B DRAFT WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS
by Jason on
By HARRY DEMAKES & IAN CUNDALL
40 minutes of eye bleeding 3s later, X marks the spot for Cundall!
I thought this might be the best game of the evening between two contending teams in the top half of the rankings. News of AJ being out kind of softened that though, but nonetheless Etheridge built a pretty deep squad. Cundall had everyone at his disposal. TO THE BRICK SHOW!
X Personalities got ahead early in this one thanks to the play of Bdraft Tim Roberts. He some good SDL numbers, but those mean little in the big time over in Bdraft. If you don’t believe me, compare Lynch’s numbers between leagues last season. Anyhow, Roberts was cooking the defense with mid-range and some tough finishes at the cup. It looks like Koller found himself a running mate this season. Speaking of Koller, he added 10 first half points and was decisively winning his matchup with fellow top 10 pick Angelo. He also took his first career first half sub. A milestone day for all involved as X personalities stretched their lead into double digit territory.
Meanwhile, Swish & Dish was making a mockery of the game of basketball. Apparently, the entire team looked up AJ’s numbers and got scared they might never shoot a shot when he plays, so they went a chucking. Swish & Dish missed all 20 of their first half 3-point attempts. Hanks was 0-7, Angelo was 0-5, Waldman 0-6. Yuck, yuck and yuck. What a miserable performance. Let’s just go to the half.
X Personalities went into the half up 32-11. Swish and Dish did have one highlight with rookie Dan Waldman taking a charge. That was cool, but X Personalities was dominating this game. BACK TO THE ACTION!
Swish & Dish got their miss count up to 22 from three before the basketball gods took pity on them and Waldman banked one in. Hanks, would hit two real ones later on, but I don’t know who told these guys they were 3-point shooters. A real disappointing week 1 showing here, AJ will make things better, but I expected a lot better from these guys.
X Personalities went on cruise control for most of the second half. Rookie Padavick looked pretty good, hitting 2 treys and being active on the boards. These guys have a good starting lineup and an active bench. If only Packard would stop trying to break the backboard on every 3-point attempt, I think they got something.
X Personalities crushes Swish & Dish 63-33. Another season of blowouts is upon us. God help us all.
Grades:
Koller A: Good opening night, crushed his matchup and took subs.
Roberts A+: Great start to his Bdraft career. Kid gets buckets.
Padavick B+: Good start, just needs to cut down on turnovers.
Cundall C: Mediocre night for Ian who still can’t hit free throws.
Packard D: Tough first game, too many turnovers and missed 3s.
OTTOMATIC B: Solid game for the veteran.
Swish & Dish:
Etheridge C-: Mixed bag here. Some tough drives, but lots of shooting misses and turnovers.
Hanks D+: If you aren’t a shooter, you should never touch 12 three point attempts.
Angelo D: Better days to come on both ends of the floor.
Waldman D+: The charge gets a plus, but the shooting. WOOF!
Weaver C: Not a bad debut, at least he didn’t catch any of the bad on him.
Miller who? Goes off in opening night win
The biggest storyline going into this game was Cam facing off against another friend he betrayed in the draft for someone better. Then trying to play it off like “nah, I just like tall dudes.” Cam, pretty much brought back his team from last season, but saved Gray from the Ian/Koller combo of doom and drafted rookie KG. They had everyone, while Civale’s team was missing himself. TO THE ACTION!
It was a tight back and forth first half, with Remy leading the way for Civale’s team. There was some concern that Remy might suck now due to old age, but he looked quite spry taking every shot he could in this game. He led all scorers with 11 first half points. Rookie Joe, got off to a slow start only scoring 4 first half points and going 0-4 from deep. He did have 7 boards and 4 assists though in the opening frame. The Great One added a couple treys of his own as well.
Meanwhile, Cam’s squad spread out the love early on, with multiple guys picking up multiple FGs. DTO led the team with 10 points in the first and 3 assists. Lynch, only had 3 points in his new role as big dog of the team. We went into the half tied at 28. Seemed like a bad sign that Cam’s team couldn’t find a lead, but would it end up that way? BACK TO THE ACTION!
Rookie Joe continued his first half slumber into a second half coma. He didn’t score in the last 20 minutes of the game, which is quite unacceptable for a first rounder. He can’t be a non-factor out there for his team on offense. This led to Remy deciding he would just shoot every time. Remy shot 5-17 from 3 in this game, 4-12 in the second half. The Great One nailed 2 more treys as well, but they couldn’t keep up on either end in the second half.
Cam’s squad went offffff in this half, especially rookie KG, who hit 4 second half threes. Kid, could be a big pickup for a team who needs extra scoring. I will have my eye on him in weeks to come. Cam joined the game too, hitting two treys himself.
DTO hit a couple as well and Lynch added one. Miller who? went a combined 9-11 from 3 in the second half. Did they blow their load in week 1? Time will tell. 75-56 final for Miller Who? They continue their regular season winning ways.
Grades:
Cam A: Cam outplayed his buddy for 40 minutes, which is a huge win for his team.
Lynch B: Bdraft Lynch was ok, he’ll need better games in the future.
DTO A: If DTO wasn’t a turnover machine this would be an “A+” effort.
Bauman A: Solid double-double from Bauman here. Gray B: Nice effort, I like his hustle and effort.
KG A+: This going to be his best game, so drink it in.
CIVALE:
Joe K. D: Letting your buddy outshine you that didn’t pick you isn’t a good sign IMO. Also, give me buckets.
Remy B-: It is a good sign that Remy can still score, though he needs to be more efficient.
Glynn C+: shooting, but he did some good things else where.
Great One B+: Your standard above average Great One game
Clarke B: Solid Clarke game and my stat sheet claims he hit a 3. I don’t believe it
Nate Not So Great opening night
The last game of the evening was between Nate’s dead last ranked team that people have going no where against Noah’s contending squad. Everyone would eventually be there for both teams. TO THE ACTION!
This game would start ugly for both teams as they traded missed 3s to start the game, like every other game so far. Nate’s team went 2-17 from 3 in the first half. Lucky for them Noah’s team forgot about Ghost in the first half and he scored 13 first half points, more than the rest of his team in the opening frame. Nate got their late, but didn’t miss the chance to get up a bunch of shots to a mixed bag of efficiently. He did have 10 first half points, but was 1-6 from deep. If you can do math, that means the rest of the team only had 2 points, including Joel, who had zero.
On the other side of the court it was Pollock and Kenny carrying the load. Both men combined for 23 of their teams 33 first half points. They weren’t much better from 3 though, going 2-12 from 3 as a team. Noah’s team led 32-25 at the half. Might as well have been up a 100 at this point, since Nate was getting “I’m just here to set meaningless off ball screens and stand in the corner” Joel. BACK TO THE ACTION!
Noah’s team stepped on the gas pedal in the second half, thanks to Pollock’s week 1 MVP effort. He added 15 second half points to his total, with a couple assists. Robel joined the party with 10 second half points that included a trey. Angry Ian led the team with 3 second half assists and Dias got himself to 11 boards for the game. A good all around effort from Noah’s team against weak competition.
Somehow Nate’s offense got worse in the second half. Ghost made like a ghost and disappeared. Nate also flew off and Joel had as many trips to the ground as he had FGs made. Troy lapped his teammates in points by 3x with 10 in the second half, that include 3 threes. Rookie Maloof wasn’t a factor and if he’s 5’10, then I’m 6’3.
Rough game for a team that’ll see plenty more. Nice start for Noah’s team to build chemistry. 65-42 Final.
GRADES
Joel F+: Score points.
Ghost B: Pretty much your standard Ghost line.
Silva C+; Good rebounding, had 2 assists, but shot it poorly.
Troy B-: Not too bad, but most of the damage was done when the game was over.
Nate C: Tough night from 3, did lead the team in assists.
Maloof D: Not a good start to his Bdraft career.
NOAH:
Pollock A+: Owned his counterpart and played like an MVP.
Angry Ian C+: His shot was the shits, but he put in work else where.
Kenny B: Impressive that Kenny got to 16 points without hitting a three.
Noah D+: Did a whole lot of nothing, but I guess he got hurt.
Dias B: Great game on the boards and provided a bunch of energy.
Robel B+: Show up on time.