents both in Europe and domestically.

Big opponents create big challenges for Hapoel Jerusalem and those are the games that they love playing the most as do most teams. It’s the lesser profile games that creates an issue of nonchalant play and complacency which has led the Reds to an 11-5 record which is good enough for 5th place.

If Jerusalem does want to reach their goals they will need to make sure that the effort that they give in games against the lower level teams is exactly the same as it is against the star studded ones.

For Hapoel Tel Aviv, whatever could go wrong has continued to go wrong as Itoudis’s squad can’t seem to but a win. Against Hapoel Jerusalem, the bench boss made it clear that the effort was shall we say not up to par and that the only player who gave his all was Guy Palatin. That commentary can not bode well for the Reds as they are freefalling down the Euroleague standings and have lost twice more to Jerusalem in the span of one week.

Not good. Not good at all.

Itoudis was not a happy camper to say the least and rightfully so after his team put in yet another subpar effort from top to bottom as they lost again. Losing seems to be the name of the game for Hapoel as The bench boss ripped into his players for not showing up and for having personal interests ahead of the team.

Captain Bar Timor spoke about how they have had so many talks that at this point everyone knows what they need to do and each and every player needs to look in the mirror.

Actions speak louder than words.

That is what Hapoel Tel Aviv has to move forward and as Itoudis said there will be changes to the team, no one was specifically singled out, but there will be some players coming and some that will be going in order to create some sort of balance and harmony because right now there is absolutely none whatsoever.

The biggest wild card is Vasilije Micic. The superstar was not selected as one of the five imports to play in this game, which was somewhat of a surprise because he should have easily slotted into Chris Jones’s spot. When I asked Itoudis about why Vasa was not in the squad Itoudis answered that we chose the five that we felt were ready to help, coach’s decision. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the two principles are just not on the same page and that’s something that desperately needs to be fixed.

If Hapoel Tel Aviv has any designs of reaching the lofty goals that they had set prior to the season which is to win all of the available titles and ensure that the Reds remain in the Euroleague next season by advancing to the playoffs, Itoudis and Micic must be united as one.

Micic is the star and is also the club’s highest salaried player. The Serbian must take the bull by the horns and lead the Reds, otherwise it’s just not going to work out and end well for all involved.

In what is one of the biggest Israeli league games and one against a team that has beaten you already three times this season, Micic must be in the lineup and he must be the leader of the pack. If the two don’t bury the hatchet sooner rather than later, then Hapoel will reach the point of no return.

Sure, bringing in a player like Nigel Hayes-Davis is nice and will help Hapoel at least in Euroleague play as he can’t be registered in the Israeli league while the club can perhaps make some other wholesale changes. But if they all don’t buy in from A to Z, then this season is going to head to a point of no return and go to a place where everyone involved with the club could pay the ultimate price for what could end up being a massive failure.