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Day 3 (Saturday 2 September 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
F.Day Internet Lovers Club 90 - Las Vegas High Rollers 64
southpaw army 119 - 209’s MostWanted 104
Lion Rebels 117 - Philly Dribble 97
San Dominica Warriors 101 - Linndale 80
Żubr Białystok 0 - Miami Cleo 50
Fort Wayne Pistons 92 - Super Sonics 118
VileOnes 110 - Twotone Touloose 79
Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 89 - Tasty Tardsicles 102

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 119 : southpaw army
Rebounds : 68 : F.Day Internet Lovers Club
Assists : 35 : Super Sonics
Steals : 13 : Twotone Touloose, Tasty Tardsicles
Block Shots : 14 : F.Day Internet Lovers Club

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 33 : Z. Levin (Super Sonics)
Rebounds : 22 : K. Nádas (209’s MostWanted)
Assists : 11 : S. Aranda (Fort Wayne Pistons)
Steals : 5 : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️)
Block Shots : 6 : D. Branimirović (F.Day Internet Lovers Club)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : X. McNair (southpaw army) (29 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 22
Shooting Guard : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) (30 Points, 4 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 5 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Small Forward : Z. Levin (Super Sonics) (33 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 31
Power Forward : P. Audier (Las Vegas High Rollers) (14 Points, 19 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35
Center : C. Goldsmith (Super Sonics) (20 Points, 10 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 31

MVP of the evening
P. Audier (Las Vegas High Rollers) (14 Points, 19 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35

The bad performance of the evening
G. Charino (Las Vegas High Rollers) (8 Points, 0 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -9

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : V. Wheat (Twotone Touloose) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : R. Raich (209’s MostWanted), A. Durham (VileOnes) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : M. Blanco (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), G. Charino (Las Vegas High Rollers), D. Branimirović (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), M. Coedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : A. Ziółkowski (209’s MostWanted) : 5 Three points

The best performer : C. Goldsmith (Super Sonics), S. Brinkman (VileOnes), C. Wui Kwong (Tasty Tardsicles) : Rating : 17.0

The worst performer : W. Sitorski (209’s MostWanted), K. Elias (Super Sonics) : Rating : 6.5

Air Allnite: Pio, we can hide Cerri’s deficiencies, but do you really think he can be the long term starter?

Pio Reina: You fancy yourself a shooting savant. You think you you’re this great coach that can do better than a lot of people. Here’s where you earn your money. Every point guard we have has an issue. Fix the shooting issues. Get every one of them playable defensively. That part’s easier; we already got Nguyen ready and Cerri walked in ready. You want to complain? Go back to the broadcast booth.

Air: So who’s complaining? I just think he might be a better fit as a backup.

Pio: The job is to develop who we have here. You have three prospects with differing floors and ceilings. Nguyen is the best bet to be a backup right now. McCain and Donny could be better long term bets. Cerri is the starter, but all four aren’t finished. Your job, your number one job is to finish them.

Marshall Richards: Pio, Roberto mentioned last night you asked him to stick around for a while and help with the wings.

Pio: Yeah. Be nice if we could get another wing besides Sokmen who could drive and finish. Kyle’s could be better there, Trenton and Mantas are dreadful there, and Rolland needs an intervention. Reese is leaving us.

Byron Helm: Pio, you know Hatfield is the only big here that can move his feet reasonably well, right?

Pio: You have a unicorn in Pemwieser. You have a defensive beast in Floyd, and a capable big in Leo. You were a good shooting big. I want those two to join the unicorn club. Hatfield may take longer, but he should get close. Air has to work with what we have and make it better. You get to work with what we have and make it better. See the difference?

Byron: Marshall, let’s talk over dinner tonight. We need to coordinate a shooting plan for the frontcourt, and work up a plan for Reynolds to get him ready for more minutes.

Marshall: Sure thing, Byron. Pio, what’s the plan for tonight?

Pio: We do the unexpected. We don’t have a distinct advantage to press tonight, except for Floyd. Let’s try something unconventional. Air, how does this set us up for training minutes?

Air: Oh… I see you’ve made changes… our top 3 guards should be done for the week after today. Thursday we can run Mantas, Nguyen, McCain, and Donny. Depending on how things go, likely Nguyen and Mantas off the bench with Donny and McCain starting that one.

Marshall: Interesting. Never seen this configuration before. I knew practice was different, but I just couldn’t figure out what that was about. Now it makes sense.

Byron: It’s… different. Pio, you sure about this?

Pio: Well, we do have training considerations. We also have distinct deficiencies. This is the best way I can come up with to make the most of what we have.

Byron: You know this is going to cost us, right?

Pio: Byron, I’m grading on a curve tonight. The bigs are protected. The guards and wings are on the hot seat tonight.

Byron: You’re the boss!

Day 4 (Tuesday 5 September 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Las Vegas High Rollers 76 - southpaw army 111
209’s MostWanted 99 - Lion Rebels 106
Philly Dribble 123 - San Dominica Warriors 141
Linndale 94 - F.Day Internet Lovers Club 118
Miami Cleo 113 - Fort Wayne Pistons 89
Super Sonics 93 - VileOnes 94
Twotone Touloose 53 - Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 117
Tasty Tardsicles 145 - Żubr Białystok 31

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 145 : Tasty Tardsicles
Rebounds : 66 : Tasty Tardsicles
Assists : 44 : Tasty Tardsicles
Steals : 23 : Linndale, Tasty Tardsicles
Block Shots : 14 : F.Day Internet Lovers Club

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 55 : A. Ziółkowski (209’s MostWanted)
Rebounds : 24 : I. Tabrizi (F.Day Internet Lovers Club)
Assists : 10 : K. Knowles (Linndale)
Steals : 6 : F. Hearn (Linndale)
Block Shots : 6 : D. Branimirović (F.Day Internet Lovers Club)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : M. Velasco (Philly Dribble) (29 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 31
Shooting Guard : L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors) (37 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 37
Small Forward : M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) (24 Points, 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Power Forward : P. Huddleston (Philly Dribble) (29 Points, 19 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), I. Tabrizi (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) (29 Points, 24 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 44
Center : F. Hearn (Linndale) (22 Points, 17 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 6 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36

MVP of the evening
P. Huddleston (Philly Dribble) (29 Points, 19 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), I. Tabrizi (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) (29 Points, 24 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 44

The bad performance of the evening
H. Gandy (Żubr Białystok) (0 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots), : Efficiency : -12

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : E. Piana (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), H. Gandy (Żubr Białystok) : 7 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : K. Nádas (209’s MostWanted) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : L. Zotke (Las Vegas High Rollers), E. Piana (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), I. Tabrizi (F.Day Internet Lovers Club), J. Bover (VileOnes), W. Acevedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️), W. Bonner (Żubr Białystok) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : A. Ziółkowski (209’s MostWanted) : 9 Three points

The best performer : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : Rating : 19.0

The worst performer : W. Brissett (Żubr Białystok) : Rating : 2.0

Week Two Power Rankings
Week 2 Observations
Well, with extreme disappointment comes a fun treat for the power rankings. I'm deeply perturbed by whitestok's disappearance resulting in a botified team. He had a great core building up and it's a shame to see them get auctioned off one by one. If I had the cash (or the balls), I'd spring for one. Shaun Hatch, his $40k/week SF already has been viewed 260 times and last I checked, was bookmarked by 21 managers with 28 bids already placed, driving his price up to $687k thus far. (To be fair, the prime reason I'm disappointed that whitestok is no longer with us is because he always told me my projections were the best).

But because he's shuffled off to his own mortal coil, we have a somewhat surprising leap up to first place in the Week 2 Power Rankings. Which isn't all too abnormal for week 2 - just depends on first week games and who plays who resulting in some pretty skewed EFFG and OPP EFFGs. But they eventually sort themselves out over time. But this season, things seem to be sticking where they were last week.

While it is definitely not entirely accurate it makes the season a bit more interesting to have these power rankings differ a bit from what we see in the standings. They'll be up and down and around as teams find their groove (or slip and fall on their faces). For those of you who are new, we'll see them pretty much solidify and not see much movement about a week or two after the all-star break.

Here's the rankings, in reverse order: (Last week's rank will be in parenthesis behind the team’s name).

Week 2 Power Rankings
16. Żubr Białystok (16)
I'd say with whitestok botifying, they've finally shown some life since they lose in a walk over finally, but the newly minted trash team scored a -34 in EFFG against Tasty and gave up an appalling 247 in OPP EFFG. I won't have much to say about bot teams, so hopefully someone new signs up and gets slaughtered week after week in the bot's place.

15. Las Vegas High Rollers (15)
Las Vegas is still one of three teams without a win thus far. And while in week 1 they scored 91 points against my own Lion Rebels, the next three games have seen them average just 17 points per quarter as they got throttled first by F.Day and then somewhat mercifully only lost by 35 to southpaw. They're still in the Cup, though! And look to be in the Cup until next week at least. Otherwise, they host Philly before traveling to Linndale in pursuit of their first league win.

14. Twotone Touloose (14)
No movement for Twotone in the rankings this week with losses to VileOnes at home followed by the Zombies taking out their Mindless Frustration with the season on Tuesday night, losing by 64 points in a game that started out ugly and after a brief, "maybe we've got a fighting chance" 2nd quarter where they outscored the Zombies by 2 points, they fell off a cliff and only scored 17 total points in the 2nd half. Unfortunately for Twotone, the only redeeming factor of this season might just be the fact that whitestok not only went bot, but wasn't active at all, guaranteeing them at least two wins, but most likely a 7th place finish in the Great 8 only to have to go up against a team in the Big 8 that will be PISSED they didn't make the play offs.

13. Linndale (13)
I was not prepared for this. Maybe Speedtraps had a better idea about how this season would start, but 0-4 is not a fun way to begin the season. Fortunately, Vegas is there to cushion the fall, but with Internet Lovers Club introduced to the Big 8 mix, it's looking like 6 extremely competitive teams with Linndale just on the outside looking in. They have made some moves and they definitely have time to turn it around - a trip through the Great 8 might be the dose of medicine they need, though they have to travel to the 209's first before hosting Las Vegas in what should be their first win, if not their second if they turn it

Week Two Power Rankings - Part II
12. Philly Dribble (10)
Sliding down two spots this week, Phil_wings has had enough and listed team super star Miguel Velasco whom he's had on the roster since season 56. He's made the all-stars for the Big 8 in the five seasons since then and also ranked in the MVP vote three times. But now riding a three-game losing streak with a 20-point loss to the Lion Rebels at home followed by an 18-point loss to San Dom on Tuesday, it looks like a pivot is in motion for the Dribble, which might be a boon for Linndale. Next comes a reprieve against Las Vegas in Vegas, before playing host to 209's next Tuesday.

11. 209's MostWanted (8)
They may be 1-3 after two weeks, but their point differential only stands at -15 despite having played four teams whose collective record thus far is 14-2. They kept their loss to southpaw to only 15 points, but that's soured a bit when you realize they were up 6 at the half, only to blow the lead in the third and then get marched over in the 4th. Here comes Linndale in a matchup at home followed by Philly on the road in a two-game series that will define which of those three teams will more probably fight for playoff access.

10. Fort Wayne Pistons (9)
While Ft. Wayne falls a spot with their 1-3 record, they hold out ahead of 209's despite losing two this week to the top two teams in the Great 8 thanks to the boost their EFFG received from playing Twotone (131) and keeping their EFFG over 100 against Miami and Super Sonics this week. Their downfall is definitely their OPP EFFG, which drifted 18 points in the wrong direction this week to 131. The Pistons face Mindless Zombies on the road before hosting VileOnes in the hopes they can move up the standings in the Great 8.

9. VileOnes (11)
With a win on the road in The Pavilion against Twotone last weekend followed by the upset of the week in a one-point victory over Super Sonics on TV, Vile moves up two spots in the rankings. More on that upset in a moment, but first, just to show you how crazy the EFFG rankings are: VileOnes currently have 111 for an EFFG, which is a 17-point improvement from week one, but is only good enough for 11th with 10th, 9th, and 8th hitting 111.8, 112, and 113.3 respectively. There's a significant drop off in EFFG after that, with 12th coming in at just 89.5. Now back to the upset: deploying a patient attack, Vile took a meager 7-point lead into the 2nd half, and despite Super Sonics getting close, maintained a 3-point lead heading into the final frame. But it only took two minutes for Morris Craig to tie it up at 70 with a three pointer with the Sonics taking back the lead for the first time since the 7-minute mark of the 2nd quarter on their next possession. After that, it was a bit of a dog fight, with the lead being exchanged seven more times. With 39 seconds left, the Sonics called a time out, being down by 1 after Kaiser Ramazan hit a 3 to make it 92-91. Just six seconds after their timeout, Sonics scored from the elbow to go up 93-92 and then, disaster struck in the form of what looked like a blessing - with 13 seconds left, Chas Goldsmith (a Center!) intercepted a pass and got the ball immediately to Morris Craig. Craig had scored just 9 points on the night including going 1-7 from the three-point line but hadn't yet attempted a free throw. He promptly stepped up to the line and bricked both free attempts to leave an opportunity and Vile's PG Alfonso Messineo ended the possession with a rebound and a quick time out. Coach drew up a perfect play and Sf Jordi Bover drove to the line and drained it with no time remaining on the clock for a buzzer beater upset victory. Tremendous ending to an enjoyable game!

Week Two Power Rankings - Part III
8. Mindless Zombies (12)
Yes, their first win of the season was against Twotones, but it does appear as if the Zombies are truly being raised from the dead. A 12-point boost in EFFG and a 21-point boost in OPP EFFG which took them from 11th last week to 6th this week in the latter category bumps them up to 8th overall, marking them as the best 1-3 team through two weeks. The week didn't start out great, with a road loss to Tasty by 13, but turned it around with the aforementioned 64-point victory over Touloose in a game in which they held Twotone to just 34 efficiency (of which 30 points came from just two players), while every single player for Mindless had a positive efficiency, including 4 players with 20+ efficiency on the night. They have a standoff with Fort Wayne on Saturday before benefiting from the botified Zubr next Tuesday, so their fortunes will most likely improve come next week!

7. Miami Cleo (6)
The last undefeated team in the Great 8 slides down one spot this week in a somewhat surprising turn at face value. They do lose out on some benefit by playing Zubr in their last walkover win as no efficiency points are gained/lost according to the statistics on walkovers, but handled Fort Wayne nicely with a bit more effort, belying the fact that they might not be quite as good as their 4-0 record. But! I've doubted them before and they've basically spit in my face, so I won't be surprised if I wake up next week with a loogie in my hair. A weekend match up with Twotone at home (and on TV) before what could be a battle for 1st in the Great 8 against Tasty Tardsicles.

6. Super Sonics (3)
After starting week two in first place in the great 8 and third in these power rankings, and despite a weekend 26-point victory over Fort Wayne, their 1-point last second loss to VileOnes on the road put a damper on their standings and their EFFG rankings. Despite a 1.7 increase in EFFG, they slipped one ranking spot to fourth and then an 8.7 decrease in OPP EFFG dropped them two places in that category ranking leaving them on the Outside Looking In (OLI) of the top 5 teams for this week. I will point out Zoran Levin's SF performance last weekend in which he scored 33 points on 14-24 shooting from the field to go along with 5 offensive rebounds in just 27 minutes to lead the team to victory. Next up, a prime matchup against Tasty Tardsicles at home before setting their sights on Twotone on the road at The Pavilion.

Week Two Power Rankings - Part IV
(obviously got too wordy this week for four parts!)

5. San Dominica Warriors (4)
After a loss to start out the season, the Warriors (as expected) have rebounded nicely to a 3-1 start, including a 21-point victory over Linndale on Saturday night followed by a barn burning event at home against Philly in which both teams combined for an overly dramatic 264 points with the only downside being Philly only scoring 17 points in the second quarter. It was still a fantastic matchup with shooting guards Sebastien Rigaux and LAB Baiao going back and forth all night for 38 and 37 points respectively with both shooting pretty lights out all game. The Warriors host southpaw this weekend before taking a trip to F.Day's Graveyard arena.

4. F.Day Internet Lovers Club(5)
Mc KR leapfrogs the Warriors despite a 2-point difference in Point Differential (PD) leaving them a slot below them in the Big 8 standings. They had a bit of an easier week, however, holding Vegas to just 64 points on the road before devouring Linndale's tricky Low Post approach on Tuesday night, though they didn't necessarily keep Floyd Hearn from getting his, they were able to basically shut the rest of the team down and coasted the whole game to victory. We'll get to see how much of a fraud the Lion Rebels are on Saturday as they host the Internet Lovers Club (rumor has it the Bobblehead night theme is the Kardashians), before they host a battle at the Graveyard when the Warriors roll into town.

3. southpaw army (2)
Listen, I'm as stunned as you are that this army is still somehow below my Rebels - and not only that, that they've dropped a place as well! They do, however lead the Big 8 with their undefeated record and have the second-best PD thus far. Despite 209's efforts last weekend, the army proceeded to close out the 2nd half with 67 points while holding their opponent to just 46 to ensure their victory and then followed up that effort with a dismantling of Las Vegas at home. Next up, two fights with the number 3 and 2 teams with a road trip to San Dom before hosting the Rebels.

2. Lion Rebels (1)
A somewhat surprising 20-point victory on the road against Philly was followed up by staving off an eager MostWanted crew this week to remain undefeated. But rolling into a match up with F.Day and southpaw feels a bit daunting. Looking forward to being 4-2 come this time next week!

1. Tasty Tardsicles (7)
A monumental leap from 7th to 1st in these rankings is a result of the botification of he who shall not be named (because of disappointment and not fear) which resulted in a 29-point increase in EFFG and 36.5 decrease in OPP EFFG ranking them at the top of both categories this week. I do find it worth noting that last season at this time, Tasty was ranked 13th after being ranked 7th because of some vicious losses to Mindless and Zubr, but they've flipped it on its head this season. They're enjoying a 3-1 start after defeating both of those teams this week, but it may be short lived as they travel to Key Arena to take on the Super Sonics before playing host to Miami Cleo. Are the Tardsicles for real?

Only three more games until interconference play begins - best of luck in Week 3!

I was not prepared for this. Maybe Speedtraps had a better idea about how this season would start, but 0-4 is not a fun way to begin the season.

I wan't prepared for 0-4 originally, but I quickly surmised this had to be a season dedicated to the young guys. I knew I was going to need a point guard, and I can't say I was surprised by that.

Fortunately, Vegas is there to cushion the fall, but with Internet Lovers Club introduced to the Big 8 mix, it's looking like 6 extremely competitive teams with Linndale just on the outside looking in.

Vegas is no guaranteed win. We don't even know what we can hang our hat on. Well, maybe turnovers... I hate turnovers!!!

They have made some moves and they definitely have time to turn it around - a trip through the Great 8 might be the dose of medicine they need, though they have to travel to the 209's first before hosting Las Vegas in what should be their first win, if not their second if they turn it

If this team makes the playoffs, I'd have to consider this one of my best jobs. The Big 8 remains tough as ever; a three game deficit is larger than people realize in the Big 8. 4 games? 4games?!? That should be nearly insurmountable.

Nearly.

There's ALWAYS a chance.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/7/2023 4:13:19 PM

These continue to be awesome.

Unrelated but I am tilted I drew a D2 team in the third week of the cup and that weeks leagues games are against the other top two teams from the conference. TILTED!

Last edited by yohnst at 9/8/2023 8:49:34 AM

Yeah - I hate that early tough matchup, especially when the league games are more important (probably - some of us might say your Cup matchup is much more important! ;).

Somewhat bizarrely, I drew a div IV team whose manager name is Southpaw.