Everything that Hapoel Jerusalem head coach Aleksandar Dzikic seems to touch turns to gold. No matter what move the Serbian tactician has made in the capital city over the last couple of months has turned into being the correct one.

The Reds, who began their campaign with an 0-2 start in Israeli league play have rattled off six straight including their latest, a 77-70 victory over Kiryat Ata, to not only move their record to 6-2 but they have also punched their ticket to the State Cup quarterfinals. Add to the fact that the team has been looking like a well-oiled machine after defeating the Bakken Bears in Basketball Champions League action last week which also guaranteed Jerusalem at least a Round of 16 group stage best of 3 Play In playoff series, everything seems to be smelling like roses.

Even when a shorthanded Jerusalem, who were playing without their point guards came up against a surging Kiryat Ata team earlier in the week, Dzikic was able to figure out a way to make up for the lack of his floor generals by other means.

The Reds lost up and coming national team guard Noam Dovrat for the balance of the season after suffering an ugly knee injury in the fourth quarter of the club’s win over the Bears and then were without Speedy Smith due to an illness for the domestic clash.

Dovrat had really started to come into his own for Jerusalem and was looking as good as ever after knocking down a huge triple to put away Maccabi Tel Aviv last week in the Israeli Classico. But as he drove into the paint his knee buckled and needed to be helped off of the court. It was later determined that the 20-year old suffered a complex injury that would need surgery thereby putting him on the shelf for the balance of the campaign.

Smith, who has played superb ball over the past month, was sick as a dog against the Bears but was able to put on another spectacular performance. However, the illness took a toll and he was not available to play versus Kiryat Ata.

But no matter, Dzikic had a number of solutions right up his sleeve.

First off, Israeli forward Oz Blayzer was back and better than ever, after having suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for a month and change. In the 22 minutes he was on the court, Blayzer showed no hesitation whatsoever in scoring 11 points while diving all over the court without an ounce of fear.

“It was great to come back and play at home and I felt great,” Blayzer began. “The staff, both medical and professional did a terrific job and gave me the time to make sure that I would feel comfortable to return. I’m happy that I was able to help the team take the win.”

Dzikic also spoke about the return of his Sabra forward, “Blaze wanted to play against Maccabi but he wasn’t ready. He provides a multi-dimensional attack and is someone that is not just sitting in the corner. I see him more as a cutter, rebounder and reading the attack. He helped us a lot and it was great to have another domestic player in the rotation.”

Blayzer’s teammates including Levi Randolph was also happy to have him back on the court, “I think he did well. He gave us solid minutes at both forward positions. You know Oz, he plays hard and he will do whatever he can to make the little plays and do everything to help us to win. He is basketball player, he’s been playing this whole life and it’s like riding a bicycle. It’s not like this is the first time he is ever playing so I wasn’t surprised at all. Everyone is confident in him and we know what he can do. We support him and he played well.”

Obviously, Blayzer doesn’t solve the point guard issue, but that is where both Brandon Brown and Randolph come in to play.

Brown who almost literally just stepped off of the plane after not having played basketball for about half a year was supposed to take a couple of weeks to get into game shape. But despite not being anywhere near being ready he was thrust into Dzikic’s starting lineup and played 21 minutes to help out the team in the time of need.

“It brought stability to the team being able to have a point guard out there,” Randolph acknowledged. “He’s a natural point guard and it was great to have him out there and we look forward to have him for the rest of the season.”

As for Randolph himself, the swingman also played as an emergency point guard for the Reds and put in a tremendous effort. But playing the one isn’t something new for the Madison, Alabama native in what is now as he said a position less game to some extent.

“It’s natural to me and I grew up playing point guard, I just grew a little taller so I got pushed to the shooting guard or small forward positions. It’s a position-less game now and you got to be able to play at multiple positions and coach called on me to handle the ball. I feel comfortable doing it.”

“There is a never ending discussion between me and Randolph,” Dzikic said. “Because he was a point guard and he said that he could count on him as an alternative and that day came and he wasn’t bad. We got Blaze back and Brown played after five months or even more. Speedy was really sick and Dovrat got hurt so it is what it is.”

Dzikic has been able to build a solid foundation where not only do the players trust and believe in him, they will do above and beyond what is asked because they care. They care about one another and they care about the club.

The coach will come to the defense of his players just as he did when asked about big man Zach Hankins and the abuse he fields in the paint.

“It’s pretty hard to find minuses in his behavior and attitude,” a content Dzikic said, happy to be queried about the center. “He is a hard working player and energy guy. He plays hard and not dirty but for some reason he’s not getting enough respect (from the referees) and he should be recognized a bit more.”

Or the love and care he shows to a player like Or Cornelius who has slowly but surely climbed the ladder of Israeli basketball. Sure the coach can be loud and active on the sidelines, but it’s all love, perhaps even tough love that he shows to his players.

Jerusalem will be looking to collect their 9th straight win across all competitions when they visit Nes Ziona in a pre-Shabbat Friday afternoon matinee, but that won’t be a simple matter with Elad Hasin’s team also playing solid basketball with one of the best points guard’s in Israel in one DJ Cooper. Add to that Tyler Bey and Shaq Buchanan to go along with Golan Gutt and Ronnie Harrell and Nes Ziona is one tough team to handle for Hapoel Jerusalem or any other opponent, especially at home in what will be a packed Lev HaMoshava Arena.

But the bottom line for the Reds is that the general, Dzikic, has his troops in order and in line and they will do anything and everything for the cause no matter what type of issue they may have.

We have a lot of good players and everybody stepped up,” Randolph said. “We played the way coach asked us to play and we are able to come out with the win. It’s a testament to this team, a testament to the coach and his personality. His personality trickles out throughout the team and we are fighters. We are going to play hard no matter what the score is and if you fight you are going to rack up the W’s.”