{"id":14124,"date":"2019-05-29T22:42:33","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T22:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sportsrabbi.agpwebdesign.com\/?p=14124"},"modified":"2019-05-29T22:42:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T22:42:33","slug":"it-is-what-it-is-im-not-sure-if-im-going-to-be-able-to-get-a-deal-done-with-this-team-jerusalem-defeats-beer-sheva-95-77-advance-to-final-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/it-is-what-it-is-im-not-sure-if-im-going-to-be-able-to-get-a-deal-done-with-this-team-jerusalem-defeats-beer-sheva-95-77-advance-to-final-four\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt is what it is; I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m going to be able to get a deal done with this team\u201c Jerusalem defeats Beer Sheva 95-77, advance to Final Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

3-Pointers<\/strong>
\n1) Earlier in the day Amare Stoudemire posted on Instagram a message to the Hapoel Jerusalem fans that this may be his last home game for the club<\/strong> which raised eyebrows throughout the Israeli Basketball world. What was the post about? Is he retiring? Is he going to another team? Will he go and learn Torah full time? Who knew! The Sports Rabbi had to find out and find out we did as we were able to speak to STAT following the game beneath the PAIS Arena stands. \u201cIt is what it is. Whatever I posted that\u2019s what I was thinking. I was just reflecting on the great times I\u2019ve had here in Jerusalem and I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m going to be able to get a deal done with this team. But I\u2019ll be playing for sure next year.\u201d Would Amare like to potentially play in the Euroleague? \u201cIt\u2019s always about competing at a high level. There\u2019s always minicamps in the NBA and there\u2019s always Euroleague teams, there\u2019s always high level basketball and to challenge myself to play at a high level is always the goal.\u201d
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Dov Halickman Photography<\/p><\/div>
\n2) Amare also spoke about the focus that he and the team will now be putting on the Final Four and the championship<\/strong>, We\u2019ll see how it goes. Obviously right now we are focused on winning the championship so I can\u2019t look too far in advance right now we got out shift our focus back to the final four. But I think now the focus is to really get through the next round and get to the championship game. We got to refocus on that.\u201d How does he feel physically and mentally? \u201cI feel great and I\u2019m at a high level right now playing basketball and the game is so easy out there for me. Train and really keep myself in great shape. Playing one game a week is like eating cereal for breakfast man. It\u2019s an easy deal for me. For the team we\u2019re playing well we still have room to improve but right now we\u2019re doing a good job.\u201d
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Dov Halickman Photography<\/p><\/div>
\n3) So what\u2019s behind Amare\u2019s situation?<\/strong> Is it money? Is it the level of competition and the desire to play at the highest level possible ? Is it missing his family in the United States? Well, it\u2019s probably a combination of all of the above. There\u2019s no question that an athlete wants to make as much money as possible, but I don\u2019t believe that this is the reason behind the contract impasse with Hapoel Jerusalem. I think it\u2019s more the issue of challenging himself to play at the best level he can while he certainly misses his family. Every basketball player wants to play in the NBA and the find NBA All Star would definitely want to play in the best league in the world if he could. The Euroleague is also a possibility and it\u2019s at a much higher level than the EuroCup and Champions League there\u2019s no arguing that fact. Can you imagine Amare lacing up his shoes with Maccabi Tel AvIv anyone? What would the Jerusalem fans think? And as a reminder he did attend a Maccabi Euroleague game this season and sat court-side. I\u2019m sure he enjoyed what he saw.
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Dov Halickman Photography<\/p><\/div>
\nOvertime<\/strong>
\nWhat does James Feldeine think of the Amare situation?<\/strong> \u201cHopefully he stays. It\u2019s a decision he has to make and I\u2019m sure the club wants him to stay. I\u2019m going to be here next season and I want to play another year with him. Everybody knows we want him back but he\u2019s a little older and it\u2019s not easy to be without his family here. And now he is Israeli so he can help us out in both leagues.\u201d
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