Like a hot knife through butter.

That’s exactly what the Maccabi Tel Aviv’s defense looked like in the 98-86 loss at Milano in a game that should it have been played for a week the result would have been no different.

The yellow-and-blue were never ever in this game and the clock could have gone indefinitely and Oded Katash’s team would have never won it, no way, no how. And this was against Milano, one of the lower end squads in the Euroleague.

The head coach’s game plan was just not going to win this contest and at some point that game plan has to be tossed into the circular file because if it’s not there’s definitely no way that something was going to change.

But it wasn’t just the game plan it was the awful defense and effort that Maccabi put in that showed they were just not there and not interested in finding a way to win.

The body language of the players and the body language of the coach on the bench was not going to inspire the squad to find a way to break through when Maccabi made a mini-run in the final frame.

But it wasn’t just that; there was the stubbornness to stick to a game plan when changes could have been instituted in the fourth quarter to change things up.

The name of that change was plain and simple, Saben Lee.

Yes, Lee is on his way out because he did not want to come to Israel and truly be a part of the team and yes he did have that clause in his contract that didn’t force him to go to the Holy Land and that just wasn’t going to fly with Katash. He wants a full squad and one that he can work with day in and day out and Lee wasn’t going to fit the bill if he’s abroad for the entire week and meets up with the team for the games.

It just isn’t going to work and Katash made that crystal clear in the game against Milano as the bench boss didn’t give Lee one second of playing time.

Now, Lee did win two of the three games that Maccabi were victorious and he’s definitely a player with plenty of talent but he’s also a player that needs to be with a team to practice and train together. However, for Katash to freeze Lee totally out of a a key clash that he could have used him especially as a game changer instead of going as they say in Hebrew “Rosh Ba’Kir” was just plain and simple, stubborn.

There is a report that Lee is heading back to Manisa, the team that he had come from in Turkey, but still Katash had a chance to do something to change things up and just didn’t.

That being said, the players and their defense in some cases looked as if they were already on the international break ahead of their next Euroleague game in Germany against Alba Berlin which was also an issue.

On the subject of defense there was very, very little as Maccabi gave up oodles and oodles of points win every which way and every which fashion.

Points from 2? 22/31 for 71%
Points from 3? 13/29 for 44.8%

How about a little game plan set for the two most dangerous players in Nikola Mirotic ad Zach LeDay? Well, that didn’t go too well as the latter scored 20 points and the former checked in with 22 points as it seemed that the yellow-and-blue had no real ideas as to how to stop the two of them.

Wenyen Gabriel piked up a offensive foul seconds into the game and looked lost as he has had foul problems since returning from injury while Sorkin was also unable to find a way to slow down Mirotic and LeDay as the pair dropped a combined 42 points.

Armoni Brooks looked like an all-star while Nico Mannion, Fabian Causeur and Neno Dimitrijevic all looked like studs as they found points consistently against Maccabi in a season where each has had their ups and downs.

Maccabi was not there mentally and is showed throughout the 40 minutes.

The one bright spot for Katash was without question Marial Shayok. The South Sudan international as the swingman scored 10 points in 12 minutes going 3/5 from inside the arc and 1/1 outside of it There were signs that Shayok will most definitely fit like a glove which is good, but by the time Maccabi gets out of this sort of preseason it will most probably be too late to salvage the season.

We all know the situation Maccabi is in, playing home games in Belgrade, not being ablest o bring in top of the line foreigners, not having a deep enough squad, injuries etc…There are endless excuses which are all legitimate; there is a war going on and the situation that the yellow-and-blue have to compete in are going against them without question.

But, Maccabi also has to stand up and meet the challenges in front of them.

With a 3-8 record, Maccabi is in trouble, deep trouble as they are withering away and heading the wrong way. They are dropping and dropping fast as they find themselves in 15th place and have the same amount of wins as ASVEL Villeurbanne and Partizan Belgrade which is a team that beat the yellow-and-blue.

Right behind Maccabi is Bologna with 2 wins, one of which came against Katash’s crew and Alba Berlin are in last place with 2 wins.

Think about this for a minute, If Maccabi loses next week to Berlin, they may well find themselves in last place.

Yes you read that correctly, last place in the Euroleague of 18 teams.

Before Maccabi hits the court after the international break, management, staff and players all have to do a bit of reflection and take a good hard look in the mirror.

If they don’t, this season may head towards one that will make history.

The type of history that no one wants to make.