SDL Week 3 Write-Ups
by Jason on
BY JAMIL & RUFF
Coasting to another victory
Coming into this game COSTA was clearly the best team in the league. Having won 3 straight games and just playing well on both ends of the floor. DANIELS on the opposite side were coming off of a very close loss and win but when they faced COSTA in week 1 they looked overmatched.
With approximately 9 minutes gone from the game, Costa was already up double digits 22-11. The game never became close and to add insult to injury, the Jamil/Dylan halftime buzzer beater combo occurred again (I believe it’s three straight weeks) with this time Jamil being the recipient of the pass from Dylan for the layup. Costa up 38-25 at the half.
First half stats:
Team Daniels
Andre Jones 1 stl, 1 blk, 2 drebs
Michael “Ghost” Fraher 12 pts, 1 blk, 4 orebs, 1 dreb, 1 ast
Andrew Marra 2 dreb, 1 ast
Cameron Daniels 7 pts, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 4 drebs
Adam Ellabidy 4 pts, 1 blk, 2 orebs, 3 drebs, 3 asts
Joseph Breda 2 pts, 2 stls, 4 dreb, 2 asts
Team Costa
Jamil Ball 12 pts, 2 stls, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 2 drebs
Charlie Maneval 8 pts, 1 blk, 8 drebs, 2 asts
Cameron Daniel 1 oreb
Emmanuel Okharedia 5 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 oreb
Dylan Costa 9 pts, 1 blk, 8 drebs, 5 asts
Dan Waldman 4 pts, 1 oreb, 2 drebs
Player of the half: Dylan Costa
Second half was more of the same COSTA dominance. I liked that DANIELS went with a lineup switch but this team is too talented to get blown out like this. Final score 70-51 COSTA wins.
Player Grades:
Andre Jones B- I liked his aggressiveness in the second half but they needed it for a full 40 minutes. I don’t think he played badly but his team just lost. I added the minus to his grade for not having a complete game that his team needed.
Michael “Ghost” Fraher A I seriously can’t even pinpoint what Ghost did wrong. He played his usual consistent game. I think it’s up to his team to get him more looks on offense and to get more out of him in general.
Andrew Marra C got a few stats and played his role.
Cameron Daniels C his defense on Jamil wasn’t good and no assists I don’t like. Overall though he didn’t play that bad but I’d like to see numbers in the stl and ast categories.
Adam Ellaby C- struggled with his three ball and at this point I just have to say he’s not a three point shooter. I do like Adam’s game and think he should be the PG for this team. He clearly can do almost everything, just had a bad shooting game which happens to everyone. I’d also like to see him turn up his aggressiveness. You don’t have to be a nice guy on the court.
Joseph Breda C— Ok lets start with the minuses. The first one comes from his complete disappearance in the second half. If I didn’t have him down as 0-2 from three I wouldn’t have even known he played. The other minus is for asking me to add a steal to your stats. First, you couldn’t even name the play and second your team is down by double digits. I say all this to say I like Joe and his game and especially his energy. Today I didn’t see it.
Jamil Ball A although he didn’t shoot the three ball well (yes I said the same exact thing before) but he played a really solid overall game. The things I love about Jamil are his competitiveness and overall thought process of the game he plays. Today was a feast on Cam day 🤣.
Charlie Maneval B stuffed the stat sheet. I think he’s still capable of playing better but had a solid game.
Cameron Daniel A- was scoreless in the first half and he turned it on in the second. Had to deduct a little from his grade for going 0fer from three.
Emmanuel Okharedia B it felt weird not hearing any trash talk from E and in the first half he was basically non existent. In the second half though he really played well and was in his scoring bag. He surprised me with a left hand in and out step back jumper that bounced in.
Dylan Costa B I feel like I’m grading him too high because I like him. He went scoreless in the second half and to my surprise didn’t have any offensive rebounds but still had great dreb numbers and led the team in asts.
Dan Waldman B- I feel like 2 of his 4 pts was a nifty layup and he did a good job getting some stats across the board but I have to add the minus to your grade for the 0fer from three and the free throw line.
Player of the game: Jamil Ball no lengthy words just a great job playing again.
Week 2 - Platano Power VS. Nair
Platano Power had their full team in attendance for the first team this season, so I came into this matchup expecting big things, but team Nair had an entirely different game plan in mind. Led by DTO (18 points) and Ruff (13 points) Team Nair got off to a scorching start and very quickly jumped out to an 11-point lead (25 - 14) halfway through the first half. Ruff and DTO combined for 6 threes in the first half and Platano Power didn’t really have a counter.
Tim’s 7 points and Jorge’s 10 points paced Platano Power in the first half. No one else on their team really developed any rhythm offensively. Team Nair would go into the half with a double-digit lead, in a game that was trending towards a blowout.
In the second half, led by Tim Roberts and 8 second-half points by Chris Agresti Platano Power mounted an epic comeback to pull within 3 (52 - 49) with 9 minutes left in the second half. Most teams would start to get agitated, but Ruff got pissed off and more vocal than he had been all game. “I don’t know what yall excited about, this game is already over,” the grizzly vet said shouted with absolute conviction.
That’s when the Nick Lynch show started. After only scoring 5 points in the entire first half, Nick was absolutely dominant in the second half and finished with 23 points and grabbed 19 boards. Team Nair has continued to thrive despite missing, arguably the best player in the entire league. I can’t wait to see this team at full capacity.
Platano Power
Jorge Morel (B+) - Jorge did a fantastic job against Nick Lynch. Despite his displeasure with the officiating. 16 points and 8 rebounds are fantastic numbers, but we all know Jorge is capable of more.
Alan Orellana (B-) - 11 points and 8 rebounds are solid, but the stats that jump out to me are 0 steals and 1 assist. Maybe I’m biased, but I consider AO to be one of the best guards in this league and I know he has another gear.
Neil Aggarwal (B) - Neil’s 4 points and 6 rebounds were solid contributions, but I would love to see Neil play much more aggressively on both ends of the court. I know this team has no shortage of talented guards, but I have no doubt he can be highly effective within the team offense.
Tim Roberts (A) - Led all scorers with 22 and shot the three ball well. Tim continues to be one of the top scorers in the league and makes it look effortless.
Chris Agresti (A) - Chris played with a great deal of effort, energy, and toughness. Chris made things extremely difficult for Nick in the post and with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists, his stat line is a clear indication of the difference he made in this game.
Rob Lunder (C-) - I love Rob, but this was not his best game. Mostly, because he didn’t pay very much. (edited)
Nair
Nick Lynch (A-) - The big dawg struggled from three, but still scored 23 points and grabbed 19 boards. Did I mention he had 3 steals and a monster block?
Damian Ruff (A+) - Ruff gets an A for overall play and an A+ for banter/shit-talking. Only Ruff would say “This game is already over” with 9 minutes left in the second half and a three-point lead. Needless to say, he wasn’t wrong, as they went on to win by 7.
DTO (A) - Was second on the team in scoring with 21, as his impressive season continues. He helped them jump out to the early lead and was a huge part of this victory.
Ben Mitchell (B) - Per usual, Ben was solid and steady for them on both ends of the court. He didn’t contribute a bunch, but he also didn’t do anything to hurt them.
Patrick Blaikie (C+) - Patrick went 2 for 7 from three. His breakout game is more than overdue, if pickup was any indication I wouldn’t want to be the team playing Nair next. Wait, we are the team playing them next
Week 2 - Platano Power VS. Stull Here
For the second consecutive week, Stull Here gets an opponent on their second of back-to-back games. Clearly, David Pendergast has an in with the commish, nevertheless, this game would be the highest-scoring affair of the morning as absolutely no defensive was played. Not a single block was registered and Platano Power didn’t even register a steal.
Getting to the action, David Pendergast had 28 points at the half and I was certain he was destined for a 50-piece. Rak, Quinlin, and DP dominated Platano Power in transition and dictated the pace of the game from the tip. Rak (11 points) and Devin (13) would both score double-digits in the first half. AO was the only player on Platano Power to score double-digits in the first half finishing with 13.
Despite not playing their best ball, Platano Power would go into the half down 11 (53 - 42). This game was still very much within reach. In the second half, Devin Quinlin (23 points) got it going for Stull Here and Platano Power was never able to recover. Stull Here would go on to win 96 - 71 as they move to 2 - 1 in this very early season.
Platano Power
Jorge Morel (B-) - In back-to-back games, Jorge had by far the toughest matchups having to guard Nick Lynch and then David Pendergast. Jorgre struggled mightly offensively, but I can’t imagine it’s easy being the lone big man on the squad. The B- is because I know Jorge is way better than the way he played in this game and I look forward to seeing him rebound in their re-match against Stull Here on June 3rd.
Alan Orellana (A-) - Alan led the team in scoring with 22 points and 9 rebounds. His play really kept the game semi-interesting. I would have loved to see Alan a bit more aggressive defensively, but the second of back-to-back is always the hardest!
Neil Aggarwal (A) - 10 points and 6 rebounds were both highs for Neil on the season. Like always, he left it all on the court. I couldn’t ask for more.
Tim Roberts (B+) - Tim was second on the team with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Despite being down a lot early, he never stopped fighting.
Chris Agresti (B+) - Chris played well defensively and scored within the flow of the offense. When Chris is on the floor they really seem to play better.
Rob Lunder (B+) - Rob played much better in the second game scoring 6 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. I’d love to see him play more aggressively on both ends of the court. (edited)
Stull Here
Steve Rakusin (A+) - Steve was as dominant as I’ve seen him. 18 points and 25 rebounds to go along with 5 assists! Fantastic effort on both ends of the court and was the biggest difference in this matchup against Platano Power.
Devin Quinlin (B+) - Struggled early on with his shot, but would find his groove in the second half scoring an impressive 23 points. Despite his shooting struggles, he excelled defensively and found his teammates for easy looks in transition. All-in-all fantastic game for the # 2 pick in the draft.
David Pendergast (A+) - DP was a man amongst boys out there. 46 points, 2 steals, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. There is no doubt who the player of this game was.
Christopher Stull (B+) - Stull got off to a slow start, but his three treys were backbreakers and really killed any momentum Platano Power was building. He also grabbed 2 rebounds and dished out 2 assists.