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Sam Dunkley: We’re here with Pio Reina, head coach of Linndale basketball. Coach, how are you?

Pio Reina: Thanks for asking, Sam. I’m well. How are you?

SD: I’m good, coach. I have to start with the following question. This is your second year in Division IV. Is this team ready for Division III and how do you propose to get there?

PR: Is this team ready to D3? Yes. How do we get there? We have to win. That’s the goal.

SD: You said you wanted to play Carlos Frias off the ball, but that would depend on the development of others. How is that plan coming along?

PR: We’ve been able to play him off the ball a bit, but not as much as we’d like. We have to get improvement from his teammates in some areas to help us facilitate that.

SD: Who do you want to see improve and where is that improvement expected?

PR: Leandro Leao needs to improve his perimeter defense. Ercan Uzek and Walt Pasman need to improve across the board. Piotr Bolibok needs to improve his perimeter defense and passing.

SD: Walt Pasman across the board? That’s surprising, coach.

PR: His offense needs to improve; he’s a good defender but that doesn’t mean he can’t get better. There is more in there.

SD: Speaking of Pasman, we’ve seen him some at small forward and we’ve seen your small forwards in the back court, including recent acquisition Roman Bodura. Is this an indictment of the guard play?

PR: No. We’re blessed with a multitude of players we can play in the backcourt. You’ve seen Midas Kops at the point. Bolibok was recently at the point, as was Bodura. Enfes has been at shooting guard. We want to push them so they reach what our standard is to play point guard. We have a higher standard of being a point guard than it being the position you’re listed at. We have minimum qualifications and standards.

SD: So who meets the standard?

PR: No one yet, but a few are dangerously close. We have a high minimum standard.

SD: We’ve seen Joy Beko run the point on occasion. How close is the power forward to that standard?

PR: Beko is closer to the standard than some and farther than others. He’s a matchup play for now. Can he do it? Certainly. However he does have is limitations, and we are cognizant of those.

SD: In the past, you and your staff have spoken at length about two-way defenders. Is the goal to get everyone to be a two-way defender?

PR: No. If you show you might have that ability, we’re going to try and get that out of you. Of our bigs, we have 2 who can play on the perimeter, but it’s not something you’ll see much because we don’t need them to do that a lot. We expect that from our small forwards, and Kops and Bodura are expected to be able to become two-way defenders in the near future. Uzek shows that kind of potential; we’ll see.

SD: Who do you consider to be your two-way defenders?

PR: Enfes, Pasman, Beko, Lecian, and Frias. We could have a starting unit of two-way defenders if we chose to.

SD: Let’s talk outside shooting. Your team takes the fewest three point shots by far, yet is 5th in accuracy. Do you need to have them shoot more?

PR: No. We need to get better. They know what I want to see.

SD: Tell me about the young guys on this team? How do you view them?

PR: Bernie Craig is a nice backup center; we like him a lot. Stuart Grubbs has some skills that are intriguing, but he also has some deficiencies that make it hard to play him. We have to be creative with him. Luis Isarre and Ercan Uzek will get a lot of run in our point guard boot camp. Isarre has some skills, and is a good passer. Uzek intrigues because he has a varied skill set and size. We’re curious to see if he sticks at point guard or moves to another position.

SD: That’s all the time we have. Coach, can we do this again soon?

PR: You're welcome on my radio show, but yes, we can do this again.

SD: Thank you, Coach. We'll talk soom. Happy, Back to you in studio!

Happy Ourer: Welcome to another edition of the Pio Reina Show. I’m Happy Ourer, he’s Pio Reina, and your favorite basketball team had things this week with 2 league wins, a BBM win, and a win in the National Tournament. Coach, what was the key?

Pio Reina: There wasn’t just one key, Happy. We forced turnovers, and we shot the ball reasonably well. Most importantly, we defended well. It all starts with defense.

HO: Who sets the tone for you defensively?

PR: Joy Beko and Walt Pasman. We have a number of quality defenders, but those two set the bar.

HO: What is the defensive identity of the team?

PR: We want to suffocate you. The saying goes, ‘Abandon hope, all ye who enters’. That’s what we want; to make the opposition abandon all hope.

HO: Offensively, it feels like the team is still trying to find itself.

PR: That’s accurate. That is the developmental part of the game plan taking precedence. The goal isn’t to peak now but to get better, it all makes sense. We’re just trying to get better so when the playoffs roll around we can be the best versions of ourselves. We’ll start showing who we are soon enough.

HO: If Pasman and Beko set the bar on defense, who then sets the bar on offense?

PR: Right now, it’s Midas Kops. That answer can change on any given night. We have a number of talented players, but again, our identity will reveal itself in time. That’s when you’ll have your answer.

HO: What do you want to be on offense?

PR: A problem. I want us to be able to score from the outside or inside when the defense is prepared for it. I don’t want our opponent to say ‘we have to take x player away’, I want them to guess who are they going to try and take away. Like a fastball pitcher, ‘here it is, hit it if you can’, but also ‘pick your poison’.

HO: If the playoffs started today, would your defense be able to play the way you want?

PR: No. We’re chasing greatness, and we are not there. Our defense should walk on to the court and make the other team lose all hope, and then back it up.

HO: Same question about offense.

PR: Same answer; no. We aren’t effective scoring in the paint. Our outside shooting needs work. Our work on the offensive boards is shoddy. We’re not efficient or effective offensively. We’re inconsistent. I think we’re a disaster on offense. I haven’t seen enough leadership from the point guards on that side of the ball.

HO: It’s no secret around the league you’re running a point guard boot camp. How is that going?

PR: We are seeing the first steps in the process pay off in a big way. Everyone that participated has improved. I’m excited to see how that shows in our games. We’ll have a better idea after BBM and Cup play, then when AMG comes in for a visit we should have a pretty good idea. We demand a lot from our point guards.

HO: You want to be great, but currently there’s one team in each conference better with a better record than Linndale, right now.

PR: Yeah, for now... We want to measure ourselves against the best. The day you don’t get better is the day you start getting worse. The only way to know you’re better is to beat the teams that are better than you. We know what we have to do.

HO: With that, we’re heading to a commercial break. When we come back, the phone lines are open. You ready to take some calls, Coach?

PR: Are you ready? I stay ready so I don’t have to get ready!

Happy Ourer: In the 5th home game of the season, Linndale gets set to face off with ever1. The question is what do we expect?

Joshua Doe: A beatdown. I don’t want to hear about respecting your opponents tonight. They’ve got 2 wins and no talent. We should be able to have guys like Ercan Uzek, Luis Isarre, and Stuart Grubbs get a minimum of 20 minutes each tonight, and the next game doesn’t look different either! You could get those guys training minutes easily this week. The question is will Pio Reina do that?

HO: Funny you should mention that, Joshua, because our pal Sam Dunkley has some news on that. Sam what have you got for us?

Sam Dunkley: Thanks, Happy. Joshua, I can’t speak to what Pio Reina has in store for the actual training; Jimmy night be able to help you out on that later. I spoke with Pio Reina earlier today and he told me we’d see a lot of Uzek, Grubbs, and Isarre tonight. Specifically Uzek and Grubbs are starting tonight and Isarre is coming off the bench. I was also told that Gao Rongjing, Carlos Frias, and Bernie Craig would not be active tonight. I’m gonna throw it over to Jimmy Buckitts. Jimmy!!!

Jimmy Buckitts: Sam!!! Guys, Byron Helms tells me we should get our first look at newcomer Rafet Ozver who will be getting the start at center tonight, and is the reason Bernie Craig is inactive tonight. I asked him for a scouting report and he said that he’s raw, but he solid defensively and has an incredible nose for the basketball. He said that Ozvet walks onto the roster and is immediately the best rebounder on the team. High praise from Coach Helms. He also said the young man has offensive potential to turn into the mythical unicorn they’ve been chasing. Helms said he has a versatile base to build on, and he’s excited to see what they can do with him.

JD: Jimmy, Joshua here. We know Pio Reina is running a point guard boot camp, and I’ve heard and seen good things with that. Have you heard anything about a big man boot camp?

JB: Joshua, I have heard of a big man boot camp being planned. I’d imagine based on the excitement of Coach Helms that they are in fact running that as well. I’d expect to see some interesting combinations in the meantime until they are done with both of those camps.

HO: Jimmy, Air Allnite has been strangely silent this season. Have you had the opportunity to talk to him at all?

JB: Happy, I have. He asked me to pass along a message to you that I cannot repeat on the air. All kidding aside, he says his working with the guards has kept him extremely busy, but he stated his displeasure with the amount of turnovers. He also said he is not happy with the shooting numbers. We know Air is the team’s shooting coach and Pio Reina specifically put him in charge of the team’s effort to fix ball security. It’s been a slow, but noticeable improvement there. He’s really got his hands full, but he said his next big project is to improve the shooting range on this team. He syas they have the ability but not the consistency, and he’s going to fix that.

HO: Thanks, Jimmy. We’ll see you at the half. When we come back from the commercial break, myself, Joshua and Sam will give you three keys to look for in tonight’s game. Back after the break!

Happy Ourer: A 32-9 rebounding advantage for Linndale despite the loss of Cafer Enfes starting at power forward to injury, and Linndale ends the first half leading 67 to 29.

Joshua Doe: If I’m Byron Helms, I’m a happy, happy man. Linndale was just punishing ever1 on the boards and in the paint.

Sam Dunkley: They didn’t need the three ball tonight! 31 of 50 from the field on 24 assists in the first half. They were able to do whatever they want out there, and it seems all they wanted to do is attack inside. This was borderline criminal what happened on the court!

Joshua Doe: Pio Reina is not going to be satisfied. He wants to know why Ron Thomas is 5 of 10 and 2 of 4 from deep for 12 points in the first half. If I’m Stuart Grubbs, I’m not looking forward to having the coach talk about that.

HO: Let’s go to the second half. First shot up in the second half for Enfes, who did return to the game, and he drains a three ball to get things going. Thomas was cooking Grubbs on the other end for ever1, but Grubbs got help from his teammates, and he also performed solidly on the boards.

JD: What had to make Pio Reina smile was that the third quarter was their worst quarter on offense, but their best on defense. Linndale only scored 25 but held ever1 to 13.

HO: In a game that was never in question, Linndale rolls on to a 126-57 victory. We’ll send it down Jimmy Buckitts, who's with Pio Reina.

Jimmy Buckitts: Coach Reina, congratulations on a win. What did you see out there tonight?

Pio Reina: We did what we set out to do. We wanted to work on our inside game, but I also wanted to see how the ball movement and security improved. The ball movement looked good, but we have a long way to go.

JB: We got our first look at Rafet Ozver. What did you think of him in his regular season debut?

PR: I think he made a nice first impression. He was efficient; he got his work in and he got out. I liked to see that. I’m sure Byron (Helms) is gonna talk him up all week long, and I know Marshall (Richards) is excited to cook some things up in the lab for him. Marshall thinks we can get him to two way status and full fledged unicorn. I think Marshall is a little exciteable, but realistically speaking that could happen next season.

JB: Coach, since you brought up two way players, I have to ask because the fans want to know. Are we going to see a backwards game this season?

PR: You have to have the right players to do that, and we’re moving in that direction, but we’re not there yet. We’ll see; I’m not promising anything but I haven’t ruled it out quite yet.

JB: Coach, just saying that there’s time and a few opponents where it might make sense. I’ve not yet experienced one of those and I’ve heard things.

PR: I know the fans like them, but we’re not going to do it if it risks throwing off our development cycle or puts our championship aspirations at risk. I know the fans like it, but I think they’d like a league title and D3 promotion more.

JB: Thanks for your time, Coach and congratulations! Happy, back to you and the guys in studio!

Layups, Dunks, Bombs, and Bricks
By Sam Dunkley

First one of these I’ve written in a while. Let’s see if I still remember how...

We’ve got the third best team in the league. We should be number one!

We’re starting off with a 2 for 1 special on bricks. We won’t know where this team slots until the season is over, and if this team wins the championship then they absolutely should be number 1. Seriously; isn’t that why they play the games?

Joy Beko is still an overpriced bench jockey the front office is desperate to justify.

This one is the biggest of bricks. You have got to be kidding me, right? I am so sick of responding to this one, so this will be the last time. Look at the history of talented front court players who have been here during Joy Beko’s time. Look at the front court now. You don’t see Darko Stojakevic. You don’t see Josef Siuta. That should mean something. The guy can defend every position on the floor, and how many guys his size can run the point? He can start or come off the bench, and he is a force.

Why can’t this team score more? The offense is inconsistent, the guards can’t score, the bigs don’t dominate and the wings are… something.

Are all of these perceptions bricks? The magic eight ball says possibly. What?!? Are you mad that no one is scoring 20 or 25 a game? They don’t have to. The depth is a weapon. You mad about the wings? Repeat after me: The depth is a weapon. Now, the bigs don’t dominate, but it remains to be seen how the addition of Rafet Ozver impacts things. We will see in due time.

The bench can be better than the starters. That should scare opponents.

This one is a layup. Consider this: the point guard battle is still ongoing. The shooting guard battle is ongoing. The small forward battle is ongoing. The only 2 positions where there are defined starters right now are power forward and center, and even that is subject to matchups. We still don’t know who the actual starters are, or at what position

Cafer Enfes is that dude; or at least he should be.

This one is a layup. Is he a monster on the boards? No. Is he a capable rebounder? Yes. Is he a big time scorer? No. Can he be? Signs point to yes. He has the skill set to play shooting guard, small forward and power forward and the ability to excel at each position. He is a tough guy to cover because he can go inside and outside. He just needs to put it all together.

Walt Pasman might be the most dangerous player on the team.

SLAM DUNK!!! His defense plays day in and day out whether inside or outside. He can rebound. He can start or come off the bench. He can cover anyone and anywhere. He doesn’t have to be the focal point on offense; he doesn’t even have to score. If he can average 13 to 15 points per game over the course of a season, then we’re in a great spot.

The playoff rotation is not going to look like the rotation we see in the regular season.

BOMBS AWAY!!! You’ve got a 15 man roster and only 12 can play. I would expect that you’ll see it tightened up to 10 players. As for the other 2 spots, I would expect the best defenders not in the top 10 to grab those final 2 spots. As long as the team isn’t devastated by injuries at one position, they will be fine from that standpoint.

Well that's it for this column. We'll see you when we give you Linndale's All Star review.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 7/27/2024 5:37:02 PM

Jimmy Buckitts: I’m here with Joy Beko after a phenomenal performance in leading Linndale to a 117-105 win over Serbia’s Finest. Joy, 24 points, 25 rebounds, and 8 assists; simply phenomenal. How did it come about?

Joy Beko: Jimmy, we got people doubting us. People saying that we can’t get the work done inside after losing a couple of supremely talented bigs and another one on the shelf. We just went out there as a group to let people know not to sleep on us. We just went out and got to work. Now we just have to build consistency.

Jimmy Buckitts: The group was fantastic tonight. Ondrej Lecian chipped in with 14 points 7 boards, 7 dimes, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Bernie Craig had 4 points, 9 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks, and Pere Vendrell had 6 points and a board. Is a group performance like this going to become the norm?

Joy Beko: The coaches push us to be better every day. This group can go, and when we get Rafet Ozver back from injury we’re really going to take off. The rest of the league hasn’t seen the best of us because we haven’t seen the best of us.

Jimmy Buckitts: It seems like the ability to pass as a big man is a secret weapon for Linndale.
Joy Beko: It’s something we pride ourselves on. If you can hit the open man, or just make the right pass when needed, that can open things up on offense. Our team plays best when we share the ball. We’re more efficient and tougher to defend.

Jimmy Buckitts: Is this what the home crowd can expect Tuesday night?

Joy Beko: They can expect Wasafiri to bring their A game, and we’ll bring ours. It’s going to be a tough game.

Jimmy Buckitts: Thanks for your time, Joy, and congratulations on the big night tonight.

Joy Beko: Thanks Jimmy, and we’ll see you Tuesday.

Jimmy Buckitts: Back to the studio with Happy and the guys!

Jimmy Buckitts: I’m here with Joy Beko, Rafet Ozver, and Carlos Frias after Linndale’s 104-96 vitory over the New York Eagles. Let’s start with you, Rafet. How good was it to be back on the court tonight?

Rafet Ozver: Jimmy, it was amazing! It felt great to be able to go out and help my teammates. (points at Frias and Beko) Playing with these guys makes things much easier for me and the rest of the guy on the floor with us.

Jimmy Buckitts: You had a nice game with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but I don’t think anyone had you hitting a three ball tonight. Is that a big part of your game?

RO: The coaches think it can be, and so do I, but I’m not going to forget to get in the paint and throw these guys around. It’s good to have multiple skills; it allows us to change what role we can fill depending on who is on the floor with us.

Jimmy Buckitts: Carlos, you pretty much were the closer tonight. You had a steal late, assisted on a couple of big buckets, and scored another one. What is your mindset playing off the ball?

Carlos Frias: I’m just trying to help my team win games. Coach wanted to get me off the ball to make me more dangerous, but he also said it would make it easier to get me the ball in crunch time. We have a lot of guys who can handle the rock and run the show, and those guys help make me more dangerous.

Jimmy Buckitts: With 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals you were pretty dangerous tonight.

CF: We don’t feel like we were dangerous tonight. We didn’t shoot the ball very well, and you have to credit those guys on the other side of the floor for that. Now this man right here (gestures to Joy Beko) was dangerous. My dude was all over the place tonight!

Jimmy Buckitts: Joy, you were in the middle of everything tonight with 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists. This has been a theme recently, averaging 12.9 points, 14 rebounds, and 6.9 assists over your last 5 regular season contests.

Joy Beko: I was happy to have Rafet out on the court with us, just like I’m happy to play with Carlos, and all of my teammates. We know we don’t have to do everything by ourselves. We have a talented team, and we know on any given night any one of us could be the star. Tonight it was Carlos and Rafet.

Jimmy Buckitts: Last question, guys. What is Coach Reina going to tell you guys to work on after tonight’s performance?

RO: He’s gonna tell us we need to work harder on the rebounds and not let the other team shoot so much.

CF: Coach is gonna tell us our perimeter defense wasn’t good enough to win a championship tonight, and he’ll be right.

Joy Beko: Coach is gonna yell at me and Carlos for not having a triple double. Then he’s gonna tell Rafet to be more aggressive on offense, then tell him it’s ok to pass the ball. And when we get to practice, he’s gonna let Coach Helm murder us.

CF: (laughing) It’s funny because if you know Coach Pio and the staff, all of that is true!

Jimmy Buckitts: Thanks guys, and congratulations on another win! Happy, back to you, Sam and Joshua in the studio!

Players meeting…

Joy Beko: OK guys. Settle down. Settle down. We’ve got some business to take care of. Everybody can do something to get better, so we have to do that. Lightning, we need you to do better on defense. We all want to win the championship, right? We all got to get better somewhere. Coach always says if we don’t play defense, we can’t play. Right? So you, Uzek, Luis, and Petey got to be better. Lightning, you got to be the leader of that bunch. Petey, we need you to step up your defense. You do that, you get more court time, and that makes the team better! You are the best scorer we have. We want you on the floor!

Carlos Frias: Petey, you do that work on defense. Man I can’t wait to get on the court with you at the same time. Hey Walt, we see you doing the thing on defense. We appreciate you brother, but we gotta get your offense going, your ball handling, driving, and passing. We know you are Coach’s Swiss army knife; you and Beko both! Ya’ll are the base of what we do on defense, but we need you to be a threat on offense. We know you’re working on it. We see it.

Joy Beko: Cafer, we need you to assert yourself, and we gotta get you to pass. You got the stroke outside, but we need you to go hard to the hole, and pass to the open man if you can’t score.

Midas Kops: Can I say something?

Carlos Frias: Anyone can. Get whatever is on your chest off. Just trying to make sure we all are on the same page.

Midas Kops: Speaking for us shooters, we gotta start knocking these shots down. They are not going to get any easier when the playoffs start. Also, Roman, you and me gotta do more to help the bigs out. Uzek, you need to hang around with us more, too. The more of us that can play inside and outside on offense and defense makes it harder for the other teams to stop us. Which reminds me… Ozver, you could use a bit of time hanging out wit us. You too, Vendrell.

Pere Vendrell: That’s cool, but I have a first name you know.

Joy Beko: He don’t mean nothing by that; he does that to all the new guys. When he starts calling you by your name or nickname, it means something.

Pere Vendrell: And when did he start calling you by your name.

Joy Beko: My first practice.

Midas Kops: Bigs with his skill set don’t come through here often. If you can play all 5 positions at his size, we will call you what you want us to. My man walked in here defending point guards and bigs and dishing dimes like it was nothing. Vendrell, you Ozver got a look to you. You guys can bang and shoot it. Ozver can dance outside on defense some. Get used to seeing Coach Richards a lot.

Peter Bolibok: I’m gonna go ask Coach Helm if he wants me to show you bigs some post moves. None of you on my level.

Pere Vendrell: We’ll see about that. Me and the bigs got some things to take care of.

Joy Beko: Yeah, we got work to do, but you’ll always be my little---

Walt Pasman: Ahem.

Joy Beko: My apologies, Walt, he’s OUR little---

Piotr Bolibok: Let’s go on the court right now! I’ll dunk on---

Leandro Leao: Man, will you quit? The only people who don’t know you can’t dunk on those two are the new bigs in here.

Rafet Ozver: Too late. Heard it. Can’t unhear it now.

Cafer Enfes: Wait till you hear that Walt completely shuts him down. He has a hard time with big Beko, but he can’t do anything with Walt.

Carlos Frias: All right now, glad we had our laugh. We all cool and on the same page right?

Piotr Bolibok: I'm dunking on somebody out there, I'll tell you that right now...

Leandro Leao: Come on man, let's get this defense work in...

Staff meeting…

Pio Reina: Uzek is in the playoff rotation for now.

Air Allnite: Pio. he hasn’t met our metrics to be called ready. That means continuing with the bigs program and throwing him in there.

Marshall Richards: Air’s right. The kid has to show us what he can do, and what he’s willing to do.

Byron Helm: We’re not giving him any choice but to improve, and he’s off to a good start. Marshall, add another two way to the ledger.

MR: You wizard! You were working on rebounding!

BH: He’s better at that, too. So is Lecian. Now we’re working on inside defense. Kid’s best shot to play is on the wing or 3rd point guard. He’s wing playable now.

PR: Byron, nice work. What does this week look like?

BH: Kops, Bodura, Vendrell, Lecian, and Ozver. We can squeeze in a 6th, but those are the 5 I wanna get work for. If the bigs improve, we’re in good shape. If the other guys improve, we’re in good shape. If no one does, that could sting a bit.

PR: Think you can squeeze Bolibok in the paint?

BH: We can. We’ll rotate each line through the week, and should be able to finish up with the scrimmage. He’ll get work in.

PR: Air, offensive camp. Are we ready?

AA: Just say the word. Make Bolibok the priority and I promise you the offense will explode. Improve the outside shooting on this team and we get really scary.

PR: We have to get Bolibok playing defense. Bolibok has to step up if he wants to start. Bolibok’s our second leading scorer and he comes off the bench for a reason.

MR: Pio, he’s averaging 1.1 steals a game and 1.4 blocks on 20 minutes a night. We can live with him starting.

AA: You’re looking at this all wrong. What you need is to get the defensive guy up to speed on offense. Bolibok can score. Nobody looks at Pasman as a threat, but he certainly goes out and takes away his opposite on the floor. He defends inside and out, he rebounds, he’s efficient when he shoots and he allows you to play games defensively when he’s on the floor with Beko and Frias. You want defense first? There it is.

MR: Pio, you want to get Bolibok’s attention? Change the game on him. The offensive camp is made for guys like Pasman, Uzek and guys who are trying to crack the rotation. We’re still going to work on defense; that’s always going to be our foundation, but our depth is always going to be a weapon too.

PR: Marshall, how many two ways on defense?

MR: Six. If Kops and Bodura improve, eight. Throw in Ozver next season and we’re at nine. Bolibok won’t be one.

AA: That’s cool and all, but how many of them will rebound and how many are two way scorers on offense? We’re not winning playoff games 40 to 30.

MR: Rebounders? 4. Ozver makes 5 when he hits two way status on defense. Scorers? 4, with Pasman, Ozver, and Vendrell due to hit that status at any time. Air, we’re building the offense from the ground up.

PR: How many pure shooters?

AA: The only pure shooters we have right now are Bolibok and Bodura. Vendrell, Ozver, Kops, Enfes, Leao and Frias all have varying degrees of promise. Out of that bunch, I have my eyes on Vendrell and Ozver especially, but I wouldn’t sleep on Kops and Enfes just yet.

PR: Add 7 guys who can pass with another developing, so were trending in the right direction. What do we need from the bigs?

BH: We need a Beko clone with better offense.

PR: Marshall, what from the wings? Pasman with better offense?

MR: Or Enfes with better passing.

PR: Air, the guards?

AA: A guard with the best parts of Pasman and Bolibok who can pass.

PR: You guys know that’s not happening. Let’s go; we’ve got work to do!

Happy Ourer: Welcome Linndale faithful! It’s the last road game of the regular season and we’re looking at a tough one against the SLC Fiends.

Joshua Doe: Come on, Happy! Stop trying to build drama where none exists! I’m not saying the Fiends aren’t a worthy opponent… Wait a minute! I’m saying exactly that! They are not in the class of Linndale! The only chance they have is if Pio Reina goes completely off the reservation, plays Grubbs, Uzek, Isarre, Lecian, and Bolibok for the whole game after everyone else gets hurts in warm ups.

Sam Dunkley: Joshua choose violence today! That is a professional basketball team over there, man! “Fullcourt” John Bort is one of my favorite players to watch! That guy can score! Curtis Capps is dangerous. Ramon Bruner is a double double machine. Frank Wilkerson is tough on the boards.

Jimmy Buckitts: I can’t believe my ears! Sam, I get Happy’s schtick, but you are straight gaslighting here! In no universe is that collection of players you just named good enough to beat this Linndale team. They will need multiple players to have the games of their lives and a spectacular failure by Pio Reina, the coaching staff and the players collectively.

SD: Why is everyone choosing violence today? There is no harm in paying respect to you opponent.

JD: You want me to respect them? They are a solid 3 point shooting team and a much better free throw shooting team than Linndale. That’s it. Oh wait, they foul less. Barely. What’s that you statheads are always telling me, numbers don’t lie? There’s a saying about lies and statistics…

JB: Sam, you cannot be serious.

SD: When the Fiends walk out within 10 points, or even with a win, I don’t want to hear it.

HO: Sam, you gotta stop. The last three meetings were Linndale wins by 26, 44, and 20 points respectively. Bort has had 20 in only one of those games. Same for Capps. This team is deeper now, the defense is even better, and Capps and Bort are not both scoring 20 tonight. Which brings us to the starting lineup tonight. Your starting five for Linndale will be… Carlos Frias at the point, Walt Pasman at shooting guard, Cafer Enfes at small forward, Pere Vendrell at power forward, and Ondrej Lecian at center.

JD: Two things here, Happy. Capps will not be scoring 20 tonight. The Fiends are going to need someone to step up big on the front line, and they will need an explosion of scoring off the bench. Given the names that will be off the bench tonight, that bench explosion isn’t happening either. They’re going to need to take advantage of Vendrell and Lecian while they’re on the floor, but that’s not going to be an easy task.

SD: I think a key to watch for Linndale is who is working on that second unit tonight and how the unit performs. Specifically, Piotr Bolibok and Roman Bodura. Bodura has had tough time shooting it, but has played well defensively. Bolibok has consistently scored, but his defense is lacking. Pio will not tolerate that in the playoffs.

JB: It will be interesting how Pio Reina tightens the rotation in the postseason, or even if he tightens it.
Defensively, there are a lot of very good options, and someone is going to upset about a lack of playing time.

HO: Jimmy, we’ll have to have you finish that thought on the other side. We have to go to a commercial break...

Marshall Richards: Air, you seen the new kid?

Air Allnite: Yeah. We’re gonna have to run Point Guard University for half the season and Big Man State for the other half to get these guys where Pio wants them offensively.

MR: What do you think?

AA: We wanted that hammer on the inside. Well, you’re gonna get to play your games because he’s better than Petey was on defense, but that was a low bar. Offensively, the kid has more juice.

MR: So it’s not just me. We gotta get his defense up to speed as fast as possible.

AA: And his passing. And his shooting has to get up to Petey’s level, but That shouldn’t be difficult at all.

Byron Helm: (walking in): You guys work your magic on him. I’ll work mine on him, too. Who you guys sending to Big Man School?

MR: You mean besides the bigs, right? The new guy, Kops, Enfes, Pasman, and Frias.

BH: Cool. I’m sending the new guy, Enfes, Beko, Ozver, and Vendrell to your little guard finishing school.

AA: We get their passing together, Enfes and the new guy are going to be a sick duo.

MR: Now you sound like me, but that is not happening; can’t play those two together. Play one with Beko and Ozver, the other with Lecian and Vendrell.

Pio Reina: Already game planning, I see? Frias with one group, Leao with the other… now you gotta sort out who Kops and Bodura play with. And you forgot about Pasman. Gentlemen, to be clear, the primary skill our new addition has is his inside offense. That is his difference maker right now. No, Air, we are not playing him with Enfes. Marshall, I know you’re dreaming of that duo and Pasman. Probably with Beko and Bodura. Stop it. We are not there yet. Byron?

BH: I had him penciled into the program for tonight, but I changed my mind. We need to get pops out of Lecian, Ozver, Vendrell, Enfes, and Beko is due. We need them to be great when it’s time to be great. Primarily, we want to see Beko, Ozver, Enfes and Vendrell.

PR: Fine. Lecian gets held back. Run him in the scrimmage. Air?

AA: Yeah. It didn’t look good in that private league game. I think Leao understands now. Beko, I think he uses those private league games to work on things. His turnovers have been pretty high; he’s got eleven in the last three. Meanwhile in the league where he makes his money, ten turnovers in his last eight games. Clearly, he’s working on something.

PR: Your special assignment is Pasman. Make it happen, Air. Byron?

BH: Vendrell and Ozver. I know. We’ll see how things go this week; I may try to run Pasman in the scrimmage. Would love to get him and Lecian 48 inside and both to pop.

PR: Make sure you have an alternative plan just in case. Marshall?

MR: Don’t even say it, Pio. Everybody is my special assignment. I know.

PR: Good. Gentlemen, let me be clear. What I expect is to see is a dramatically improved inside game. I expect Enfes and the Twaruschek to improve their passing. I expect Twaruschek to be the best scorer on the team. I expect our rebounding to improve. I expect our outside game to improve. I do not care how it happens, so long as we make it happen. We are far better than we were when the season started, but we are not as good as we think. The goal is the championship. The great teams go out and get it done. Let’s go be great. We have the talent on the roster. It’s our job to make it work.

***

Happy Ourer: Welcome, Linndale faithful, to the final regular season contest. The gang is all here, and the team has a new player on the roster just in time for the postseason to begin!

Joshua Doe: Happy, Bobby G. sold off his best scorer, but went out and got himself a better player in Gian-Luca Twaruschek. The young man is a solid defender, a better rebounder, and has the potential to be a better scorer. The overall skillset made this a no brainer. He's a better all-around player.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 8/31/2024 5:28:42 PM