“It’s been the story of our season”

1) Truer words couldn’t have been spoken by Levi Randolph following Maccabi Tel Aviv’s devastating 94-91 loss to Olympiacos as the yellow-and-blue came up just short once again. Oded Katash’s team has been in pretty much every game this season but have only a 3-7 record to show for their efforts.

So many of those 7 defeats could have easily turned into wins with a play here or a play there. Maccabi’s in control so often and up by double digits at halftime as they were against both Greek teams this week but somehow can’t close it out. Yes, the players are exhausted and this past week having had to play overtime at Bnei Herzliya didn’t help matters while running a short rotation also hurts the team’s chances down the stretch of a game especially when the opponent has been playing more of their players throughout the 40 minutes.

Marial Shayok will certainly help and thus far David DeJulius has been terrific in limited laying time since arriving a little over a week ago. But the Saben Lee soap opera is going to have to come to an end sooner rather than later as it’s clear Katash is not interested in relying on a player who hasn’t been with team on a day in and day out basis and who could blame him. Whoever made the deal with Lee that he could stay abroad did so with good intentions but it’s just not going to work out and that’s crystal clear.

So Lee and Maccabi have a choice; he either joins the team in Israel or they bid adieu and both sides move on because it’s not healthy for either the team or the player.

On Sunday, Maccabi will play Maccabi Ramat Gan for the first title of the season which in reality is the preseason championship that had to be pushed off due to the security situation in Israel and as crazy as it sounds, this is a must win for the yellow-and-blue. Katash’s crew needs to get back onto the winning track after having lost four straight games across all competitions and his players need something to celebrate while understanding what it’s like to win and win a title. There’s no question that Katash knows this and will do his utmost to lift the trophy at the end of the evening but the same is true with Shmulik Brenner’s team led by Amin Stevens who would like to do the same which will make this game even all that more interesting.

2) Hapoel Jerusalem looked like a well oiled machine in their win over Bourg this past week in EuroCup play. Head Coach Yonatan Alon has worked wonders with his team despite losing his two centers to injury as both Austin Wiley and Justin Smith are on the shelf for the near future.

The reds look solid, fluid and confident over the past few weeks and playing small ball to some extent has allowed some of his guards to flourish in the situation. But the biggest revelation has been Gaby Chachashvili who is a power forward/center.

Chacha was a one-man wrecking crew for Jerusalem in their victory as he did as he pleased in the paint going 8/11 from 2 while also pulling down 11 rebounds in his best game yet. The injuries allowed him to begin to flourish with more playing time and as Yonatan Alon had said in an interview a number of years ago that Chachashvili has a chance ti be one of the five all time best Israeli players ever.

Yes, that’s a stretch, at least right now, but let’s keep a good eye on how he continues to develop and expand his horizons.

All in all Jerusalem has to be very, very content with how the team has come together and how they have been able to make the correct adjustments whether it’s bringing in a player like Derek Ogbeide or finding a way to integrate Chachashvili into a bigger role for the club. Khadeen Carrington has looked back to his former self since returning from the United States while Noam Dovrat is playing some of his best basketball in quite some time while the same is true for Yovel Zoosman and Or Cornelius. Alon can’t be a happier with how his team is looking.

But he’s got to be careful with a classic trap game against Hapoel Afula coming up on Saturday night. Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi has been working on a game plan all week and will no doubt have his players put on a good show as they did in their win against Gilboa last week.

If Jerusalem wants to continue playing as well as they have they’ll need to be very careful with Afula and bring the energy into the cavernous Arena.

3) Hapoel Tel Aviv is still the gift that keeps on giving as the headlines keep coming fast and furious. It looks like Dimitris Itoudis has been hired as the club’s new head coach while Stefanos Dedas the current bench boss will work as his assistant or maybe as an associate head coach as it’s called in the NBA. Reds owner Ofer Yannay wanted his man form day one and if anyone didn’t realize that when Itoudis was at the Drive In for game two of the finals series then you missed the plot that was right in front of you.

In order to find a way into the Euroleague you need to bring in a bonafide Euroleague coach and that’s exactly what Yannay is doing as he continues to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Itoudis brings even more credibility to the club that has been in the news internationally thanks to the signing of NBA veteran Patrick Beverley as well as the Johnathan Motley soap opera that saw the big man score 30 points and the leave the country.

I understand that Itoudis spoke to Motley about an imminent return to Hapoel Tel Aviv but we shall see what transpires considering the club has yet to officially announce that the Greek has taken over the reins. But either way if he does return or not Yannay has set up his team for what could be an epic season for the fans and franchise.

With a move to the larger Yad Eliyahu Arena he will need to get more than 3-4k into the facility in order for there to be some sort of home court advantage and it’s still very questionable as to how many fans will come out and see the likes of Gilboa Galil, Galil Elyon or Nes Ziona. Although real Hapoel supporters should come out to see whoever they are playing with an all-star studded roster and coaching staff.

But before the international break, the Reds need to visit Hapoel Holon on Saturday night and that’s not going to be an easy test by no stretch of the imagination as Guy Goodes has had all week to prepare for this game and the purple fans are going to make Bar Timor’s life miserable following the Aroma water bottle escapade.

The break will hopefully give Yannay’s team the chance to regroup and reset with a new head coach and a renewed sense of purpose and one that needs not be in the media day in and day out.