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Week Five [LATE] Power Rankings - Part Six
(This is the last one, I swear!)

15. 209's MostWanted
Last Week's Ranking: 15
EFFG: 81.8 (+1)
OPP EFFG: 136.1 (+0.1)

Alex's boys faced two of the top 3 teams in the Great 8 this week, with a home loss to Super Sonics followed by a road loss to Mindless. While neither game was close, they're avoiding getting blown out for the most part this season. Ioannis Kavoukas has been a breath of fresh air, however, averaging a double/double for them at power forward and leading the league in offensive rebounds.

CUP ACTION
Their Cup run came to an end this week after a three bot start then a Div. IV opponent defeat which led them to #216 Swiss Cheese Defense on Thursday. And they didn't live up to their name allowing 209's to score just 15 points in the first half, though they valiantly tried to come back before losing by 9 to get the boot.

Next Up: hosting the Pistons before visiting Balls

16. Balls to the Walls
Last Week's Ranking: 16
EFFG: 59.8 (+2)
OPP EFFG: 150 (+2.1)

Scags crew had a glimpse of unbelievable hope last weekend as they marched into Daylis Arena to take on the Rebels and were only down by 1-point in the first. The lead grew to six by the half and then, remarkably, Balls outscored the Sad Sack Lions by two in the third quarter to cut the lead to four. But, giving up 34 points in the final frame sealed their fate and the brief hope of an impossible upset returned to being just a dream. San Dominica gave them no such ideas, however, jumping out to an 18-point lead by scoring 40 points in the first and never looked back enroute to 135 points dumped on the Balls to the Walls Arena.

CUP ACTION
Scags handled their first two bots and then, on the road in the third round decimated 202nd ranked Amsterdam Chimps by nearly 50 points in what could be categorized as a catastrophic upset. But then, in round four, #218 Rogues gave them no such feeling and held them out of the rest of the tournament after gifting them a 10-point lead in the first quarter before turning it on and outscoring them by 21 in the 2nd to never look back.

Next Up: visiting Dragmort before hosting 209's

Apologies for the lateness of the rankings. Good games last night - ever closer to the all star break!

Day 11 (Saturday 6 January 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Balls to the Walls 102 - Dragmort Dragons Utd 119
CB Bethesdorf 92 - San Dominica Warriors 132
Tasty Tardsicles 72 - Lion Rebels 86
VileOnes 65 - Shandong Golden Lions 98
Jumpstop Jumpers 75 - F.Day Internet Lovers Club 91
Super Sonics 120 - Linndale 107
Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 94 - Muffin Men 67
Fort Wayne Pistons 111 - 209’s MostWanted 104

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 132 : San Dominica Warriors
Rebounds : 72 : 209’s MostWanted
Assists : 33 : San Dominica Warriors
Steals : 11 : Dragmort Dragons Utd
Block Shots : 7 : Dragmort Dragons Utd, Shandong Golden Lions, F.Day Internet Lovers Club

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 44 : J. Valentin (Jumpstop Jumpers)
Rebounds : 27 : R. Stamper (209’s MostWanted)
Assists : 13 : M. Albright (Dragmort Dragons Utd), T. Hearn (Super Sonics)
Steals : 4 : A. Runcie (Dragmort Dragons Utd), G. Hilliard (Jumpstop Jumpers)
Block Shots : 4 : R. Stamper (209’s MostWanted)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : D. Gay (Shandong Golden Lions) (21 Points, 7 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 31
Shooting Guard : U. Jaén (Fort Wayne Pistons) (28 Points, 5 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Small Forward : M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) (32 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 40
Power Forward : T. Armstead (Lion Rebels) (23 Points, 21 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Center : M. Jimenez (Tasty Tardsicles) (21 Points, 19 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), A. Carečina (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) (11 Points, 19 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32

MVP of the evening
M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) (32 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 40

The bad performance of the evening
C. Enfes (Linndale) (6 Points, 3 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -6

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : C. Rankin (Balls to the Walls), C. Enfes (Linndale) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : D. Conaghan (Tasty Tardsicles), S. Aranda (Fort Wayne Pistons), R. Stamper (209’s MostWanted) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : M. Albright (Dragmort Dragons Utd), A. Runcie (Dragmort Dragons Utd), R. Braswell (Dragmort Dragons Utd), J. Bover (VileOnes), L. Praznik (Jumpstop Jumpers) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : E. Diršliokas (CB Bethesdorf) : 7 Three points

The best performer : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : Rating : 18.0

The worst performer : W. Mansour (Shandong Golden Lions) : Rating : 3.0

Can't believe I am first!!! This year suppose to be retool year LOL

other news:
I am surprise that one of old draft was here and got sold over a million.
Maybe I should of kept him to get the profit.

USA
Greg Hilliard

Transfer 1/7/2024 63 Purchased from Jumpstop Jumpers for $ 1 268 800
Transfer 7/31/2023 61 Purchased from Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage for $ 634 700
Transfer 8/15/2022 58 Purchased from Super Sonics for $ 104 100
Drafted 7/25/2022 57 Drafted as pick 16 of 48 by Super Sonics in the Season 57 Draft

Sam Dunkley: Sam Dunkley here with the first of a series of one on one interviews with the Linndale coaching staff, and today we start with current assistant coach and former broadcaster, Air Allnite. Air, welcome. Nice to meet you.

Air Allnite: You’re a little young and way too chipper for this gig, kid. Thanks for having me. What do you want to talk about?

SD: Let’s get right into it. Tell us about your roles and responsibilities on the staff.

AA: I wear a lot of hats. I’m the team’s shooting coach, I’m responsible for developing and coaching up the guards, I’m responsible for ball security. I think differently than most of the people around here, so when they want a different view than what they’re used to, the other coaches and front office talks to me. Kind of a devil’s advocate, except I’m no advocate.

SD: That remains to be seen. As shooting coach, who would you say is your prized pupil on the roster?

AA: With all the roster turnover we’ve had, it’s a bit unfair to answer. I’m still getting to know a few guys.

SD: Surprising answer, but accurate. How have you affected ball security?

AA: So you’re judging the answers. Got it. OK, buddy. Strap in; here we go. How have I affected ball security? Mostly I haven’t yet. The improvement there has been addition by subtraction mostly. You want to judge on the results, that’s fine, just know what to watch. Watch the ball handling and passing. You want to know who to watch? Watch me get Ercan Uzek and Leandro Leao up to speed. Watch me work with Jared Jimenez. Watch Cafer Enfes and Midas Kops. Watch Pemwieser and Hatfield improve their ball security.

SD: Who are you most excited to work with and why?

AA: Whoever I’m working with. I want and need to see the improvement. Kops is gonna improve and the challenge is going to be Enfes with his passing skill. My shooting challenge is Cerri and Beko fr different reasons. They’ll get better. Just watch.

SD: Is free throw shooting among your responsibilities?

AA: I’m the shooting coach. What do you think? You also a rocket scientist?

SD: Guards usually dominate the ball and have scoring ability. Kyle Knowles might be the best scoring guard this team has ever seen. Who’s the next Kyle Knowles?

AA: There is no next Kyle Knowles. Kyle is a special talent. Kyle was great here. You don’t just replace greatness at the drop of a hat. We have a lot of young guys who need to develop. I’d say Kops or Enfes. If Enfes gets his ball security under control, him. If Kops polishes his inside game, I’d say him, especially if he moves to guard as we expect. It’s tough to say; with the roster churn we’re seeing, it could be a new guy coming in to claim that spot. If Shooter ever gets it in his head the finishing at the rim is a good thing, he’d be there already.

SD: At the time of this interview, the turnovers are just under 12 per game. The shooting numbers aren’t great. Why do you need to see improvement? Is it pride, job security, or both?

AA: LOOK YOU LITTLE PISSANT!!! YOU GETTING AT SOMETHING?!?

SD: Just pointing out the numbers say you are not good at your job.

AA: You’re new here. A piece of advice: whatever you think you’re doing, don’t. Enfes, Kops, Hatfield, and Leao are all under 40% shooting. They're not going to finish there. Three point shooting is a tougher nut to crack; we will. Free throw shooting will go up. Turnovers will continue to drop. Kid, I did your job, then somehow found myself doing this gig. Know what? I kinda like it, and I’m good at it. Work with good people, even if I do hate ‘em all. If it were easy, anyone could do it. I heard your presser with Reina. You couldn’t; don’t go telling me it’s easy. I don’t like your attitude. We’re done here. [Walks out.]

SD: Happy, back to you.

Joshua Doe: (off air) I'm on Air's side?!? I don't like this at all...

Last edited by Speedtraps at 1/8/2024 2:36:03 AM

I really liked Hilliard. Very salary efficient. I trained him for 2 seasons. Happy with the profits, sad to see him go

You just had to wait to sell those guys until after our game, huh? Cool... cool...

*patiently awaits another shot a Valentin. He's not putting up another 46 on us.

On the morning video call

Roberto: Pio, look at this and give me a plan of action. Pio looked at folder with three files.

Pio: Number 1... The defense is and free throw shooting are there. Offensive potential. Ball security needs addressing. Has shot blocking potential. Gotta be real; we’re probably not going to afford him. Number 2 defends, rebounds and has potential for blocked shots. Raw on offense. Ball security is a concern. If money is a concern, get number 2. Number three… defends, could be a shot blocker, rebounds, no ball security issues, plenty of upside, and affordable? Let’s go!

Roberto: You can’t keep everyone. Gonna have to move some assets.

Pio: I know Cerri, MacNeur and Pemwieser are available. Realistically, Cerri and Pemwieser make sense for us to move. We can replace Cerri now. Would take a short term hit in a few areas, but we can live with it. MacNeur is gonna hurt, but I think that’s more short term too. Pemwieser is gonna hurt our offensive weaponry. His skillset isn’t easily replicated with our roster.

Roberto: I’m sure you’ll figure it out. We’re really gonna piss Air off and put him through it too, but I don’t care about that. He’ll complain, but he’ll get it done with the ball security. That was an inspired choice to give him that responsibility. Why him?

Pio: Can’t shoot it if you can’t hold the ball. I hear he was quite the shooter in his day. So he had to know something about ball security. He’s a cantakerous guy, but he’s actually a sharp guy when you get past all the bluster. He’s still a scumbag, but he’s our scumbag. [Both laugh.]

Roberto: Speaking of Air, that was something the other night. Looks like Dunkley put the screws to him pretty good and set him off.

Pio: I heard about that, but I don’t buy it. Gotta keep up the tough guy act. Probably thinks he was doing Sam a solid. I don’t think that’s any real news there.

Roberto: Well, I see we have some news. Number one is off the reservation. That price tag made some other things we need to do a bit iffy. Number two is ours. Talk to me about usage?

Pio: Great! Anywhere. Everywhere. He can guard 1 through 5 like Beko. Imagine Cerri, this kid, Beko, Hatfield, and Kops. Okay, scratch Cerri and insert Leao. With some internal improvements from the guys we’re keeping, I think we have built the defense we want to see. Young, plenty of room to grow, and the defense plays now.

Roberto: Lineup?

Pio: Mr. Point Guard-slash-Small Forward turned General Manger, how long have we known each other? I know you’re not done! You’ll probably have another move done and force me to change my lineup. As it is, we need to get Marshall to start working on the training schedule change this will require. Also, I’m gonna make a tactical change.

Roberto: Throwing the kids into the deep end, huh? Might as well see who can do what we want to see. I imagine you guys are going to be busy for a bit. I’ll call you if anything changes.

Pio: No you won’t. You’re gonna stroll in like always, and interrupt whatever we’re doing. Probably gonna have another new player with you. Wouldn’t have it any other way, my friend! Well, I would, but that's what you do. We're used to it!

Happy Ourer: Welcome to the Linndale Pre Game Show! We have new additions to the club, a new lineup, and rumor has it that Pio Reina was back in the lab! I’m excited to talk about all of it!

Joshua Doe: We’re gonna go down to court side right now at The Headstone and bring in Sam Dunkley. Sam, what’s the word?

Sam Dunkley: Happy, Joshua, I’m hearing that Air Allnite is incensed at the front office for, in his words, ‘sabotaging his work on ball security’. I don’t know what that entails, but we are working on learning more. I’m hoping to get a word with him postgame.

Happy: You might want security with you after that interview. He didn’t seem very appreciative of your talents.

Sam: (Laughs.) I’m sure he wasn’t. We also have a few lineup changes. Newly acquired defensive specialist Walt Pasman is expected to start at small forward. Midas Kops at guard, Trenton Tovar at the point. Josh MacNeur and Joy Beko will round out the starting five.

Happy: Sam, what can you tell us about the newcomers?

Sam: Happy, Pasman is a 22 year old small forward. A rugged defender and solid rebounder. Promising shot blocker. Offensively, he’s a work in progress. Ondrej Lecian is 21 year old power forward. He’s a passing big man who needs to get stronger. Shows shot blocking promise. Amother work in progress on offense.

Joshua: Sounds like the defense makeover Pio and the staff have been talking up is a real and serious thing.

Sam: The tell will be in what other moves are coming. Pio wants to see what the newcomers can do first hand and said that tonight is just the start. I hear rumblings that they want to have their new defense ready to unleash against a respected and familiar foe, Coach Stephenson’s San Dominica Warriors.

Happy: Makes sense. You know you’ll find out fast if we need to go back to the lab or just make a few tweaks.

Sam: You could find that out against anyone.

Happy: Sam, you’ll find out on January 27th. There’s just something in the air when these two teams go at it. If it plays against San Dominica, it plays against anyone. Joshua, it sounds like Pio’s getting back to his hardcore defensive roots.

Joshua: I love it! We played together on teams where we just uglied the game up with great defense and made you scratch and claw for everything. We just to shut you down and would grind out wins. Sounds like Pio’s going back to that. We won a lot of games that way!

Sam: From scouts I know, I’m told Linndale now has 5 two-way defenders, and believe they have another 2 in house that just need to develop. I’m told you, Pio and the GM know something about that.

Joshua: Sam does research!

Sam: I don’t have athletic ability or good looks, so I gotta do something!

Happy: You’ve got a face for television Sam! Don’t sell yourself short!

Joshua: What are we going to see tonight, Sam?

Sam: Pio says they can’t match up with talent, so they’re gonna try and use depth. Pio says the main thing he wants to see is effort.

Joshua: Whoever doesn’t give Pio the effort won’t be playing, I promise you that. I certainly wouldn’t want to be the guy sitting next to Byron Helm after getting benched for lack of effort!

*First quarter
Byron Helm: Great job! That’s what I want to see! Make ‘em work for it! That’s what I’m talking about. We could be a bit more active on the boards, but this is a good start.

Pio Reina: Let’s not take so many three point shots, and try to force the action attacking the rim. We got 4 missed layups or dunks. We should be up 4 right now. I need ya’ll to go find me those 8 points. I want my points!

Byron Helm: Defense, if the offense can’t find those points, you got to take them from those guys out there. That’s called team ball. I love to see that. Let’s go. Great quarter. Now go do it again!

6:30, 2nd quarter
Pio Reina: OK, you punched them in the face that first quarter, now they’re hitting back. What you gonna do, stand there and let them or fight back? Go out there and punch ‘em in the face again. Attack! Get out there and make them work!

Byron Helm: They’re starting to get comfortable. They don’t think you can hit them again. Show them what you can do. Get inside their jerseys. Make them miserable. No easy baskets on defense. Shut it down!

3:11, 2nd quarter
Pio Reina: That’s what I’m talking about. Bring the fight to them!

Byron Helm: Keep it up defense. That’s what we want to see! Shut it down. Nothing easy.
Halftime
Sam Dunkley: Marshall, 56 points in the first half. 35 in the second quarter. What do you have to do to get back to the first quarter kind of defensive play?

Marshall Richards: Sam, we got the young guys out showing what they can do. They didn’t expect us to punch them in the face and they came out swinging in the second. Well, they didn’t expect us to swing back and hit them again. We want to slow the pace down and not let them get to the rim. Just make them work.

Locker room:
Air Allnite: Great job taking care of the basketball! We can’t give them free possessions! Keep it up!

Byron Helm: Defense! I see you working! You brought some fight! This third quarter, I want ya’ll to bring more of it. I want ya’ll to try and impose your will. Nothing easy. Ya got hit in the beginning of the 2nd quarter, but good teams hit back. We did that.

Pio Reina: I said ya’ll owe me 8 points after that first quarter. We should be up 7. Defense, can ya’ll take 7 points away?

Team: LET’S GO!

Pio Reina: On offense, stop playing hero ball. We don’t need to jack a three because they do. Play our game, attack the rim. Force the issue on offense. Be smart about it. They weren’t expecting a fight. Too bad! They got one! Let’s go take this second half! Defense on three! 1-2-3!

Locker Room: DEFENSE!

Before the 3rd quarter
Sam Dunkley: Air, It’s a 3 point game; what do you need to do to slow down the Zombie attack?

Air Allnite: Keep them off the boards better, find a way to slow down Acevedo and make him work harder, and find a way to slow down Ying and make him work harder.

Sam Dunkley: Thanks, coach. Good luck in the second half.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 1/10/2024 7:14:13 AM

8:40 3rd quarter
Pio Reina: They came out swinging. Let’s calm down. We need to extend the defense to three point line. They’re getting to comfortable. Nothing easy inside or outside. Got it? Good. Now let’s go!

3:36, 3rd quarter
Pio Reina: Hey! Where’s my defense at? Where they at?

Byron Helm: This is where you guys gotta ask yourselves, are you gonna stay down, or are you gonna get up and keep fighting? If you ain’t fighting, why are you here? Defense has to get us back in this game. Come on!!!

4th quarter
Air Allnite: Why are you guys just giving them looks from 3? They hit 5 this quarter. Close out on them HARD! Make them move off the line!

Byron Helm: Your teammates have your back. Make them move off the line.

Pio Reina: You wanna win, you gotta be in the fight. Show me your fight.

6:27, 4th quarter
Pio Reina: Ya’ll wanna play some defense? Because I assure you, those that don’t are not long for this team. They’re just toying with us now. I don’t like being toyed with.

2:49, 4th quarter
Marshall Richards: Mr. Kops, nice effort. Good block. Defense, you starting to fight again or are they just tired? You got just under three minutes to convince us it’s you and not them.

Walking off the court after the game
Sam Dunkley: Coach Reina, that was a tough game. Wgat happened?

Pio Reina: Well for starters, we left 18 points on the floor just missing layups and dunks. We lost by 15, so I’ll let you do the math on that. What happened was the third quarter. We got a young team that experienced a little success defensively in the first quarter, started feeling themselves in the second when they withstood a Zombie run and stayed in the game, and then the third quarter happened.

Sam Dunkley: Did you see what you were looking to see from the defense?

Pio Reina: Overall, I saw steps in the right direction. I saw a second unit make strides. I was impressed with Pasman. Acevedo got him, but he didn’t back down. We had no answer for Freeman at the point, but what they did defensively is what we’re trying to do. They pretty much made us a one man offense. Give them their flowers.

Sam Dunkley: What do you take away from this game?

Pio Reina: We have a few answers to some questions we had. We had a few things we knew reconfirmed. We’re heading in the right direction. Not happy with any loss, but we’ll learn from this and build on it.

Day 12 (Tuesday 9 January 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Dragmort Dragons Utd 100 - CB Bethesdorf 93
San Dominica Warriors 74 - Tasty Tardsicles 90
Lion Rebels 97 - VileOnes 65
Shandong Golden Lions 105 - Jumpstop Jumpers 80
F.Day Internet Lovers Club 91 - Super Sonics 80
Linndale 96 - Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️ 111
Muffin Men 87 - Fort Wayne Pistons 118
209’s MostWanted 113 - Balls to the Walls 106

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 118 : Fort Wayne Pistons
Rebounds : 65 : Lion Rebels
Assists : 33 : 209’s MostWanted
Steals : 10 : 209’s MostWanted
Block Shots : 12 : Lion Rebels

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 43 : J. Valentin (Jumpstop Jumpers)
Rebounds : 24 : M. Jimenez (Tasty Tardsicles)
Assists : 14 : G. Izaza (Fort Wayne Pistons)
Steals : 4 : A. Durham (VileOnes)
Block Shots : 5 : E. Dickens (Tasty Tardsicles)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : L. Melucci (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) (22 Points, 11 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 38
Shooting Guard : E. Diršliokas (CB Bethesdorf) (24 Points, 1 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots), U. Jaén (Fort Wayne Pistons) (28 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 24
Small Forward : W. Acevedo (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) (31 Points, 4 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 31
Power Forward : J. MacNeur (Linndale) (18 Points, 18 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 0 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35
Center : G. Reinhardt (Fort Wayne Pistons) (19 Points, 13 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30

MVP of the evening
L. Melucci (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) (22 Points, 11 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 38

The bad performance of the evening
W. Pasman (Linndale) (0 Points, 4 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -6

Triple-Double of the evening
L. Melucci (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) (22 Points, 11 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : L. Chestnut (209’s MostWanted) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : T. Cartaxo (CB Bethesdorf) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : S. Huerta (Lion Rebels), A. Durham (VileOnes), A. Suprianto (Shandong Golden Lions), J. Valentin (Jumpstop Jumpers), L. Melucci (F.Day Internet Lovers Club) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : M. Kops (Linndale), U. Jaén (Fort Wayne Pistons) : 6 Three points

The best performer : T. Freeman (Mindless Zombies 🧟‍♀️) : Rating : 19.5

The worst performer : A. Handy (Lion Rebels) : Rating : 3.5