B Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

By: HARRY DEMAKES & IAN CUNDALL

Quick start carries Gun Club to victory

Heading into the Gun Club, Civale matchup, the big news was Harry getting his reinforcements back as Nair, Karim and Big Guns were all in the gym and ready to play. Getting those three back was important for Harry as Eloi was still out. For Civale, Civale was ready to make his season debut which was much needed after the trouble they had scoring the week before. To the action!

The Gun Club lived up to their name to start this one as they came out firing from deep. For the first five minutes, they literally couldn’t miss. Nair, Puskas, Nair (4 point play), Karim and Nair hit five consecutive threes, while Civale’s team was struggling to hit the rim. It was 16-2 after this initial burst and then over the next three minutes things didn’t get much better as Harry pushed his lead further to 22-4 after a Nair layup and free throw. Nair was getting whatever shot he wanted, Harry was setting screens to force switches and Karim and Pushes were doing a good job spreading the floor. 

Civale’s team meanwhile was getting good looks, but just couldn’t capitalize, especially from deep. Joe hit an ugly three with six minutes left in the half that cut the lead to 23-13, but that would be their only three of the half as they went 1-10 from deep. Soon after that, two noteworthy events occurred as Guns got on the board with a nice runner and Civale blocked Harry into oblivion. That block was followed by a bucket from Remy and finally, the lead was down to single digits. The last few minutes of the half were played in a two point window, with Harry up by 9 or 11. The highlight was a strong take from Glynn where he got fouled also (missed the FT) and eventually things settled at halftime with Harry holding a 29-18 lead. 

Civale’s team closed the half on a 14-7 run as they finally got locked in defensively after that poor start. Joe was doing a much better job on Nair and Tom also had a couple impressive blocks. On offense, Remy led the way for them with six points, while Glynn chipped in five. For Harry, Nair was the majority of their offense with 20 first half points, while the rest of the team combined for nine.

The second half got going with Civale’s team continuing their run and cutting the lead to four at 30-26 as Civale was on fire. He knocked down a couple three's and was also finishing at the hoop. Nair was getting hounded every time he touched the ball as Civale had decided he was going to force Harry’s secondary players to beat him. Puskas took it upon himself to do that, knocking down a pair of threes and Karim hit one as well to push the lead back to 43-30 with 12 minutes left. Civale had seen enough after this run and called a timeout to try and stop the momentum.

Immediately after the timeout Harry’s team had a great sequence where Karim passed it to Harry who tipped it out immediately to Nair for a wide open three. This was Nair’s only field goal of the half, but it was a big one as it pushed the lead to 15. The game seemed over at this point and it looked like we were in for five minutes of garbage time to end the game. Harry’s team got really sloppy in this stretch and slowly Civale began to chip away at the lead. Joe hit his second three and all of a sudden the lead had been cut in half to eight at 49-41. Harry’s team answered immediately as Guns hit a deep three to push the lead back to 11. The game was surely over at this point, but Harry’s team kept missing free throws or turning the ball over and Remy and Civale hit a couple buckets to make it a six point game with 14 seconds left. I assumed Civale would foul to extend the game there, but he surprisingly didn’t and instead surrendered. Final score Gun Show 54, Civale 48.

Gun Show

Nair B+ - Strong start, but really struggled in the second half where he disappeared for long stretches.

Karim B- - Double-double is nice, but against better teams he’s going to have to contribute more on offense.

Puskas B - Hit three triples and provided good energy.

Harry C+ - Initiated the offense well, but would have liked to see a bit more scoring.

Guns C+ - Had to shake off the rust in the first half, but recovered and hit a clutch three in the second half.

Civale

Civale C - Carried his team on offense in the second half, but questionable game plan at the start was too much to overcome and his decision to not extend the game was puzzling.

Remy C+ - Hit a couple shots, but missed too many easy ones and took a lot of shots to get his 12 points.

Joe B- -  Played really well on defense outside of the first few minutes, but didn’t do enough on offense.

Glynn B+ - Had some nice moments on both ends including an acrobatic finish for an and one.

Clarke B - Really solid on defense including a couple blocks and almost double-digit rebounds.

Great One C - Didn’t have many opportunities, but did hit one three.  

Turnovers galore in the Miller Bowl!

This was our game of the night as Miller took on his old team from last season. Both teams were coming off easy week 1 wins and this was going to be a good test for both teams to see where they stand. Everyone was here, except for Danner. TO THE ACTION!

The opening half was just the beginning of this eye bleeding rock fight of missed threes and turnovers. At least Cam was able to mix in some assists as he led everyone with 6 first half assists. Lynch, was off from deep, but hit a couple jumpers to led his team with 9 first half points. Gray and Bauman combined for 12 in the first half. A welcomed site in a game where points were scarce. The other side was just as ugly, with Calderan leading all scorers with 10 points. The kind of start he was looking from himself, but the finish would be ugly. Miller was naturally firing away, but was taking a lot of tough shots which led to bad misses. He did score 7 in the first half, going 5/6 from the line.

This poor excuse of a basketball game went into the half tied. Both teams combined for 17 TOS and 15 missed threes. God help us all. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Thankfully for my sanity SDL Lynch joined the game in the second half and put poor Issac in the post torture chamber. He hit him with a wide variety of moves with some nifty footwork. Lynch would score 17 second half points and almost defeat the other team by himself. No one else on Cam’s team would go over the 4-point mark this half. Cam did pick up 4 more assists and added 3 more TOs, including the worst behind the back pass of anyone’s lifetime. Miller and company won’t keep fighting, but their offense was the absolute shits. They only registered 2 assists on the game and went a cool 0-12 from three. Not the numbers you would equate to offensive success. WOOF!

Miller lead his team 10 second half points, getting the majority from the line. This game was close until the 3 minute mark of the second half. That’s when Lynch dragged his team over the finish line. Hell of a game from him with his MVP running mate on the other side. Vault yourself into MVP consideration big dog. 58-46 Final Miller who?

Grades:
Cam B+: Cam was a couple buckets away from a triple double. Bad shooting night though and 5 turnovers. Did great on Miller though.
Lynch A+: Was the best player in this game by far.
DTO C-: Pretty mediocre showing, 0fer from deep and more TOs than assists,
Bauman B-; Double digit scoring is big, but was off from deep and I want some more boards.
KG D+; Great game to Ofer from deep.
Gray A: Gray looks a lot better freed from the clutches of Ian.

CALDERAN
Miller D: I’m going to be harsh on Miller here. 0 assists? Trash, help your teammates. Also, he should have been the best player on the floor and he wasn’t.
Paul B; Great first half, but went missing the next one.
Issac B: Solid showing, but did get cooked on defense. Nice double-double.
David C: Needs to look for his shit more.
Taha D: This pains me, but Taha is probably the best playmaker on this team. Can’t have 4 TOs

Hit or Miss living up to its last name!

I didn’t have high hopes for this game, because I knew where it was heading, but stranger things have happened. Both teams had everyone, which is a miracle for the 6:15p game. TO THE ACTION!

Nate’s team had a shitty first game, but they still showed up for this one. Props to them! This half had a similar beginning to their first game with Ghost getting loose early for buckets. He led the team with 9 first half points. Obviously, they need Ghost to get buckets and pretty much everyone else needs to contribute. Joel, had 6 first half points and Nate added 6 of his own, but of the other three guys only Troy added 3 points. This has to be a full team effort every week if they want to compete and not be everyone’s free win.

X Personalities pulled ahead in this one, thanks to Roberts feasting on poor Nate. I thought Nate might stand a chance guarding someone his size, but no dice. Roberts had 15 first half points. Koller joined his running mate with 10 points and secured the first half double-double. He also took another first half sub, he must be slowing down at his older age. X Personalities cruised into the half up 35/24. It was pretty clear where we were headed here. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Padavick joined his teammates in their stat padding game of the week. He had 12 second half points and a bunch of boards. Roberts went for seconds at the Nate buffet and Koller completed another half double-double. Ian led the team with 4 assists, 3 in the second half. The bench duo of Packard and OTTOMATIC were solid too. Good team building game. Hit or Miss went to die in the second half. They just can’t keep up with teams on either end so far. Nate scored 7 points in this half, Ghost 6 and Joel 5. That just isn’t nearly enough for this team. The secondary guys aren’t doing their part either. They did win the turnover battle though, so that’s a good thing. 73-49 X Personalities. They’ll get some competition next week against Noah’s team.

GRADES:
Koller A: Big man’s double double. Hit a three.
Padavick A-: Good showing, cut down on turnovers.
Roberts A: Another good scoring night. Ian B; Good all around game.
Packard B: Better showing this week.
OTTOMATIC B: Good Ott game, just off from deep.

HIT OR MISS
Joel D: Score points.
Nate B-: Solid job getting to the line, no TOs, only assists, but he got roasted on D.
Ghost B: Standard good Ghost game, but missed his FTs.
Troy D: Gonna need more than this pu pu platter of nothing.
Maloof D: reference above to Troy.
Silva C+: Nice work on the boards, but we need more points.

​​

B DRAFT WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS

by Jason on Sep. 12, 2023

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.

B Draft Fall 23 Preseason Power Rankings Part II

by Jason on Sep. 07, 2023

By IAN CUNDALL

B DRAFT PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS

8. Paul

Why they can win: Miller is the best player in the league and I think has another level on offense that he can reach if necessary. With this team construction that likely will be necessary. The Julien’s and Paul will get out of his way and let him cook and step up when needed to add some additional scoring and defense. Paul has shown solid scoring ability and with Miller drawing so much attention could be freed even more. Isaac also showed at the end of last season nice touch around the rim and solid rebounding ability and with as good a passer as Miller is, he should get plenty of easy looks. David, Danner & Taha are all solid role players and can step up if needed giving this team solid depth,

Why they can’t: Lack of secondary scoring. If Miller is off, this team is in big trouble. They don’t really have any ball handlers and they also lack perimeter shooting. Teams will be able to focus on Miller and dare the rest of the team to beat them, which I”m not sure they can do.

7. Nate

Why they can win: Nate finds a Time Machine and brings it back to five years ago with him, Ghost and Joel. In all seriousness, that trio has a ton of B Draft experience and you can envision a scenario where Joel is back to his 20 ppg self, Ghost is knocking down every mid range jumper, Nate is making threes and Troy is dominating the glass. Maalouf gives them a rookie with upside and if he’s good that gives them another option on offense and grabbing Silva at 34 was great value given his shooting ability. Are the odds high all these things happen, no, but theres a chance!

Why they won’t: Attendance & lack of a true point guard. Joel is due for a Mexico vacation at some point this year and will miss his fair share of games. Troy is missing the playoffs and without him they have a real lack of size. Also, Ghost is best playing with a true point guard and I don’t see one on the roster so he might be running the baseline to get to his spot to no avail if nobody is looking for him.

6. Civale

Why they can win: Kwiatkowski is the wildcard, but if he is anywhere close to what Miller was, with a similar bio last year, he’ll be good value at seven. Him, Remy and Civale has the potential to score a lot of points and provide nice balance with complimenting inside out games. Clarke, Glynn and the Great One are all solid role players and all bring different skill sets to the table, making this a very balanced team.

Why they won’t: Rookie problems and only one ball. It’s a little interesting that Cam brought one of his friends who played in college into the league and then didn’t draft him. He obviously knows more than we do and the fact that he traded up rather than take his friend has me wondering why. Civale and Remy are both best with the ball in their hand and the rookie might be also. We haven’t seen Remy in a few seasons in this league and I’m not sure what his play style will be like so there could be some chemistry issues when it comes to divvying up the shots.

5. Harry

Why they can win: If healthy, Nair would have been in discussion for the first pick and that he went before AJ even though he’s out a month, shows how good he can be. Last season, he single-handedly won multiple games for his team and is a threat to drop 40+ in any game. Karim compliment Nair well and could lead the league in offensive rebounds with how much attention Nair is going to draw. Puskas put out an electric workout video and seems like the shooter this team badly needs and Eloi, Harry and Guns are all solid role players. Assuming Nair is healthy they will likely be in every game and most of the time have the best player on the court.

Why they won’t: Attendance and lack of depth. Nair and Guns are out for an unforeseen amount of time so they will be playing with no subs for the foreseeable future. Karim and Harry tend to tire as games go on and Eloi and Puskas aren’t exactly spring chickens either. Harry also constructed a team with two top 10 picks and then the rest of the team came from 30 onwards. Other top teams have far more depth and matchups in some of those games could get tricky.

4. Cundall

Why we can win: Koller and Roberts compliment each other really well and should be one of the more dynamic scoring duos in the league. Koller is at his best with a guard that can get him the ball and play a two man game with and I think Roberts can do that. He can shoot from the perimeter and pass which should open things up for Koller. Padavick is a wild card, but he does triathlons, so he must be able to get up and down the court. Everyone on my team can run and we have a point guard to initiate the offense. In a league with not many teams who want to play fast, that contrasting style could be a real advantage.

Why we won’t: Lack of size and reliance on B Draft rookies. Other than Koller we don’t have a lot of size and that will lead to some issues against the bigger teams in the league. Roberts is also on the small side so Packard and Padavick will likely have to step up against the bigger guards in the league. Roberts has never played in B Draft before and Padavick is a true rookie and I have no idea how good he is so that pick might have been a reach.

3. Noah

Why they can win: Pollock and Robel is a really solid pairing and compliment each other well. Sam excels coming off picks and Robel screens are among the most difficult to get through in the league. Noah and Angry Ian both have the ability to spread the floor so I can envision a very efficient half court offense with this team. Kenny was great value at 27 as well and will have his go off games where he drops 20+, giving them a wide array of scoring options. Defensively, they will also be annoying to play against with Robel guarding the paint and Sam capable of taking the top guard on the other team.

Why they won’t: Contrasting styles and team chemistry. Sam wants to run and has his best seasons in up tempo teams that like to get out in transition. Unfortunately, this team is not built like that so it’s going to be an adjustment for Sam to get used walking the ball up the court and missing out on those easy buckets. I also have questions about team chemistry here after Noah and Robel’s dust up in the playoffs that ended with Robel throwing a ball at Noah. Maybe those two have worked things out, but if things aren’t going well we could get some fireworks.

2. Cam

Why they can win: Cam is more or less running back the same team as last season, but without the MVP and number one overall pick. That’s a bold strategy, but with the talent level down across the league that could work. On defense, this team will be a pain to play against as Lynch has shown he can anchor a defense and DTO and Cam are pests. I like their depth also as Bauman showed the ability to score inside and out and fColin and Gillooly both can shoot and have heat check games where they drop 15+. If these guys are knocking down shots this will open things up for Lynch on the interior. Both Cam and DTO will have to keep up their scoring from last season as well and if they can this is a very balanced team on both ends of the floor.

Why they won’t: Lack of leadership and lack of size. Cam built what was probably the best team he ever will last season and still lost in the championship. He still has to show he can lead a team to the championship and and this team isn’t as good as that one. I also am slightly concerned about the lack of size beyond Nick and Cam. Several teams have multiple bigs and having to put DTO or Bauman on them isn’t ideal and if either of the two bigs miss games the defensive matchups get really tough.

1. Etheridge

Why they can win: Etheridge built a heck of a team in his return to B Draft, lucking into a top 4 pick in the lottery and then making a couple of shrewd trades to build a strong team around AJ. AJ is the best point guard in the league and he’s going to have a field day in a lot of these games with how big the rest of the team is. Etheridge, Angelo and Hanks all require big defenders and as a result, most teams won’t be able to put their best defender on AJ unless they have multiple bigs. If Angelo translates his B2 stats to B Draft like we’ve seen past players do then this team could have two of the top five scorers in the league. One of the problems with Etheridge’s last few teams has been a lack of shooting around him, but with AJ and Hanks spreading the floor that really should open the paint up.

Why they won’t win: Attendance and lack of depth. These two go hand in hand, but a hallmark of Etheridge teams is attendance issues. His last team forfeited what felt like half the games that season because of injuries and absences. Because of his trades, this team is very top heavy with a bench consisting of two of the bottom five picks, so any absences by the starting four could create some issues.

B Draft Week 3 Write-Ups and Power Rankings

by Jason on May. 19, 2023

BY CUNDALL & HARRY

Kenny Tricks 5 Weeks into giving him Treats after dominating display

Going in, my expectations for this game were very low. 5 Weeks and Counting had been blown out every game, while Trick or Treat is the clear top team in the league. Jamil being out further lowered my expectations and made me regret not making the line higher than the 19.5 I set it at. To the action!

The start of the game was interesting as 5 Weeks and Counting came out flying. Troy and Maneval were active on both ends, forcing turnovers and knocking down a few shots early, while Trick or Treat was sluggish. Eventually they got the pick and role game going with Sam and Mike, but 5 Weeks held the lead 12-8 after the first five minutes. A Troy steal and Maneval 3 would push the lead to 6 at 17-11 and Guns would follow with a three to make it 20-13! Harry was definitely not pleased at this point, but I wasn’t sure how sustainable this was as 5 Weeks were hitting everything, while Trick or Treat was missing wide open shots (or just throwing the ball away). Things were due to flip soon and they did almost immediately as Trick or Treat ripped off a quick 7-0 run to tie it up at 20. Stat was getting whatever he wanted in the paint (still no guarantee he’d finished it) and Weinstein couldn’t miss. 

Guns stopped the run with a crazy put back while falling behind the hoop and out of bounds. I’m not sure he knew much about it, but it was a very impressive play. Things remained level as we finished up the first quarter of the game as we sat at 25-25 after 10 minutes. As you can see, defense was optional at this point and for as hard as 5 weeks was working, I was skeptical they could keep up that effort for the entire game. It seemed a run was coming for Trick or Treat and it started after a Harry dime led to an easy bucket. Weinstein would add a three, which was good because Pollock was throwing up bricks from deep. With six minutes left Harry’s team led 38-28 and then Kenny was unleashed. Over the rest of the half he’d hit three threes to push the lead, yet he couldn’t make a wide open layup in transition. One person who could make layups during this time was Big Guns who had two really impressive right-handed finishes. Guns and the rest of 5 weeks were working hard, but Trick or Treat just had far too many weapons and at half they found themselves down 54-34. Everyone but Harry (he wasn’t shooting at all) was scoring for Trick or Treat, led by Weinstein with 21 and Pollock with 14. Meanwhile, 5 weeks was lead by Maneval with 16 and Guns with 9.

The second half was more or less a scrimmage with both teams trying on offense and providing limited resistance on defense. Harry’s team was putting on a passing clinic with the ball flying around and leading to easy shots on pretty much every possession. Sam finally hit a three in this period and Kenny continued to go off. 5 Weeks meanwhile was fatigued and started turning the ball over frequently. This led to more easy buckets for Trick or Treat as they started to run up the score. Guns and co fought hard in the second half as he hit a really nice setback three, but it wasn’t enough as Trick or Treat walked away with a 94-55 win.

Trick or Treat

Pollock B: Nice game, but struggled from three

Weinstein A: Led the team in scoring and was able to do pretty much whatever he wanted.

Kenny A+: Awesome game even with several blown layups. A treat to watch.

Stat B: Dominated the glass, but still forces a few too many shots for my liking and doesn’t finish efficiently.

Harry B: Kept the ball moving and rebounded well.

5 Weeks

Maneval A-: 23 points on efficient shooting from deep, but would have liked to see a little more activity on the glass and getting others involved.

Guns A: Great game from Tommy on both ends. Had four steals and eight boards and added 14 points and showed off a nice range of moves to get those points.

Troy B: Quiet second half, but worked hard throughout.

Alan C: Struggled with his shot, but passed the ball well.

Cavano calls shot from his death bed

The second game of the evening was the toilet bowl championship between Ian's Gray Matters and Calderan's Danner-18. Both these teams looked quite awful through two weeks, although Danner-18 had a better excuse than Ian's with Casey missing their second game. Casey, was there this week as was everyone else (for a time). Taha aka the electric one was out for Gray Matters. TO THE ACTION!

Gray Matters came out like a team thirsty for victory in this one, sprinting out to a 20-3 lead over Danner-18. Everyone was contributing to start off this half, Koller had 12 points, Ian had 8, Lamaar returned to score 5 and Issac plus Ian had three steals apiece. What a start for a team that really needs a win. They were really bringing the energy out there and it got them a big lead.

On the other end of the floor, Danner-18 was out to lunch the first 10 minutes of the game. Falling down double digits so early to a bad offense isn't a good thing. They looked out to lunch a game that they really needed too. What the hell were they doing? Then Cavano got hurt, falling hard to the ground doing something Cavano like, forcing him out of the game. Not great for a team that relies on its stars to get shit done. Cavano did some up to me as he was leaving and guaranteed victory. Odd thing for a man to say leaving the gym and his team to fend for themselves.

HOWEVER, the game started to turn a bit as Danner-18 went on a 18-9 run to close the half behind Chaos Casey, who was launching the ball at will and flying all over court with no real plan in mind. Danner-18 went into the half trailing 29-21 with the hopes they could ride Casey to a victory. Could they? BACK TO THE ACTION!

Chaos Casey returned in the second half, securing 8 offensive rebounds and a whole bunch of rebounds on the defensive end too. Obviously, Ian learned nothing from our game plan on Mondays last season to assign someone to box out Casey at all times.

Of course, he doesn't have me on this team. Anyways, Casey shot like shit, not surprising, but the second and third and fourth chances he got his team were starting to pay off. Calderan joined the game, scoring 18 second half points after puking on himself in the first half. Calderan also got frisky out there, picking up four fouls and technical! He also started chirping at Koller about being a man. I will say this, all you guards are cheap fucks down low and push/pull/hold all the time. Nonetheless, THIS IS A MEN'S LEAGUE BABY and the winds of change in this game's momentum were blowing.

After a 'good for them?' first half, Gray Matters reverted back to struggling mightily on offense. They didn't hit a three in the entire second half. Ian didn't score and Issac/Lamaar only made 3 fgs the rest of the way. I mean what can you say about this offense? No one can handle the ball consistently, no one can shoot consistently and therefore no one can really score consistently.

Down the stretch Gray Matters finally gave up the lead after a Calderan free throw and then Casey a bucket gave them a 2-point lead. Then somehow Ryan Glynn ended up with the ball on the ground and called a timeout his team didn't have. Therefore proving forever he shouldn't be in charge of timeouts. Koller tied the game from the line after the T, but Glynn redeemed himself okie doking Koller for a bucket, but Koller answered for 2. After some other plays recorded in discord Danner-18 had the ball up 2 and Casey did something stupid, got his shit thrown back in his face and lost the ball for his team. Koller found Gray for 2, Calderan missed one up close, Gray Matters got the ball and ran the same play that tied the game, but this time Calderan threw Gray's shit. Off to OT we go!

Gray Matters won the tip in OT, but couldn't convert and were forced to play from behind after a Calderan bucket gave Danner-18 the lead. After a Koller 1-2 from the line, Casey scored a 2 and Glynn got a board and was fouled. He made his free throws and Koller answered with a 2, then Glynn split a pair. Lamaar would hit a huge three to make it a one point game, Calderan went to the line and made the first, but the second got rebounded by Casey. Ben "Casey" Simmons went to the line and bricked both free throws. Man, does this guy suck at the free throw line. He didn't use to be this bad. Gray Matters had the ball down 2, they got the ball to Koller who dribbled around until he could attempt a 3 and it was off. 64-62 Final.

Another horrific loss for Ian's team and a great win for Danner-18 to overshadow Casey being the worst free throw shooter of all-time.

Grades:

Koller A; Now this what an "A" effort looks like when your team is counting on you to consistently get buckets, not disappear from half to half.
Ian C: Ian looked quite good early, but speaking of disappearing Ian did his own in the second half and OT. This team really needs Ian's best from half to half as a captain and player.
Lamaar C+: A mixed bag from Lamaar, he hit a big shot, but fouled trouble hurt his night.
Issac B-: His best game so far, but he really needs to rebound on this team. What's that height for?
Gray B: Gray made some big plays out there, but he really needs to make his threes. Again, it isn't his fault he's been thrusted into a huge role.

Danner-18

Casey A-: This an 'A+' game, but his outrageously bad shooting brings him down.
Cavano A+: Sees into the future like no man.
Calderan A: Hit some really big shots and made a game saving block.
Marcellus D: I need one bucket or a block or a fight with an opposing player.
Danner C+: I'm sure Danner made some hustle players out there.
Glynn B-: Glynn was a mixed bag of chaos like Casey.

Nothing Great without The Great One

Our last game of the evening featured an AJ and Joel less Counselors taking on the Great Clasby without the Great One. This didn't seem like a promising end to the evening for our games, but we played the game anyway. TO THE ACTION!

Any time a Noah team knows it's in peril means they're going to be chucking 3s relentlessly for 40 minutes, because Noah has his built in excuse. This game was no different in the first half, with the Counselors shooting 22 3-point shots. They were able to hit 7, all from Noah and Jack, who the team welcomed back this week. Those 7 made 3s were 5 more than the amount of 2s they made in the half, so these guys fit in perfectly with today's NBA.

On the other side of the court The Great Clasby was throwing up a whole lot of trash. They went 0-9 from deep in the first half and looked about awful as one can in a half against weak competition. Scroggins, Clasby and Angry Ian combined for all the scoring in this half, plus the next one and OT. That tells me the ball wasn't moving if Robel and Silva didn't get on the board. 

They moved the ball well last week in victory, but perhaps they thought the ball movement played no role in their victory.  

The Counselors went into the half up 25-21. My feelings were this lead wouldn't last and Scroggins would turn it on, but I've been wrong once before (just once!). 

The second half began much like the first of GC, they couldn't hit a shot to save their lives. Scroggins and Robel were the only ones to attempt a 3 in the second half/OT. I don't know what's going on with this team's offense, but it sucks. I thought this would be a good game for them to build some momentum, but boy was I wrong. There wasn't one positive for these guys in this game. 

The score fluctuated a bit in the second half, neither team was pulling away by any means. That's when Jack got hurt on a 3-point jumper that Robel was trying to contest. Zaza Pachulla thought it was perfect defense, but others might be disagree. Obviously, Robel didn't do it on purpose and now the Counselors needed a guy. That's when the King stepped off his throne to play and Robel did the scoring. 

It was a pretty ugly game from there, I remember Bret hitting a huge 3 to get the lead to 5 or maybe a little more. Then Scroggins turned it up a bit and got some lay-ups. Eventually, the game was tied and I drove on Silva, using my new move, I went right up into his arms. There was no call and we went to OT! 

Noah hit a big 3 in OT and Bret made a nice short jumper or lay-up. We got into free throw territory, but I missed a front end and Bret missed one. The Great Clasby got within 2 and went for the win at the buzzer, but Angry Ian's shot fell off. 

Grades

Counselors:

A+: Any time you get a win against another team without your two best players, then your third best, you deserve an A+. 

Great Clasby:

F-: No positives from any player on this team and as a team a collective awful performance. F---------

2 guys and a Cam

Coming into the night this was my game of the evening between two contending teams. Both coming into the game 2-0, both coming off impressive wins. Finally, a game wasn't ruined by absences, everyone was there. TO THE ACTION!

The Young Bucks came out hot behind their 3 headed monster of Lynch-Miller-Cam. Apparently. Civale didn't get the memo that Lynch was a shooter and even if we did, God knows he wouldn't have done anything about it. Lynch, would hit four three pointners in the first half, going 4 for 7. Cam added 10 points of his own, while Miller clocked in at 11. No one else on the team scored in the first half for the Young Bucks, which tells me Civale's team did a poor job noticing what was happening. Again, not surprising with a Civale led team.

On the other end of the floor, MacDonald notched 8 first half assists for his team. I was beginning to wonder though if maybe this wasn't a good thing, because James was the only person who registered an assist. You have to wonder if MacDonald bogarting the entire offense is a good thing, when it leads to other guys going invisible. James did score 8 first half points. Young Bucks went into the half up 39-33. I thought this game could go either way. I expected MacDonald to turn up the scoring. BACK TO THE ACTION!

MacDonald, would step up his scoring in the second half, going bonkers for 20 second half points. He even flirted with a quadruple-double, but one other person registered a second field goal. Again, I have to wonder if this Luka like offense is good for the team as a whole. They were trailing this whole game.

Meanwhile, this was Cam's best game of his CAC career, even if he continues to blow free throws. Cam had 12 second half points, hitting a three and a bunch of 2s. Miller continues to be a force down low, scoring 13 second half points. By the time season ends Miller is going to have a whole lot of free throw attempts. He's a magnet for contact in this league.

Lynch, kind of disappeared though, only scoring 4 points this half. He still refuses to ever enter the post, which I guess is a big thank you to the rest of the league. The Young Bucks just kept MOOM at a distance in this game. The deciding blow was when DTO finally made a FG for the supporting cast. It was a huge 3 that was pretty much the dagger in the game. Everyone, but Cam hit their free throws and that was all she wrote. Another huge win for the Young Bucks, while MOOM needs some answers.

Grades

Miller A-: Another good game, but his shot was off from deep. Lynch: B+: Great first half, but what happened in the second half and why can't I get any post-ups?
Cam A: He'd get a plus if he could make a free throw.
DTO C+: Big three late gets him a plus, but only one made FG? Gross. He needs to make an impact for his team.
Landy C-: I have no memories of anything he did in this game. Was he there?
Bauman C: Notched 2 assists, but I need a make too.

MOOM

MacDonald A-: Hard to argue with the numbers, but where's my defense?
James C+: Listen, James was a monster on the boards, but no second half FGs? Does James only play the first half to score?
Civale A: 7 threes is above board, HOWEVER does this guy ever rebound or do anything but stand on the 3-point line? Just a waste of a big body. Make an effort out there.
Hanks D: Sucked again, but apparently did better yesterday. So good for him.
Ottomatic C: No Ottomatic buckets, boooooooo.

POWER RANKINGS

Better luck next year tier:

8. Gray Matters

Somehow Ian put together a team that can’t score, rebound and shoot. They also have three horrible losses. I don’t feel a pulse. One guy might save you in the first round:

7. The Great Clasby:

If Ian’s team wasn’t so pathetic I’d have this team last for tonight’s performance alone. Wtf is this team doing?

6. 5 weeks and counting:

Somehow this team gets to 6th because they haven’t had a chance to win anything. I feel confident in saying at full strength they’re better the teams below them. They might be better with just 5 too.

5. Danner-18:

Huge win for these guys tonight even with Cavano getting hurt. Casey is definitely good enough to Will his team past the ones blow them as tonight provided. GIANT GAP These teams can win it tier:

4. MOOM

Tough loss for these guys tonight, but they’re still clearly better than the ones below them.

3. Counselors

You can argue they still belong in the 2 spot, but I’m putting them here. Big win for them tonight, you’re welcome. Although, I’d argue it had move to do with the awful play of their opponents. Nonetheless, they’re quite good at full strength.

2. Young Bucks

Huge win for these guys tonight too. They beat a full strength title contender. Their supporting cast has questions though. No one besides the top 3 made a FG tonight.

1. Trick or treat mother fucker

I mean, come on. 1 through 6 we have the best team. The end.

B Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITEUPS

Humpty Cundall has fallen down and no Kollers can put him together again!
BY HARRY

Gray Matters had a very disappointing opening night, falling to a Lynch-less Young Bucks squad. Now they face a bigger challenge against Mountains out of Mulvehills, who is earning there number 3 preseason power ranking so far. Ian's team was missing Lamaar, Civale had everyone. TO THE ACTION!

Gray Matters offense really looked bad in week 1, especially during the second half and that continued in the first half of this game. They combined to go 0-8 from 3 in the opening frame, but they did get to the line 12 times, which is pretty impressive. They went 9-12 at the line, which is also pretty good. Koller, led the way with 11 first half points, but that's where the good news ended for these guys. Despite going to the line 12 times, they only managed 23 points, which is GASTLY! Issac, did hit a jumper and a lay-up early on, so maybe he was starting to figure it out?

On the other side of the ball MOOM continued their torrid start. 5 of their 6 guys scored multiple baskets in the first half, with James leading the way with 12 points. MacDonald, continued to spray the ball around and get everyone involved. Ian's team as well as many others do a bad job of noticing when MacDonald is just hunting shooters to dribble screen hand-off to. Everyone seems very confident in their roles on this team and it shows in the movement.

MOOM had firm control of this game as we went into the half, leading 37-23. A 14 point lead on Gray Matters might as well be a 100 at this point. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Apparently, MOOM got concerned about making it home to the Celtics on time and took the second half off. Their offense hit the skids, which was the second week in a row that this happened without any real explanation. I will say, outside of OTTOMATIC, they do have a bunch of guys are capable of missing a whole lot in a row. AKA a bunch of hot and cold players, which is something to monitor.

Lucky for them, both of their games this season have been against the new 7th and 8th ranked teams in my mind. MacDonald led the team with 8 second half points and James had 6. Gross!

Of course that didn't matter, because somehow Gray Matters offense just keeps getting worse as time goes on. Issac, hit some shots early, but couldn't get on the board in the second half. Gray, went 0-7 from three in the game. Ian, would end up leading the team with 9 second half points. Simply put, there's just way too much pressure on guys to do things they probably aren't capable of. Ian and Gray are good open shot shooters, but now they're expected to score enough to open up the floor and be 2nd/3rd options. That won't cut it. Koller isn't a 1 option either. His offensive game is way too limited without someone there to open the floor up. Every game is tough for a top option, but you still have to score.

MOOM cruised to an easy win against the helpless Gray Matter. MOOM continues their rise as contenders, while Gray Matters searches for Cancun vacation spots.

Gray Matters:
Koller B-: Koller's defense was "adequate" against MacDonald, but again you can't have 6 point halves as 1 option.
Ian B: 12 points from Ian is normally quite good, but not on this team. He struggled from deep, 1-6.
Gray D+: Good game on the boards, but 0-7 won't get it done.
Issac C-: Got it going a little, but 1 board? I need more boards with the height.
Tahahaha C-; Where's my electricity?

MOOM:
Ben B: Similar to last week, filled it up, but was on cruise control for 40 minutes.
James B+: Good shooting game by James, but I feel like he could have played a lot better.
Civale C+: Another block?!?! Lordy, but his shot was off in this one. I guess he's just a defensive player now.
Hanks D: Hanks sucked.
Lucas C+: I liked the hustle, but will this kid ever make a free throw?
OTTOMATIC A+: 6 points, 2 steals, 1 block, 7 rebounds. OTTOMATIC is a 10 on the erection scale right now.

Angry Ian Hulks up on 5 weeks and counting
By HARRY

The Great Clasby welcomed back their namesake last week after a tough 1-point loss to my team the week before. A good week for them to build chemistry, because they were facing the short handed 5WNC squad missing Jamil and obviously Nair too. Robel was out for the Great Clasby. TO THE ACTION!

5WNC did welcome back AAAAAAAOOOOOOOO, who was sporting some kind of weird haircut. KD and I were trying to figure it out, but couldn't come up with anything. It looked like a pony tail, but not at the same time. AO was in a foreign country the week before, so maybe that explains it? Anyhow, the weird haircut AO was balling out early in this game, scoring 10 first half points, along with three steals and 5 boards, plus an assist. Lots of good energy from AO in this one.

Maneval looked a lot better to with a fellow SDL guy back on his team, scoring 10 first half points. He did take 7 threes though to get there, although he was the only to make any. The rest of his team went 0-7 from deep, not great. On the other end, the Great Clasby held an early lead, but Scroggins was held without a made FG in the first half. He went 0-5 from deep, perhaps he was too concerned with the Celtics game going on at the time.

Thankfully for the Great Clasby, Angry Ian was on fire, scoring 12 first half points, adding 4 boards and 2 assists. He did get angry at one point too and tossed his headband away. All in all, angry Ian was giving us everything! A true man of the people. Clasby, also looked pretty good himself, scoring 9 first half points, with 2 steals, 4 boards and 2 assists. The Great Clasby was doing a real good job of moving the rock around the court. Great Clasby went into the half with an oddly small, 34-28 lead. Of course when you get nothing from the 1 pick in a half and you go in ahead, then that's a good sign and I'm not just saying that, because I know it's true. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Scroggins awoke from his first half slumber, scoring 21 first half points. He got his jumper going and continued his excellence from the line, going 7-7 for the game. However, the real story was his teammates passing. Clasby/Angry-Ian/Silva/Great One all combined for 12 second half assists. This team was crying about the lack of ball movement last game and really stepped it up here. I love it when a good plan comes together. Let us see if they can continue to do this against better competition.

5WNC put forth an admirable effort, but they were just out gunned in this game (no pun intended). They just couldn't connect from deep either, after a tough first half they matched it in the second half, shooting 2-14 from 3 again. 4-28 from 3 won't do the trick in any game, especially this one. Troy, would be the only one on his team to reach double digits, scoring 11 in the second half. These guys are a long way from getting Nair back. They've also had a tough schedule to be fair as well. The Great Clasby ran away with this game late, only a Big Guns three at the buzzer salvaged pride. 79-56 Final.

5WNC
Troy C+: He did a good job on defense or as well as you can on Scroggins, but his shot was off from 3.
Maneval C: Promising first half, but his shot from 3 was also quite off, going 2-11 won't cut it.
AAAAAAOOOOOO B: AO looked good on the court, except from.....you guessed it, 3. Is 6 steals a career high?
Big Guns B+: Got himself to double-digits which I love, but he missed some easy looks too.

The Great Clasby
Scroggins C: No first half FGs? Gotta call that out, finished with decent stats though.
Great One A-: Very nice, well rounded Great One game.
Angry Ian A+: Doesn't get much better from Angry Ian. He did go 0-3 from line, but had a near triple-double.
Clasby B: Played nicely to start his season, could have been "A" if he wore the right championship gear.
Silva B: Nice Silva game here as well, got his team moving the ball.

Free throws are hard

BY CUNDALL

Apologies for the late writeup, but after what I witnessed last Thursday, I needed a few days to process it. Let’s be honest this game should have been good, but it really wasn’t and whoever the equivalent of Tom Emanski (look it up if you don’t know who that is) is for basketball would have been appalled with what they just watched. With that lead in I know you all can’t wait for the write-up so to the action we go! The big news at tip off was Jack was out for The Counselors. Even though he was the 27th pick Jack showed his far better than that dropping 23/14 the first week, so his absence was the first warning sign for Noah’s squad. Harry’s squad was fully staffed with Pollock finally returning from his cross-country tour celebrating last seasons B Draft championship. Both teams struggled out the gate with points at a premium. Eventually Pollock remembered how to make a layup and got Harry’s team on the board, but other than him they didn’t have much going as six minutes into the game the score was 8-4. As we expected it was the Pollock vs. AJ show to this point as AJ was literally the only person who could hit the rim, let alone make a shot, on Noah’s team. He had the first six points for The Counselors as Harry’s team jumped out to an early 9-6 lead.

The energy started to shift when Karim entered off the bench and he immediately made an impact on both ends. He got on the board quickly and made a couple other nice plays. With 10 minutes left in the first half Harry’s team led 11-6 and things didn’t get any better over the next few minutes, save for AJ knocking down his first three of the half after several misses. It was 16-9 with seven minutes left and if Harry’s team could make a free throw it would have been far worse. Weinstein knocked down both his free throws, but the rest of the team went 1-9 from the line in the first half. The inability to make free throws was jarring, as was Stat’s inability to make a field goal. After going scoreless last week with only three minutes left in the half, he still had a blank 2PM field on the stat sheet. Finally, after 58 minutes of action to start the B Draft season and numerous layups thrown off the backboard, Harry’s nightmare ended and Stat made a layup! That layup propelled Harry’s lead to double digits and was soon followed by Harry making a very impressive layup on the fast break after an outlet pass from Sam. We don’t get to see Harry as the first man out on the break often, so all I can think of was the new haircut he was sporting made all the difference. That was the last notable play of the half as Harry’s team led 26-15 in an absolute brick fest. Pollock led the way for Harry’s team with eight points, but everyone else chipped in between two and five points. For Noah’s team, AJ had nine, Joel had four and David was the only other person to score.

The second half started with Karim again getting to the hoop and exposing the lack of rim protection for The Counselors. AJ finally started to wake up, however knocking down another three to keep it within striking distance. Unfortunately, for the Counselors that layup in the first half seemed to wake up Stat as he also realized their was nobody who could slow him down at the rim and he started to go down there whenever he wanted. He was very active on the offensive glass and when he got to the bucket finished, scoring eight second half points. Meanwhile, after Harry’s team shot 3-11 from the line in the first half, Noah’s team sought to top it. They missed all eight of their free throw attempts in the second half, which really limited their comeback chances. They did, however wake up from three as AJ made a couple more, but each time Trick or Treat had an answer. It was 43-28 Harry’s team with 10 minutes left and over the next few minutes Harry knocked down a big three, showing off again that his new haircut was a game changer and so did Weinstein which kept the lead at a comfortable 16 points, 51-35. With four minutes left Harry’s team led 57-41 and it seemed like all they had to do was run out the clock. Unfortunately Pollock had other plans and started turning the ball over, while Joel knocked down two threes and we had a 10 point game. That was as close as it would get, however as Harry’s team would tack on a couple late buckets to come away with a 63-49 win. More important than the final score, however was that both teams combined to go 5-25 from the free throw line, including 0-10 in the second half. Both teams also shot better from three than the free throw line.

Trick or Treat
Pollock C-: Ok first half, but was very quiet for the majority of the second half and didn’t hit a single three.
Weinstein B: Didn’t have as big an impact with the shots spread around more, but did hit both his free throws which was an accomplishment for this game.
Stat B-: Rough first half, but picked it up in the second half big time. No made free throws dings the grade.
Harry B+: Really solid game with a three, athletic layup and good captain decisions.
Karim B+: Active on both ends and at least made one free throw.
Kenny B+: Nice game on both ends and chipped in double digit points.

The Counselors
AJ B: Led his team in scoring and defended Pollock well, but struggled with his shot.
Joel C+: Awful first half, but much better in the second half and even knocked down a few threes.
Noah D: Didn’t have it at all today.
David B: Solid debut, very active on the glass and chipped in eight points.
Brett C: Worked hard and got into good positions, but need to see him knock down a few more shots.

Throw in the white flag
By HARRY

Danner 18 came into this game suffering a pretty emphatic week 1 loss and Casey responded by ditching his team in week 2. They did welcome Danner and Glynn though. Meanwhile, Cam welcomed his second round pick, Nick Lynch to the team and everyone else was there. TO THE ACTION!

It was a tight back and forth affair in the first half. Matthew Miller came out strong though. He's really good at getting to the line, going 4-4 from the charity stripe in the opening frame. His shot was also falling too, mid-range, inside the paint and he added a 3. He doesn't seem to get tired or take any plays off, especially on offense.

Danner 18 tried to fight back though, with Marcellus coming through big, scoring 8 first half points. Danner 18's offense was pretty pathetic, but Marcellus big buckets kept it close for them. He really struggled badly in week 1, but I'll just blame Casey's bad passes on that. They need him to convert down low on high percentages opportunities.

Despite Marcellus and his efforts, Miller had built such a big lead on Danner 18 that it didn't seem they could crawl out of it. Calderan hit an early 3, but Cavano couldn't find the hoop. He was true to his word in taking a bunch of shots and naturally, he missed all of them. Cavano went 0-7 from deep in the first half and you aren't going to beat Matthew Miller that way.

Glynn and Danner hit a bucket apiece late, but a late Marcellus heave at the buzzer went wide. Danner 18 officially lost the first half to Matthew Miller 17-15. Oh ya and a bunch of other guys scored a whole lot of points on Danner 18 too. DTO had 15 1h points and the Young Bucks went into the half up 44-15.

Despite the embarrassment of losing to one guy in a half, Danner 18 still took the floor in the second half. There is no level of embarrassment to keep Chris Cavano from continuing to play and chuck. Cavano, scored 21 second half points, including hitting four threes. Calderan, also awoke from his first half coma and scored 9 second half points. Danner chipped in with a couple of threes too and Danner 18 was showing signs of life or maybe the Young Bucks just couldn't believe these guys would keep playing and stop us from watching the Celtics.

The lead would actually get down to single digits for one possession in the second half until Miller got a couple buckets to push the lead back. Nick Lynch was quiet until he started trying to dunk and failed twice. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Cam led his team with 10 second half points and a bunch of missed lay-ups and bad passes. Lucky for the Young Bucks that Danner 18 decided not to play the first half, because they sucked in the second half.

Young Bucks hold on to win 75-57

Danner 18
Cavano D: I don't care what Cavano's final line is, you can put a giant F next to them for FLUFF, because that's what they are, fluff stats.
Danner D+; Somehow Danner is known a 3-point shooter, but he doesn't shoot many anymore. Why?
Glynn D: Glynn was taking pregame shots and I don't know why, because he didn't take any game shots.
Calderan D: Calderan is the 3rd option on this team, so he needs to score consistently.
Marcellus B-: Marcellus was the only one showed up in the first half.

Young Bucks:
Miller A: Another impressive performance, I want to see him against a good team though.
Lynch D+: Filled it up, but missed two dunks, which brings shame upon all us bigs.
DTO A+: DTO looks pretty good when I'm not throwing his shit on Saturdays.
Cam A-: Lots of good defense, but refuses to make his free throws still.
Landy C-: Did he even play?
Bauman B: Very good first half, which for a role player is all you can ask of.

B DRAFT WRITE-UPS WEEK 1

by Jason on May. 09, 2023

BY HARRY & IAN

Weinstein spoils the Great Clasby’s party  

As tends to be the issue during the summer season both teams had attendance issues in this one. Pollock was out for Trick or Treat and Clasby was out for the Great Clasby. These absences would seem to favor the Great Clasby slightly, but it was really a toss up game as we had no idea what to expect about from the first overall pick Jay. He made a solid, first impression, but was it enough? To the action!

To the shock of nobody, the beginning of this game was bad. Neither team could buy a basket and there were a lot of turnovers and sloppy basketball. Slowly but surely the teams started to figure it out and Weinstein threw the first punch scoring a couple of quick baskets. Things were back and forth in this opening ten minutes with Robel leading the way for the Great Clasby. Unlike past seasons were he hung out on the perimeter, Robel spent a lot of time down low and was doing a good job finishing at the rim. Jay got off to a slow start as Kenny and co were playing solid defense on him, but you could tell it was only a matter of time. 

Halfway through the first half it was 13-12 Trick or Treat and scoring was still at a premium even after it looked like the teams were starting to figure out their offense. Over the rest of the first half, it remained close as Jay was doing a good job distributing for Great Clasby. His shot was off, but you could tell he knew how to read the game and he was doing a great job getting good looks for other players. Angry Ian especially was the recipient of some good pocket passes and he was knocking down his signature mid-range jumper. For Trick or treat they were getting a balanced effort as rookie Karim was very active and looked to be much better than were he was drafted and Harry was knocking down jumpers. Things remained very close as the half closed and we went into half with the Great Clasby holding a slim 28-26 lead. Weinstein led the way with nine points for Trick or Treat, while Robel led the way with eight for Great Clasby.

The second half started with Jay finally getting going. He started to get to the hoop and in a matter of minutes he had equaled his first half point total with three quick buckets. During this time Harry’s team was really struggling to score and all of a sudden Ben’s team had created some separation. Trick or Treat broke their drought when Harry made a nice runner off the dribble and got fouled. He missed the free throw, however and Jay went down and knocked down his first three of the game to push the lead to 43-36. Even though the Great Clasby had some separation, it seemed only a matter of time before Harry’s team made a run. Behind some excellent defense from Karim, Harry’s team got out in transition and started to cut into the lead. A Weinstein bucket tied things up at 43 and then Karim got a block and took it all the way for a layup to give Trick or Treat their first lead since midway through the first half. 

Jay answered quickly after with a tough fadeaway jumper and he scored several times after that as well as he started to take over. There were only five minutes left at this point and Great Clasby held a 51-47 lead. A Weinstein put back made it a two point game, but Robel answered to restore the four point lead with three minutes left. A couple of misses for Great Clasby opened the door for Trick or Treat and after a Weinstein jumper we had a tie game with two minutes left at 53-53. Both teams would miss threes on their ensuing possessions, but Karim would get fouled on back to back possessions. He knocked down four clutch free throws and Harry’s team found them up by 4 at 57-53. A Jay and one cut the lead to one, but inexplicably Silva’s team didn’t foul immediately and the clock ran down from 30 seconds to five. Silva used both his timeouts to advance the ball and had a play drawn up for a three to tie. They inbounded the ball to Jay, but Harry smartly fouled immediately before a shot could be put up. Jay knocked down both free throws even though I think he was trying to miss the second leaving it a one point game with just over two seconds left. Harry got the ball on the inbound and was fouled immediately. He missed the first one and then did the right thing and missed the second as well causing the clock to run out. Final score Trick or Treat 59, Great Clasby 58.

Trick or Treat

Weinstein A: Vintage performance where he carried the offense for the large majority of the game.
Karim A: Really impressive debut. Knows how to play, can finish at the rim and was very good on defense.
Harry B+: 6/6/2 and made two really good captain calls late, giving the foul when up three and then missing a free throw to cause the clock to run out.
Stat D: Didn’t make a field goal, but played solid defense.
Kenny C: Quiet game on offense, but did a good job sticking with Jay

The Great Clasby

Jay B+: 32/10/6 is a great line, but I thought he left a lot of points on the board. If he finds a consistent jump shot we’re all in trouble.
Robel B: Really good first half, but seemed to tire as the game went on.
Angry Ian C+: Really good first half, but plagued by foul trouble in the second half.
Cassel C: Quiet game for the great one with only one three. 
Ben D: Really questionable Captain decision not fouling when down one with 30 seconds left for 20+ seconds dings the grade big time. 

Rookie Miller finds gym and his team a victory!

Our second game of the evening featured Cundall’s team taking on Cam’s team, with both guys counting on rookies to be major contributors. Cam’s team was missing Lynch though, so things weren’t looking up for them. Cundall had everyone. TO THE ACTION!

The first half of this rock fight belonged to Benjamin Koller, who was trying to win one for the CAC vets in this rookie fest. He led all scorers with 14 first half points, adding 7 rebounds along with a steal and block. Pretty much enjoying the fruits of number 1 status and dominating the game along the way. Good thing too, because his teammates outside of small contributions from Cundall and Gray weren’t doing their part. They did have the lead all the way through though.

That’s because the Young Bucks offense kind of sucks. Miller, who I helped get to the gym, you’re welcome Cam, wasn’t afraid to get up shots. He led his team with 13 points and was described as a bigger Weinstein by Cundall, good comparison I’d say. Miller wasn’t efficient, but did a good job getting to the line. He also destroyed Koller on one drive, sending Koller down on his buttocks. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good look at the play. Miller’s teammates outside of 6 Cam points, weren’t doing much. Apparently, DTO can only unlock his powers on Saturday mornings.

Gray Matter went into the half up 30-22. Outside of their respective stars, these teams really looked fucking awful. BACK TO THE ACTION!

I’d like to say the Young Bucks supporting cast stepped up this half, but I’d be lying. Jkjkjk they did a little more than nothing, with Landy and DTO hitting a three. New fan favorite Eric Bauman, added 4 points and did something sexy I can’t remember right now. Cam added his usual effort, hustle and some crazy passes that never had a chance. They looked A LITTLE better, which got them the lead because…..

Gray Matter really sucked in the second half. It’s never good to look at second half and see the leading point scorer had 5 points for you in the half. These guys just couldn’t buy a bucket and you can credit the defense, but man this doesn’t look good. Rookie Julien just couldn’t get good looks for himself. He’s a tall man, but it appears he comes from the Djordje school of bigs who don’t use their body like they should. Cundall’s other rookie LB looked like a player, but he was gassed repeatedly. Taha and Gray did their best to chip, but you’re asking a lot of them to pick up your offense for a half. Then Koller, who dominated the first half, just died in the second. He didn’t look comfortable knowing he had to create buckets for himself late.

Young Bucks mercifully ended this horror show hitting enough free throws late. 55/49 Final.

Grades;

LB B-: Hit some threes, but just couldn’t get a wind all game.
Cundall B: Second on the team in scoring, but couldn’t get the 3-ball to drop.
Koller B: Great first half, but a bad second half full of forced shots.
Taha B-; Brought the energy late, but they’ll need more from him.
Julien C-: He has more in him. I know that already.
Gray B+: Hit his jumpers when he got them.

YOUNG BUCKS:

Cam B: Good activity and defense, but left points on the board.
Landy B-: Shot was off, but contributed else where. Had a nice block too!
DTO C-: This should have been a good DTO game, but it wasn’t.
Miller A-: Ultimately won the game for his team, but I except more.
Bauman C+: The new fan favorite needs to make his threes and FTs.

Counselors lecture 5 weeks and counting the hard way

Another game, another team full of rookies. Thankfully, we had one team with known commodities. The Counselors rolled into the season with the reigning OPOY and a good supporting cast. While Jamil’s team went with the long game and rookies, along with BIG GUNS. Joel and the other Julien was out for Noah’s team. TO THE ACTION!

Cam filled in until Jamil got there. Naturally, this didn’t lead to a great first half showing as the Counselors wrecked havoc upon 5WNC’s defense. They hit 10 first half threes, 4 from Jack and 3 apiece from AJ/Noah. AJ, led the world in 1h scoring with 19. It was a buffet at the Golden Corral.

Troy had some nice takes, co-leading the team with 10 first half points. Cold off the streets, Jamil had 10 points himself. Things are obviously going to be an uphill climb on both ends without Nair.

Counselors went into the half up 51-31.

BACK TO THE ACTION!

The bright spot for 5WNC was Big Guns notching a double digit rebound game. I also thought Maneval looked like a pretty good defender. AJ is a tough guard for anyone, so no shame giving up buckets there. These guys just need to work on their chemistry.

The Counselors slowed down a bit as the game moved on. They moved the ball nicely in this game. I’ll be looking closely at their ball movement as they play harder games down the stretch. Rookie Bret looked like a good hustle player and a willing passer.

Counselors cruised to an easy victory. Nice way to start the year.

Grades:
Maneval C-: Rough game shooting the ball.
Big Guns B+: I like this career high in rebounds. Can it continue?
Troy C+: Good effort on the boards and scored it, but shot was a bit off too.
Jamil B-: Late start, but still lead the team in points. We’re leaving too many points out there though.

Counselors:

Team grade: A+ Everyone played good and shared the ball. Noah almost had a triple-double. AJ and Jack had double-doubles. No negative comments.

Civale the defender

We finally reached a game where we knew all the key figures as Calderan’s Danner 18 took on Civale’s Mountains out of Mulvehills. Hanks was out for Civale and Glynn as well as their namesake was out for Calderan. TO THE ACTION!

MOOM came out guns ablazing behind their captain and leading contender for DPOY after one game, Civale. Civale had 13 first half points, along with a steal, 6 boards and FIVE blocks. Who is this man and what did he do with the Civale we know?!?!! The rest of the team wasn’t too shabby either. James, led the team with 18 points in the first half and the reigning MVP had 7 assists, along with 8 boards. We also got an OTTOMATIC sighting. The good times were rolling here.

Meanwhile, Danner 18 struggled with their putrid defense. Calderan did ball out early though, with 10 first half points, 8 boards and 2 assists. Not bad work for a half. Rookie Marcellus struggled though, missing a bunch of easy shots. He may need a week or two to get going in this league. Casey and Cavano combined for a bunch of bricks from deep early. They combined to 4-19 from deep. Gross, Marcellus and Calderan also missed 3 from deep, hitting none.

MOOM went into the half up 47-36. There was a funny moment in the first half when Macdonald forgot who was in and tossed the ball out to OTTOMATIC. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Things would get tighter in the second half with Cavano coming alive for Danner 18. Young Christopher did a great job attacking the cup this half, scoring 19 second half points. Cavano tends to get stronger as games go on and teams wear down. This appeared to be another case of that. Everyone else chipped with a few buckets as well.

With Cavano charging, his Wednesday teammate provided the answers. Macdonald scored 10 second half points, but shot an ugly 0-5 from deep. He ended up one assist shy of a triple double. It wasn’t his most efficient scoring game though. Civale, continued his good play, scoring 12 more points and picking up another block.

Unfortunately, Danner 18 just couldn’t cut into the lead enough to make this game feel uncomfortable for MOOM. They really struggled from 3. 77-70 Final MOOM.

Grades:

Macdonald B: Stuffed the sheet, played good D, but inefficient shooting.
Civale A+: Drink it in, this might be the greatest Civale defensive performance we’ll never see again.
James B: Great first half, but struggled in the second half shooting it. Did get a double-double though.
Lucas B+: Very nice showing and he had a monster block,
OTTOMATIC A: I loved what I saw in his return,

DANNER 18:

Casey C+: A cool 3 for 17 from 3 and he missed FTs. Yuck.
Cavano B+: Continues to suck from 3, but he played well.
Calderan A-: Really filled it up, but his shot from 3 has been off.
Marcellus C-: Tough first game, needs to convert on his open shots.

B Draft Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on Jan. 20, 2023

WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS

By Ian Cundall

Robel gets the last laugh in OT win over Harry

Kicking off the Winter 2023 B Draft season we had a matchup between Harry and Robel’s teams. As you’d expect, Harry had his team at the top of his preseason power rankings, while he had Robel’s near the bottom. With tip off seconds away Robel had not arrived so my hope for a competitive game was waning quickly. The start of the game did nothing to change my opinion as while both teams struggled, Harry’s team was struggling less mainly because of Ghost. He was on fire to start the game knocking down short jumpers and hook shots with ease as Robel’s team had no one to guard him (as predicted by me in the preview). Vladi was facilitating things well, aka getting the ball to Ghost and even though Tucker was struggling, he still commanded a lot of attention which gave Ghost that 1v1 matchup. It was 17-7 after another Ghost jump shot, but MacDonald finally got things going with a pair of drives to the rim. He was really the only offense for Robel’s team as he still hadn’t arrived and Joel, Costa and the Great One were off.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, it was 20-15 Harry’s team, but suddenly, the lights dimmed and ominous music started playing. Smoke started pouring in the doors and some cheap pyrotechnics went off. Out of the smoke a large figure emerged, Robel had arrived. You could see the fear come over Harry at this moment and I knew we were in for a game. Robel entered and immediately made an impact on defense grabbing a steal and blocking a shot which led to a Joel and-one to make it a two-point game. After another miss from Vladi, Ben got to the rim to tie it at 20-20, making it a 9-0 run for Robel’s team. Tucker finally stopped the bleeding with his first points of the game and Ghost knocked down a couple more shots giving Harry’s team some life. Robel would score four points in the last few of the half, so we went into halftime with Harry’s team holding a slim lead at 30-26. Ghost led the way for Harry’s team with 16 and Vladi had five points and seven assists.  Meanwhile, for Robel’s team, Ben had 12 and every other player had 2-5 points.

Both teams came out sluggish, but after a Joel three, Robel’s team grabbed their first lead since the early stages of the game. The offensive lull continued for the next few minutes as though both teams were getting good looks, nothing was falling. Eventually, after seven or so minutes of the second half had gone by, the lid over the basket came off and Vladi and the Great One exchanged threes. That really opened things up and both teams started to get going and went back and forth within a one basket window. A steal and basket by Ben gave Robel the lead at 41-40, but Gilles answered with a huge three to give Harry the lead back at 43-41. Costa answered with a nice drive to the basket, but then Tucker knocked down his only three to make it 46-43. Some good defense from Post Harry stymied Robel, but he was unable to stop Ben in transition, committing a Harry foul, as Ben threw up a ridiculous floater from the foul line that somehow went in. Ben missed the free throw, but that circus shot made it 48-47. Harry made up for his foul with a clutch jumper to make it 50-47, but a MacDonald layup and Joel steal and layup grabbed them the lead back at 51-50. There were only four minutes left at this point and it seemed clear this one was headed down to the wire.

With two minutes left, Costa knocked down a mid-range jumper to give Robel a three-point lead, but Vladi, who had struggled throughout from deep, knocked down a three to tie it up. Ben carried the ball up the court on the next possession and tried to get to the hoop, but was blocked off and kicked it out to the Great One who knocked down a three to give Robel the lead back. Harry decided not to call a timeout and let things play out and Vladi got a good look to tie it with just over 30 seconds left, but he missed. The rebound somehow made its way out to Ghost who found himself far enough behind the three-point that there was no doubt it was a three when it hit nothing but the net to tie things up at 58. With just over 20 seconds left, Robel decided to hold for the last shot, but the play was not going well and the best they could do was a contested baseline fade away from Joel which rimmed out, sending us to overtime at 58-58!

Overtime started with Harry missing two shots with a Costa miss in between. It was at this moment Joel took over. First, he hit a jumper to give his team a two-point lead. He then stole a bad pass to push the lead to four and made one of two free throws after another miss from Harry’s team, to make it a five-point game at 63-58. Harry’s team had fully fallen apart at this point, and after another Vladi miss, Joel would make one of two free throws again. As Harry’s team pushed looking for any sort of bucket to get them back in the game, Ben got a steal and passed it to Joel who was fouled and made one of two again. Things continued like this for the rest of the game with Harry’s team missing and Joel making one free throw before the game was called. Final 65-58 Robel.

Robel’s team

Joel A-: Quiet first half, but came alive in the second half and overtime, including scoring all seven points in the extra frame.

MacDonald A: Really impressive game with 25/18/6 and played excellent defense as well.

Robel B: Quiet game on offense, but his rim protection and activity on the defensive end really bothered Harry’s teams.

Great One B: Only knocked down two threes, but both came at key points and chipped in with nine rebounds.

Costa C+: Quiet debut, but had a couple nice moves to the hoop and a huge bucket late in regulation. 

Harry’s team

Ghost A: Only consistent scorer throughout, knocked down the game tying three at the end of regulation and did a nice job on the boards.

Vladi B-: Did a good job setting up the offense, but struggled with his shot.

Tucker D-: Have to get more than nine points from the first overall pick even on an off-night. Just didn’t seem to be looking for the ball and struggled to find his role around Vladi and Ghost.

Harry C-: Solid defense, but was off with his shot and had some strange decisions which cost his team.

Kenny C+: Typical trick or treat game with some good moments and some bad ones.

Gilles B: Knocked down a huge three in the second half and added solid defense.

By HARRY DEMAKES

Noah Peeks in week 1

I thought this had all the makings of a great week 1 game. Two veteran teams mixing in two rookies to their lineups. Etheridge’s team started their season off differently, by having everyone show up. Ian’s team has everyone too. TO THE ACTION! The biggest storyline coming into this game was the Pollock vs. Weinstein rivalry. Similar to the hammer and nail rivalry, this one was quite one sided throughout the years. This game was no different in the first half as Weinstein struggled to get anything going and Pollock did his thing. Couple this with Lagno being cold and everyone else on Etheridges squad being bad at shooting, led Ian’s team to pick up a decent sized lead. Pollock and Koller were doing most of the heavy lifting combining for 17 of Ian’s 32 points in the first half. Rookie Lucas wasn’t shy in his debut, scoring 7 of his own in the first half. He did lead the team with 4 attempts from deep in the first half. That’s something to keep an eye on as is Noah coming off the bench and shooting it every time he touches it. Ian’s team went into the half up 32-23. This game looked to be heading one way and it was, but the route wasn’t expected. BACK TO THE ACTION! Ian’s team really started to open up the game thanks to….Noah’s hot shooting, as all the shots he was taking finally started to go in. He hit 6 second half treys to break the spirit of his opponents in this half. Couple this with everyone else chipping in here and there, Etheridges team just didn’t have the firepower to stay close. Weinstein and Lagno did finally get things going in this half, but it was a lot of garbage time makes. Not to mention the lack of help else where and the poor defensive effort as a team. I think these guys will be good, but they need some time to jell or a Time Machine for Baxter. 73-54 Final for Ian

Grades: Pollock C+: Pretty pedestrian game for Samuel after starting strong.

Koller B: Solid game outplaying the ghost of Baxter.

Ian B+: Leading this team in assists with all the glory hounds is impressive.

Noah A+: Great game from 3, the best game he’ll have all year and possibly ever again.

Clarke B+: I like Clarkes effort and hustle out there.

Lucas B-: Not a bad debut. I see room for improvement.

Etheridges team:

Lagno C+: Show up in the first half before the game is over.

Weinstein C: Ditto and times 2 here.

Baxter C-: Did he play in the second half? Need more than nothing in a half.

Etheridge B-: Solid game from Mike.

Grinnell C+: Not bad, but I think he can do better.

Glynn C-: I KNOW he can do better.

Civale’s darkest days

Coming into this game I knew exactly what to expect, but Civales team demanded respect. They came into this game with full attendance, while Stairway to Deven was missing Marlier. TO THE ACTION! Stairway to Deven started off a bit slowly in this game, with everyone on their team wanting to touch the ball every chance they got. Everyone on this team outside of maybe Johnson thinks they’re Lebron out there with playmaking and only one of them might be right. AJ, new to this league, started slowly going 2 for 10 from 3. They weren’t really bad looks, but Masone was doing a decent job defensively. The captain Johnson, would pick up the slack though going 3 for 6 from deep in the first half. Everyone else contributed with multiple buckets inside. It was a good balanced effort for Stairway to Deven in the first half. On the other side of the ball, Masone and Cavano did their part as duel first round picks. They combined to score 22 of their teams 34 points. Good thing too, because Civale continued to assault the rim with brick after brick from deep. I’d say something clever about Civale’s talent here, but I need him on Wednesday. Break this slump! Stairway to Deven felt like they were in good control here, but they only went into the half up 36-34. Cavano, led all scorers with 13. BACK TO THE ACTION!

The second half continued the brick fest from deep for Civale’s team. Hanks went 0-4 from deep, 0-7 for the game, which should never happen. Civale and Masone combined to go 0-5. Cavano, didn’t even attempt one out of pure shame. Tommy BIG GUNS hit 2 of 3 to match everyone else’s total in the second half. BIG GUNS also led the team in second half scoring total. These guys offense went to die in the second half and as you could guess this didn’t lead to success. Meanwhile, young AJ found his groove in the latter frame going 3-5 from deep and scoring 19 points. Calvin added 14 of his own. They combined to outscore Civales team in the second half. Obviously, the led to a huge lead and we went into pickup mode for the rest of the evening. Johnson’s team is off and running, while Civale’s team is searching for answers.

Grades:

Civale F-: 0 offensive rebounds?ZERO?!?! This might have been Civale’s worse game ever.

Masone C+: Not his best game, had a tough assignment, but you got picked in the first round too.

Cavano C: 0 offensive rebounds?!?! Attempted only 3 treys? What is this?

Jeffries C: I hope he can give more than this. For his teams sake.

Hanks D: Once you miss the first 3 threes, you stop.

BIG GUNS A: Did all he could out there.

Stairway to Deven:

Calvin B+: Good game here, didn’t dribble across the court looking for drives.

Motha B: Not a bad day. Johnson claims he loves Motha 3s, something I’ll keep an eye on. J

ohnson A-: A Johnson double-double? I like it.

AJ A-: Three ball was off, but otherwise did what was expected.

Deven A: Can’t hate on anything here, very good game 1.

Cam flashes win with his lady in attendance The two newest captains took center stage in the prime time game of the week, with Cam taking on Silva. James was out for Silva’s team, even though he had the balls to show up the night before. Cams team had everyone.

TO THE ACTION!

CACs newest sharpshooter STAT, finally hit a 3 against someone other than me in the first half of this game. He also added 15 more points to tie Casey for the leading first half scorer. In other news, STAT will be drug tested before next weeks games. As I mentioned above, Casey would equal STATs hot start with 18 of his own. The ghost of Nestler, wasn’t doing much to slow him down. The leagues other Ian, was the next leading scorer in the game at 6 points. Nice production from him off the bench, The score was 18–18 Casey and STAT at the half. Everyone else combined for 20 points.

WOOF.

BACK TO THE ACTION!

The slogfest continued in the second half as both teams continued to drive into the big bodies in the post. Manny, finally joined the party, scoring 11 second half points, while Cam added 8. Casey, went invisible in this half, going an ugly 1-5 from the line. The greatest trick Casey ever pulled was fooling you into thinking he was a good free throw shooter. The electric one had a spark in the second half. Taha would score 6 points and had an assist. The ghost of Nestler even added 9. STAT continued is good play though 11 more, including another 3. Admittedly I missed the stretch run to hunt down my food, but it appears Cam iced this game from the line with his girl watching. Therefore he shall be known as Cam Big Dick Letalien. 60-52 Final.

Grades:

Casey C: Did he play in the second half? Someone teach him how to make a free throw too.

Manny C: Reverse Casey’s line, didn’t have a good first half, but my assistant loved his second half.

Cam A: Big Dick iced this one like a good first time captain.

X D+: These guys outdid all my hard work in one game. What happened?

Other Ian B: Did good off the bench. I liked what I saw.

Tom C: Use to be electric, then he betrayed me. Now look at him.

Silva’s team:

Nestler C-; Pretty pedestrian effort in this one. Didn’t even attempt a 3 in the first half.

STAT A: Another good STAT game. Is he back to an elite level?

Silva D: Not the way to start one’s captaincy.

Grey C: Had a couple buckets, but couldn’t convert the good looks

Tahaha C+: Came on strong late, but couldn’t hit a 3.