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Week Eight Power Rankings
The Power Rankings return after the All-Star Hiatus with three games between rankings, which solidifies, by the numbers, that (breaking news!) the good teams are better than the bad teams. But seriously, we have arrived at a place where there is a pretty clear separation. The teams that are most efficient on offense are also the teams that are most defensively efficient. There is a broad middle grouping of pretty decent offensive efficient teams. But the gap from first to last in each category is relatively huge, with 64.6 points separating the best and worst EFFG teams and 83.9-point difference in the best and worst OPP EFFG teams. But with that, there were some relatively big leaps and drops for several teams in their efficiency from before the all-star game, which I'll try to highlight here.

As we'll see from the top of these rankings this week, the Great 8 came in with something of a large upset in the All Star game with a 24-point victory having jumped out to a ten-point lead after one (51-41), then holding steady for the next two quarters and finishing off with another 11-point increase in their lead in the 4th to finish the dominant victory. They were led by All Star MVP (according to yours truly), Gerardo Nuñez, who scored 31 points on 13-20 shooting, including 5-6 from three to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists from the power forward spot.

Gjallim Azheli was the three-point contest champ, and I find it quite quirky that two players from two "lesser" teams (no slight intended) led the way for the All Star week.

In addition, with this being the 8th week of the season, each team will have their first week's ranking, including the efficiency difference from Week 1 to now. On to the rankings!

1. Lion Rebels
Week 1 Ranking: 1st
EFFG Diff: +0.2
OPP EFFG Diff: -1.7

Next Up: at Muffin Men before hosting 209's

2. F.Day Internet Lovers Club
Week 1 Ranking: 5th
EFFG Diff: +7.5
OPP EFFG Diff: +15.1 (4th best improvement)

Next Up: host to Dragmort Dragons then at Shandong Golden Lions

3. San Dominica Warriors
Week 1 Ranking: 2nd
EFFG Diff: -8.2
OPP EFFG Diff: +2.3

Next Up: at Linndale before hosting Muffin Men

4. Tasty Tardsicles
Week 1 Ranking: 6th
EFFG Diff: -13 (4th biggest decline)
OPP EFFG Diff: +32.3 (2nd biggest improvement)

Next Up: host to Mindless Zombies before visiting Super Sonics

5. Super Sonics
Week 1 Ranking: 10th
EFFG Diff: -4.3
OPP EFFG Diff: +38.3 (biggest improvement)

Next Up: at CB Bethesdorf then hosting Tasty

6. Shandong Golden Lions
Week 1 Ranking: 7th
EFFG Diff: +12.7
OPP EFFG Diff: +10.6

Next Up: visiting 209's before hosting F.Day

7. Mindless Zombies
Week 1 Ranking: 9th
EFFG Diff: +12.9 (4th biggest improvement)
OPP EFFG Diff: +21.6 (3rd biggest improvement)

Next Up: playing at Tasty before hosting VileOnes

8. Linndale
Week 1 Ranking: 8th
EFFG Diff: +8.6
OPP EFFG Diff: -20.6 (4th biggest decline)

Next Up: hosting the Warriors then visiting Dragmort for a TV game

Week Eight Power Rankings - Part Two

9. Fort Wayne Pistons
Week 1 Ranking: 4th
EFFG Diff: -8.8
OPP EFFG Diff: -36.6 (biggest decline)

Next Up: at VileOnes then hosting Jumpstop Jumpers

10. Dragmort Dragons Utd
Week 1 Ranking: 13th
EFFG Diff: +19.9 (biggest improvement)
OPP EFFG Diff: +9

Next Up: at Internet Lovers then hosting Linndale on that TV game

11. CB Bethesdorf
Week 1 Ranking: 3rd
EFFG Diff: -23.9 (2nd biggest decline)
OPP EFFG Diff: -22.8 (2nd biggest decline)

Next Up: host to Super Sonics before visiting Balls to the Walls

12. Jumpstop Jumpers
Week 1 Ranking: 11th
EFFG Diff: -8.3
OPP EFFG Diff: +0.7

Next Up: hosting Balls on TV then at Fort Wayne

13. 209's MostWanted
Week 1 Ranking: 15th
EFFG Diff: +19.2 (2nd best improvement)
OPP EFFG Diff: -3.1

Next Up: LIONS WEEK: host to Golden Lions before visiting the Rebel Lions

14. Muffin Men
Week 1 Ranking: 16th
EFFG Diff: +18.8 (3rd best improvement)
OPP EFFG Diff: -0.3

Next Up: hosting Lion Rebels before visiting the Warriors

15. VileOnes
Week 1 Ranking: 12th
EFFG Diff: -30.5 (biggest decline)
OPP EFFG Diff: -14.3

Next Up: hosting Fort Wayne before a TV game at Mindless

16. Balls to the Walls
Week 1 Ranking: 14th
EFFG Diff: -10.9 (4th biggest decline)
OPP EFFG Diff: -22.6 (3rd biggest decline)

Next Up: at Jumpstop on TV before hosting CB Bethesdorf

Good luck this coming week. I will toot my horn with my luck to have a Div. II team tank their Cup matchup with me - can't really believe I'm making it to the Elite 8!

P.S. Hat tip to Coach for providing some much needed team analysis. Love it - just hate that you can't "like" multiple posts by one team in less than 12 hours *eyeroll*

P.S. Hat tip to Coach for providing some much needed team analysis. Love it - just hate that you can't "like" multiple posts by one team in less than 12 hours *eyeroll*

That irritates me to my core!

Charles:
We’re back and down to our final two teams in our State of the Big 8 show. But before we go on I just wanted to throw this out. The preseason playoff predictions from the Baine Report had gone as follows for the Big 8

1. Lion Rebels
2. F.Day Internet Lovers Club
3. San Dominica Warriors
4. Shangdong Golden Lions

Now if the playoffs started today. These would be your four teams in the exact seeding order.

Now we were talking about the Dragons and how Pakzat has been playing way above his height, but there is probably no more undersized team in the Big 8 than the Lovers Club. Paco Pardo is 6’9” and we’ve all seen him its a generous 6’9” but he’s just out there being late 20’s Draymond Green. As a team they’re just behind the Warriors in team rebounding and slightly above the Lion Rebels.

And its paid off, they only have one loss and that’s to the Lion Rebels. Now the question is can they keep that up during the final seven game stretch?

Sam:
Actually I think they can. You brought up Draymond Green and for the most part the Agency has been playing like the Warriors during their championship run. The Agency for the most part has done everything right. Now are they infallible? No, but they have all the things check marked. They have experience: they’ve been in II level on up. They have talent and they have chemistry.

Pete:
Yeah to backup Sam, I don’t see many teams in the Big 8 stopping the Agency cold. They can hurt you inside, they can hurt you outside. Despite being undersized they are really skilled on the boards. I’ll not be surprised if by the end of the season the Lions/Agency record for the season is 1-1

Bret:
In many ways the Agency plays the way the San Dominica Warriors use to play. You look at them on paper and think you can underestimate them and the next thing you know you’re wondering what happened after the game is over.

DD:
Of the two, they are probably the better on paper. But on paper doesn’t always translate to reality but the Agency is a complete team. Only thing that can keep them out of the playoffs is a complete financial collapse

Charles:
Which brings us to our final team on the list. The Lion Rebels (laughs) Hunt you can get is started on the final leg.

Hunt:
I wish I could say something like who gave all them guys green cards, but the Lion Rebels are the most American team in the Big 8. I don’t even know why you had me start off you all know how I feel about the Rebels. Are they a complete team yes. Am I in the Gordo Long club and think the only good Lion Rebel are hurt Lion Rebels, almost. The Lion Rebels are the reason I don’t have that much pity on the 209. They’ve been a pain in the neck since Day 1. Armstead has been Mr. Consistency for them for as long as I’ve had to report on them. They have an identity and they’ve stuck with it. For God sake somebody somebody take over before I puke.

Bret:
I got you Hunt. The Lion Rebels are probably the most traditional formed team in the Big 8. A team that built around a superstar big in MT Armstead and have slowly and steadily become a powerhouse. They have built up depth but most importantly they have experience against most of the teams in the conference and everyone is good at the role they’re suppose to play. Dirty Brown and Singh are dangerous scorers in the wing but also good defenders.

Sam:
The real thing is their versatility. On paper the Armstead at the three experiment shouldn’t work

Bret:
Why not?

Charles:
I mean the Warriors have done it for years. Stuart Wilson was pretty much a power forward build atr 6’10” who played the over 200 games at the 3 spot. Same with Begin. Bret played quite a few games at the small forward. It can work and for the Lion Rebels it has.

The thing to me that makes the Lion Rebels so dangerous is that they are a team of specialist.

Hunt:
They’re like freakin’ Voltron. The parts themselves are dangerous, but just when you think you may have a chance of hitting the weak spot in the lineup, they start playing in sync together and its like those d**n lions coming together to form this giant unifed being and the next thing you know you’re being sliced and diced up by a doggone blazing sword.

Charles:
Exactly. Are they as curb stomping as the Southpaws were. No. You can see possible weaknesses but the window to actually exploit it is small and by the time you do, you’ve been sliced up by a blazing sword. They do all the hustle and bustle things well and they slowly chip and pry till they find that crack and then they keep hitting it with a sledgehammer.

Pete:
You understood all that Hunt said?

Charles:
Yeah. I think most coaches try to scheme an attack as if they are 10 individual pieces and when you do that you’re playing right into their hands

DD:
I’m with Charles. Other than the Agency I don’t see anyone being able to knock them on the ropes long to exploit a weakness. This to me is their year. After this season I don’t know if they keep all the main pieces together so this year they better get it done.

Sam:
I agree.

Hunt:
D**m Rebels.

Charles:
That concludes our portion of the show. (327) 499-7391 is the number to call. Tell what you thought about our analysis and how you all think the Big 8 is going to turn out at the end of the stretch.


Last edited by Coach Stephenson at 1/26/2024 2:40:17 AM

Coaches meeting for breakfast
Marshall Richards: Frias and Uzek improved their passing. Piotr got better on the drive part of the drive and kick.

Byron Helm: Air is gonna have his hands full with that kid when he gets back.

Pio Reina: That will sort itself out later. I’m still thinking about the game plan.

MR: You’re thinking about changing the training calendar.

PR: Already did that. Made a slight change to the rotation.

BH: I figured as much.

PR: Don’t worry; we’ll get back to the original plan. I’m just moving a few things around.

MR: Plus, if the guards get better in front of the bigs, that can only help the bigs.

PR: That, and we’ve been working the bigs pretty hard. Let them catch their breaths.

MR: Ball movement gonna be better on the first unit, but that 2nd unit might just pack a punch offensively.

PR: We'll see.

Later, In the arena...

Joshua Doe with Sam Dunkley and Jimmy Buckitts here live from courtside! Sam let’s jump right in! What do you expect to see tonight?

Sam Dunkley: There shouldn’t be a question as to who the better team is at all. It’s the Warriors. What we’re hoping to see is if Linndale’s in season rebuild has closed the gap. They’ve spent over four million dollars on 9 players and moved 8 for nearly three and a half million. They clearly want to see the gap close.

Jimmy Buckitts: To be fair, that rebuild was not done in response to the Warriors loss earlier this season; this was kicked off by a disheartening loss to the Jumpstop Jumpers. Various sources in the front office have indicated to me that it may not have appeared so initially, but every player brought in was an upgrade or necessary part to remake the team defensively. They are telling me this was a long term vision, and they think they’ve accelerated the turnaround.

SD: I’ve heard from other sources around the league and in other basketball circles that Linndale has done a nice job of remaking the roster in such a short amount of time, but no one I spoke to thinks the architect of this makeover will be around long if the team doesn’t show improvement.

JD: Sam, are you saying that Roberto Gurgone is on the hot seat?

SD: I haven’t confirmed that, Joshua. For now, that seems like speculation.

JD: Tell us something you can confidently report, Sam.

SD: That Jumpstop Jumpers game is really sitting with Pio Reina. The Fort Wayne game also, but mostly the former. He really feels like both games were there to be had, and is bristling at having to wait a season to play those teams again.

JB: From that perspective, you win those two games and you’re 8-7, 2 games out of a playoff spot. Pio has a history of getting his team up for the challenge, though I think that one would be a bit too tall.

JD: Gonna play devil’s advocate here. You win those games, you don’t make the moves they’ve made. Likely lose games later on. From what I’ve heard within the organization and seen with my own eyes, this is the group to roll with. I’m not saying they’ll make a run this season; I just think if it comes down to a relegation series, no one wants to face Linndale.

SD: Jumpstop looks like a likely opponent in that event, and I think they’ll take their chances.

JB: CB Bethesdorf and Fort Wayne may have something to say. 3 teams, 1 playoff spot. One of them will be seeing Linndale again.

JD: If they’re worrying about Linndale, they’ve already lost. If you’re in a playoff, that should be the only focus!

In Air Allnite’s apartment…

(radio speakers) ...and now… the starting lineup your favorite basketball team…

“I should be there”, Air thought to himself. “Marshall’s gonna run one of his gimmicks and get us killed.”

...starting at shooting guard… at 6 feet 7 inches tall from…

“D***** MARSHALL, HE’S NOT READY FOR THAT!!!”

(neighbor yelling) “SHUT UP OLD MAN; WE’RE TRYIN’ TO WATCH THE GAME!”

Welp, I made mistake. Congrats Muffins!

Joshua Doe: Folks, we’re live at The Speedway, where though the final score was a disappointment, the mood was far better than you might think. A second 19 point loss to Coach Stevenson and his San Dominica Warriors this season, but this one was different. I’m here with Sam Dunkley and Jimmy Buckitts, and gentlemen, there were things to be disappointed with to be sure, but there were also things to get excited about.

Jimmy Bickitts: Joshua, Byron Helm is going to be a holy terror on those big men after tonight’s performance. They got obliterated on the boards, and that’s probably the single biggest contributor to their defeat. That’s not to say there weren’t other reasons, but that has to be the biggest one in my eyes.

Sam Dunkley: Granja absolutely ate Pasman for lunch, Stojakovic was bullied by O’Brien, and the bench gave you very little offensively. We thought Pasman would acquit himself better, Stojakovic just couldn’t do anything with the 5 fouls, but really he couldn’t do anything anyway. San Dominica looked like they were toying with a little brother at times.

JD: The first quarter was just not very good for Linndale. You give up 36 points, Piotr Bolibok was a non factor, San Dominica gets 12 free throw attempts in that first quarter, and Alidori, Granja, and LAB each had 8 points. This absolutely looked like it had gone sideways fast.

JB: Then something happened. Slowly but surely, Piotr Bolibok became Petey Buckets. Carlos Frias showed why he was sought after. Joy Beko stuffed the stat sheet, and at one point this was a 5 point game in the second half.

SD: Petey Buckets put on a show once he got his feet under him. No one expected him to stop Alidori; they just hoped he would make him work on the other end. Alidori shredded Bolibok that first quarter. From then on, Bolibok showed why Linndale was so excited to get him.

JB: Frias had a solid game, but where was Kops? That second unit was primed for him to takeover and he just didn’t, and Tovar was shooting blanks today. The rebounding and the bench clearly cost Linndale this game.

JD: Let’s see if we can get a word with one of the coaches. (walks toward Pio Reina) Coach Reina! I know it wasn’t the outcome you wanted, but what did you takeaway from tonight?

Pio Reina: We know we had a lot of questions coming into this season and into this game. We knew we had a lot of work to do inside; we know we have a long way to go there. We got some clarity in the back court; I don’t think Kops in the back court is done, but I think we need to see more of Bolibok, and we will going forward. We also know we have a number of other players that need court time in the back court, and we’ll do what we can to make sure everyone gets the time they need to improve.

JD: Is Bolibok the starter going forward?

PR: Let’s not anoint him yet. I’ll say he’s on track to play a lot next season, but nothing is guaranteed.
We have some things we’d like him to work on, but his offensive talent was undeniable.

JD: Coach, Joy Beko does a lot of things well except score. Tonight he was only 2 assists from a triple double despite only taking 8 shots. How can you incorporate him into the offense more?

PR: I think Beko will score more in time, but he’s more important to us as that secondary facilitator on the floor than he is as just a scorer. He had 8 assists and Frias had 6,and that’s impressive because they were on a unit that, while very talented overall, had some issues with ball movement and offensive flow. His points will come when other players flesh their game out.

JD: Thanks, Coach!

Joshua Doe: Joshua Doe and Jimmy Buckitts here with the Pio Reina Show. Coach, lots of things to discuss this week. Let’s start with the breakout performance from the young phenom fans are calling Petey Buckets, Piotr Bolibok. How did that come about?

Pio Reina: Joshua, we weren’t surprised, but it was touch and go that first quarter.

JB: Coach, word on the street was Bolibok doesn’t pass, was a turnover machine, and didn’t play defense. You’ve had him in your program for 2 weeks now. What have you seen that maybe hasn’t translated into games?

PR: Fearlessness, and until last night, confidence. Once he got his feet under him, the young man put on quite the display.

JD: Coach, with the renewed emphasis on a defense first mentality, why was this game the one to start him?

PR: We chose this game because we thought he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Big talent steps up in big situations, and he stepped up.

JB: Bolibok scored from everywhere after a quiet first quarter. What did you say to him to get him going?

PR: We just told him to go out and play his game. We told him he wasn’t getting benched, but his offense was going to have to step up to cover his defense. He did that.

JD: Coach, Carlos Frias had a nice game. How has he performed so far?

PR: In his two starts after his arrival, he’s averaging 22.5 points, 3 boards, and 7 assists, all the while being a work in progress. Carlos is fine, and he’ll only get better.

JB: Coach, where does Trenton Tovar fit in the picture? It seems like he’s been passed up in the rotation.

PR: Like anyone else, there are improvements we want to see from him. We fully expect to see those improvements and look forward to seeing Trenton be the best version of himself yet.

JD: Coach, talk about Joy Beko and Darko Stojakevic and their impact on the team.

PR: Joy Beko is averaging 10.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists, but there is much more to unlock. Joy has to improve on offense, but he’s a very skilled player and we expect to see him blossom.

JD: I heard there was a package with him at the point.

PR: We have a package for various situations. That may or may not be one.

JB: Tell us a bit about Stojakevic.

PR: He has only been here a week. His value? 15 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists. We haven’t seen his best yet.

JB: Coach, that’s 10 assists between your starting bigs. Is the passing big man a feature or a byproduct of what you’re doing?

PR: Both.

JD: Having played a few positions, I know the answer, but explain for the fans why positional versatility is so important to the team?

PR: It allows us the ability to find match ups on offense or defense to exploit. Look at the box score from our close loss to Fort Wayne. Notice anything?

JB: Pemwieser played small forward.

PR: On offense. Defensively, he played center.

JB: Beko played center! It’s right there on the sheet.

PR: Having Beko on the floor gives us the option play Pemwieser at small forward and play him at center on defense because Beko can cover anyone; that’s one way versatility can come in to play. Meanwhile, Pemwieser was 9 of 16 for 20 points and 10 rebounds. We’re not letting Pemwieser guard a small forward; that’s not his skill set. Pemwieser hit a late three to tie the game; if he’s at center, he likely doesn’t get that shot if he’s even in the game at that point. Remember, the score sheet only tells what position a guy started of offense; it doesn’t tell you what position they guarded on defense. That’s something that score sheet scouting won’t tell you about on the surface.

JD: You're listening to the Pio Reina Show on WINO radio. Back with more after a word from our sponsors...

Day 16 (Saturday 27 January 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Dragmort Dragons Utd 78 - F.Day Internet Lovers Club 91
San Dominica Warriors 120 - Linndale 101
Lion Rebels 73 - Muffin Men 85
Shandong Golden Lions 109 - 209’s MostWanted 104
Super Sonics 90 - CB Bethesdorf 87
Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 101 - Tasty Tardsicles 114
Fort Wayne Pistons 103 - VileOnes 80
Balls to the Walls 82 - Jumpstop Jumpers 103

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 120 : San Dominica Warriors
Rebounds : 63 : 209’s MostWanted
Assists : 36 : San Dominica Warriors
Steals : 12 : Super Sonics
Block Shots : 11 : F.Day Internet Lovers Club

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 33 : D. Conaghan (Tasty Tardsicles)
Rebounds : 22 : J. Smug (209’s MostWanted)
Assists : 13 : É. Blanchet (San Dominica Warriors)
Steals : 4 : M. Craig (Super Sonics)
Block Shots : 5 : I. Tabrizi (F.Day Internet Lovers Club)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : J. Valentin (Jumpstop Jumpers) (32 Points, 7 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32
Shooting Guard : R. Blanco (Jumpstop Jumpers) (23 Points, 2 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 27
Small Forward : M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) (32 Points, 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 39
Power Forward : C. Webber (Muffin Men) (20 Points, 19 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots), I. Kavoukas (209’s MostWanted) (16 Points, 19 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32
Center : P. Pardo (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) (20 Points, 10 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 4 Block Shots), P. Tai On (CB Bethesdorf) (22 Points, 19 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33

MVP of the evening
M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) (32 Points, 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 39

The bad performance of the evening
H. Kwang Chih (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -6

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : M. Coedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : J. Graf (VileOnes) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : D. Branimirović (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), R. De Calice (Shandong Golden Lions), A. Suprianto (Shandong Golden Lions), M. Coedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), A. Carečina (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), J. Valentin (Jumpstop Jumpers) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : O. Ülisoo (209’s MostWanted) : 6 Three points

The best performer : P. Pardo (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) : Rating : 17.5

The worst performer : A. Handy (Lion Rebels) : Rating : 4.0

Layups, Dunks, Bombs, and Bricks
By Sam Dunkley

Every few weeks, I’ll talk Linndale basketball with whomever I may come across. I recently covered a local high school basketball game for The Basketball Times, and the players (and in some cases, their parents) had thoughts and opinions they freely shared about Linndale basketball. These nuggets were then divided into one of four categories stated in the title of this column.

I don’t understand why they think (Midas) Kops is a guard. He’s a bad volume shooter and he’s loose with the basketball.

We start off dropping bombs. Kops is in a weird space. He has gifts that play well at guard and forward, but he’s better suited to guard (for now). Granted, it’s a small sample size (4 regular games as guard) but he’s shooting a bit better at guard and significantly better from deep. The turnovers are a function of high usage and various combinations he’s played with. Expect those to drop over time. For now, the numbers are a bit ugly. The constant changing lineups don’t do him justice either. Having said that, he’s got to be better.

Bolibok hasn’t looked like a scorer yet. I heard the players call him Petey Buckets.

This one is a brick. He’s played one game with us. His shot blocking showed, and he had his highest game rating on the season. Know what else has showed on the year for him? His scoring. His shooting line is .500/.508/.627; the kid is shooting 50% from the field and a tick better from deep. On the season, he’s averaging 25.2 points per game. Let’s give him some time, but beware some growing pains. Averaging 0.6 assists to 2.6 turnovers means he has a serious ball security issue. Plus, did you see the San Dominica game?

That second unit scares me. Strong enough on defense for a bench bunch, could be a little stronger. Stronger than they appear on the boards, but Hatfield and Pemwieser need to be stronger. The ball security on that unit is atrocious.

This one is an easy dunk. I concede that point. Yet, the defense on that unit is strong and will get stronger. The offense will improve. Ball security is a real concern, though. Pasman, Enfes, Hatfield, and Pemwieser doesn’t seem scary initially, but that’s a complementary unit as well, ball security aside. Expect the 2nd unit to change, depending on team needs and whatever the team’s training rotation looks like. The unit is in flux, but I’ve heard more changes are coming.

Joy Beko for point guard.

This one is a both a layup and a brick. 4 assists to 0.7 turnovers per game is great, but you’d want his ball handling and passing to be a bit better. He definitely would be a non traditional point guard. I’ll bet Pio Reina has something cooked up for that occasion. You also have to plan what to do with Carlos Frias. He's been pretty good, too.

Pemwieser is way overrated. He needs to be out of here.

On the surface, one might think this is a layup. I think this one deserves a closer look. A lot of fans think he’s been a bust, after being advertised as a unicorn. He shoots .470/.478/.706, averages 5.4 boards a night and 8.7 points a night in 21 minutes per contest. He may not be an everyday starter on this team, and he is not without flaws, but at the very worst, he will anchor the 2nd unit. He’s clearly still acclimating himself to playing center, but in the last game he started he was serviceable with 10 points and 7 rebounds. The game before that, Pio pulled out a wrinkle, with Pemwieser at small forward on offense and center defensively. He went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and a huge three pointer to tie the game late in the 4th quarter. As unpopular as it may be, Pemwieser is going to be a key player going forward. He most definitely is the team’s unicorn. This is the brickiest of bricks.