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Week Six Power Rankings
With the league in full interconference play, we're starting to see some separation in the Big 8 with a grouping of three 7-5 teams in the middle while the Great 8 has decided to muddle up their hierarchy with three 8-4 teams at the 2-4 spots in the seeding. Heading in to the all-star week, we're officially more than half way through the season. As a way of a sneak preview, this week's rankings will have the number of all-stars I'm predicting they have (though I'll save my commentary for my all-star predictions post).

1. San Dominica Warriors (0!)
San Dominica maintain their hold on first in these rankings having a nice 10 point improvement in both EFFG and OPP EFFG. A big win over Tasty Tardsicles with 42 points in the fourth quarter in which they were down by 12 heading into that final frame. But in addition to their offensive explosion, they held Tasty to just 18 points in that period to ensure the come-from-behind win on the road. They turned around and destroyed Hustlas at home on TV, not giving up more than 10 points in any quarter until giving up 13 in the fourth quarter. Their lone game before the all-star match is on the road against STG on MCU in which I foretell them to carry an 11-2 record into the 2nd half of the season.

2. The White Walkers (2)
Minor dips in both efficiency categories, and while EFFG is much closer at the top of the rankings (they dropped 3 ranks to 6th) on the OPP EFFG side, they're pretty well cemented at the top and remain there despite a four-point dip. Since losing to the Warriors in their lone loss this season, they've reeled off four straight wins (while remaining in the Cup), with a defiant win against the Lion Rebels at home, shuttering them to only 13 first half points for a 26-point victory despite being outrebounded. Then they took to the road and defeated the Flamingos in a closer than comfortable win, though they never really trailed. An interesting matchup coming up as they host 209's MostWanted on TV - will they continue to hold off almost all the competition?

3. Lion Rebels (1)
Falling four spots in EFFG from 1st this week but maintaining at 3rd in OPP EFFG - a bit of a rough turn for the Cowardly Lion Rebels as they blew the load in attempting to stay in the Cup last week leaving themselves vulnerable heading into their road matchup against The White Walkers. As I mentioned the Rebels outrebounded the Dead (Frozen?) they shot pitifully from the field, hitting only 25% of their shots including 0-11 from three. Kurt Brown has done a tremendous job of Not Showing Up when it matters. Following that was a thankfully easy game with Cincinnati Slammers. Next comes their favorite travel destination, with a trip to the Keg. Will they be able to overcome the recently geriatric-fied Beer Bellys?

4. Tasty Tardsicles (2)
Sure, they're currently 4th in the Great 8, and sure they've lost two games in a row, first to San Dominica where they utterly melted down and blew the game, and then going on the road to Philly and getting out-matched in the first half before saving face and keeping pace, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Dribble shooting nearly 50% from the field despite making only 3 of 19 threes. But Tasty has to feel kind of good, despite losing by 20 because of the effort difference in the match. Their next test comes as they host Carolina before the big game.

5. Miami Cleo (4)
Miami basically held steady this week in both categories and find themselves still at 5th in these rankings. They split this week's games with a 17-point victory at home against Flamingos and then took their show on the road and lost to 209's by 8 where they struggled out of the gate, then regained their form to close out the first half and then just couldn't quite keep up to settle for their fourth loss (2nd in their last four games). I should point out Marko Maurin's beautiful game last Saturday, in which he scored 25 points on 11-12 shots - just a masterful performance at the small forward position. Their pre-all-star game matchup comes in the form of recent upstart (don't call it a comeback?) Fondy Cardinals at home.

6. Philly Dribble (1)
Honestly, I'm quite surprised we're seeing a 7-5 Philly team. But after their three game losing streak, they've kicked it back over and are now on a three game winning streak, with a 21-point victory over The Beer Bellys and then a 20-point victory over Tasty boosting both of their EFF scores, but still find themselves a bit down the chart here. But I will have you note, I have them ahead of two 8-4 teams! I'm sure they'll continue their win streak this week as they take Hustlas on for their next road trip.

7. 209's MostWanted (4)
Sitting at 8-4 thanks to the fact they've won 5 of their last 6 games since losing two in a row back in week three, 209's ramped up and ready for anything it seems, but this week I feel like they lost a game they shouldn't in order to win a game they shouldn't. (Shrug) - I've done the same thing, so I can't judge. But a 28-point loss to Żubr Białystok on the other side on the road led way to a home victory over a tough Miami team at home. Yes, Ariel Ziółkowski has cooled off, but he came through on Tuesday, scoring 27% of his team's points enroute to victory. And now they turn their attention to the team beyond the wall and march into the frozen tundra.

8. Żubr Białystok (1)
Whitestok is holding steady at the halfway mark in these rankings at the halfway point of the season! They find themselves on a four-game winning streak working their way up from .500 two weeks ago. That aforementioned win at home over 109's felt good and they got to follow it up with a trip to the Birds Nest to face the Cardinals in a game they relatively easily won. Next up comes an interesting challenge as they play host to Linndale. But they're in a good spot so far and looks like they should easily make the playoffs - the only question is what seed will they qualify for?

9. Linndale (1)
Linndale's another very middle of the road team this season. While they're 6th in the Big 8 and have a 7-5 record, the competition has been stiff on that side of the board. But they've only lost one game thus far against Great 8 teams and this week they got to show off their new acquisition Floyd Hearn who had an immediate impact in their first game against Hustlas in a 15 point victory and then wasn't needed that much when they hosted STG in a 41-point blowout where he only played 27 minutes but still had 10 rebounds. But I think we'll get to see how he's truly going to impact this squad in what is somewhat of a vital game this weekend against Żubr.

10. Carolina Rebels (2)
Carolina is the last of the above .500 teams on this list, but they also are only one of two teams left in the Cup in our league (Congrats!). That means they've sacrificed some league games they probably could have won to get where they are, which is a shot at three games during the all-star break. They were also fortunate to matchup with two easier teams after their brutal 1, 2 face off last week. First a road TV game against Cincinnati where they embarrassed the Slammers by 94 points, with two players scoring 30+. And then, they staved off the Beer Bellys for a 12-point victory. Next comes Tasty on the road.

11. Flamin' Flamingos (1)
I guessed relatively closely last week on Delaire's impact on the Flamingos lineup and while he struggled in his first two games and they lost both, they were facing Miami and The White Walkers - pretty stiff test right out the gate with lesser game shape. They've got a nice set up this weekend though where he can get his feet underneath him as they travel to Cincinnati for what should be their 5th win on the season.

12. The Beer Bellys (1)
I do find it a bit crazy that 5th place in the great 8 is sitting at 3-11 on the season! And while they are retooling, they find themselves in the middle of a four game losing streak, with losses this week to Philly and Carolina. There's already been plenty of shenanigans reported in advance of the Lion Rebels visiting this weekend, but rumor has their manager is in a rehab facility simply to avoid traveling to the Keg.

13. Hustlas (0)
Not much to write home about here, with the transfer list being so outrageously expensive lately, I imagine Reece has been struggling to pin down quality talent at optimal prices. It's now been four weeks without a win and things aren't looking pretty in Hustlaville. A not terrible loss to Linndale last weekend before San Dominica took a torch to their own building in burning them to the ground on Tuesday. Next comes a not so fun matchup with Philly Dribble - at least it's at home!

14. Fondy Cardinals (0)
Well, back to back wins after going winless to start the season, with Fondy taking out STG on the road by 14 points and while both teams had three players score 20+ points, the Cardinals shot lights out, hitting 54-101 shots to take home the victory. Their win streak was short lived with a home loss on Tuesday to whitestok's boys. PF Matthis Anwander had a night, scoring 25 points to go along with 7 rebounds on 9-13 shooting - they just couldn't keep pace. Next up comes a not great matchup with Miami Cleo on the road.

15. STG on MCU (0)
I'm just glad STG is trying, making guesses at the oppositions tactics and bringing their best every night even though there's such a discrepancy in salaries. Two more losses this week to the Cardinals and Linndale leave them struggling at 2-10. And this weekend doesn't look fun as the Warriors come to town pre-all-star week.

16. Cincinnati Slammers (0)
Cincinnati has crossed the -500 point differential mark with two more blow out losses this week to the Rebels. Their closes game was game one in a two-point loss to STG. Their next closest loss is 12 points followed by 16 point and then 20. From there it gets really ugly. And this week, they host Flamin' and while I'd like to suggest they have a shot, I'm doubtful.

All-star predictions post coming later tonight or tomorrow morning!

“Happy Ourer here on WINO Radio and your Linndale Radio Basketball Network and we’re back with one of my television broadcast partners, Air Allnite for one final segment. Air, we’ve covered quite a bit of ground. We haven’t talked about your departure from the Supreme Court Basketball Network, yet. Care to walk us through what happened?”

“No. My legal representation has advised me against speaking about that.”

“Fair enough. Well, as part of the Linndale basketball team, let’s look at our upcoming opponent, Zubr Bialystok. What’s your take on the game?”

“Pio Reina’s crew has to be careful; this is a team that has plenty of actual point guards. Ball movement and ball security should be on display. Pio might want to take notes. If it plays out the way I think it will, Pio’s golden child Trenton Tovar might have a bit of a rough night. Petriukstis too. Knowles is better than anyone in the backcourt on either team, so Pio has that going for them. The problem at small forward for Pio’s boys is one of depth. I don’t think Reese should see the court in this game and neither should Reynolds. That leaves Guevara backing up Kamp. Since Guevara should back up Kamp, he should also be available at the backup power forward. The bigger issue is do you start Sanz Garcaa up front with Hearn, or bring him off the bench? Mann feels like a very poor play in this game, and Datler could well be severely overmatched for the first time all season. It’s a game Linndale should win, but I don’t think they will. I assure you Pio will over think this and lose. It’s all right there in front of him. I’m not gonna give tactical information; but I know what I’d do. Folks have to tune in to the Pregame show tomorrow to find out. Just know whatever Pio wants to do, it isn’t what he should do.”

“Perfect promo for tomorrow and timely, too! Folks we’re out of time! We’ll see you tomorrow night! Good night, everybody!”

Last edited by Speedtraps at 3/25/2023 6:12:50 PM

Air Allnite: “I said ball security and ball movement would be on display for Zubr Bialystok. They did have 23 assists to 17 for Pio Reina’s squad. Ball security was an issue for both as each team finished with 13 turnovers. I told you Trenton Tovar would have a rough night. 4 of 15 shooting, no assists, 1 turnover and a plus/minus of -8 sounds like a rough night. Petriukstis wasn’t much of a factor on offense, but he had 6 rebounds and got loose for a couple of dunks when Linndale had to have them. He played better than expected. Kamp stuffed the stat sheet but didn’t shoot much. He played 44 minutes and played well, so depth at the small forward wasn’t the issue it might have been. Linndale was able to slow the game down to make that happen. Reina will say Guevara had an off night. Don’t fall for it. They need an upgrade from him. Datler’s court time was short lived. It was supposed to be; he was bad. To be fair, I said it was a game Linndale should win bt felt Pio Reina would lose it for the team with his coaching. Apparently, it takes more than bad coaching to overcome a 45 point effort from Kyle Knowles.”

Marshall Richards: “And that leads us into tonight’s Pros and Cons. Air, your Pros are?”

Air: “Kyle Knowles, Ramon Sanz Garcaa, Daniil Kamp, Mantas Petriukstis, and Floyd Hearn. Kyle put on a scoring display and just carried the offense. Sanz Garcaa had a big 16 point 15 rebound effort. Daniil Kamp did enough of everything and well. Petriukstis was there with his defense and those two dunks he came through with were clutch. Hearn was there with his defense, 10 rebounds, and I don’t think Sanz Garcaa happens without Hearn’s presence on the floor.”

Happy Ourer: “This is where things get interesting. Who do you have for cons?”

Air: “Pio Reina still can’t find how to get the team to participate offensively. Defensively, they fell apart in the 4th quarter. The $100,000 man can’t get touches or buckets. Guevara is trash. Tovar still has a ways to go. The bench is short and depends on matchups to be effective. They are not as deep or talented on the bench as they think. It’s gonna cost them big and soon.”

Happy: “More from the Linndale Basketball Postgame Show after these words from our sponsors!”

Season 60 All Star Predictions
Welcome to this season's all star predictions, revamped for this season with an all new calculation formula - I'm dubbing this version 3.45a. Traditionally this was primarily based on player efficiency, which unfortunately favors big men, so pulling the list of top 20 players in efficiency always leaves the guards/small forwards lacking, making me rely on guesswork and statistics - the ole' eyeball test. This season, however, I've pulled the top 20 in EFF and the top 20 in Average Rating (AR). I combined those lists and even then had to go out and find a few more players, pulling together a list of 36 players from the league. The score is calculated by valuing AR as it is represented and adding a weight to Average Efficiency (AE) by multiplying it by two and then adding the two numbers. This score is based on a maximum possible value of 100 because I'm basing AR on the theory that it's max possible score is 20 and the max possible score for AE is 40 (in the NBA a PER season of 35+ would be considered All Time Great) and so you have 40 x 2 + 20, which for you math dum dums equals 100. The highest score for this season is 75.1...so my estimating of 40 for AE is probably too high, but I'm lazy so I'm leaving it as it is for now and will probably adjust for next season's version 4.17c.

Big 8 Starters
PG: Miguel Velasco - Philly Dribble | AR: 3rd | AE: 23rd | Total Score: 49.7 | (Overall) Rank: 20th (Last season's PG backup)
SG: Ariel Ziółkowski- 209's MostWanted | AR: 16th | AE: 21st | Total Score: 50.1 | (Overall) Rank: 18th
SF: Darnell Rivas- Flamin' Flamingos | AR: 34th | AE: 11th | Total Score: 53.1 | (Overall) Rank: 12th
PF: Terry Armstead: - Lion Rebels | AR: 1st | AE: 2nd | Total Score: 75.1 | (Overall) Rank: 1st (Last season's C backup)
C: Dewayne Allen: - Carolina Rebels | AR: 6th | AE: 7th | Total Score: 60 | (Overall) Rank: 6th (All Star Starter from last season)

Great 8 Starters
PG: Chik Wui Kwong - Tasty Tardsicles | AR: 25th | AE: 28th | Total Score: 44.6 | (Overall) Rank: 29th
SG: Arys Varpukevicius - Miami Cleo | AR: 5th | AE: 29th | Total Score: 46.1 | (Overall) Rank: 28th (Last season's SG backup)
SF: Victor Papageorgiou - The White Walkers | AR: 2nd | AE: 13th | Total Score: 56.6 | (Overall) Rank: 9th
PF: Isidre Homs - The Beer Bellys | AR: 26th | AE: 3rd | Total Score: 65.5 | (Overall) Rank: 3rd (All star backup PF last season)
C: Geoffray Locus - Miami Cleo | AR: 21st | AE: 1st | Total Score: 71.8 | (Overall) Rank: 2nd

Big 8 Backups
PG: Tian Rumin - 209's MostWanted | AR: 13th | AE: 30th | Total Score: 44 | (Overall) Rank: 30th
SG: Kyle Knowles - Linndale | AR: 8th | AE: 25th | Total Score: 47.1 | (Overall) Rank: 24th
SF: Gjallim Azheli - 209's MostWanted | AR:33rd | AE: 14th | Total Score: 51.1 | (Overall) Rank: 14th
PF: Hugo Espinosa - Carolina Rebels | AR: 22nd | AE: 4th | Total Score: 65.5 | (Overall) Rank: 4th
C: Renzo Raich - 209's MostWanted | AR: 31st | AE: 12th | Total Score: 52.4 | (Overall) Rank: 13th

Great 8 Backups
PG: Damon Santana - Miami Cleo | AR: 15th | AE: 36th | Total Score: 33.2 | (Overall) Rank: 36th
SG: Vecit Ögretmen - The White Walkers | AR: 20th | AE: 32nd | Total Score: 40.6 | (Overall) Rank: 32nd
SF: Marko Murin - Miami Cleo | AR: 24th | AE: 22nd | Total Score: 48.7 | (Overall) Rank: 23rd (Backup PF last season)
PF: Marco Jimenez - Tasty Tardsicles | AR: 10th | AE: 6th | Total Score: 59.8 | (Overall) Rank: 7th
C: Clark Riggins - Żubr Białystok | AR: 7th | AE: 8th | Total Score: 58.9 | (Overall) Rank: 8th

Flyers, Snubs, and other Drubs
While there were 16 total players from my original list that didn't make my list I'm not going to list each one of them, but highlight the ones I could be most wrong on by leaving them off.

First off, Jérome Bégin, San Dominica's PF is ranked 5th overall by his score and misses the cut because of Armstead and Espinosa. But I think he probably deserves a spot. Matthis Anwander, Fondy Cardinal's PF suffers the same fate and was ranked 10th overall. Another decent snub is Linndale's SF Daniil Kamp follwed by Leroy Arevalo from Carolina, ranked 16th and 17th respectively. Ranked 25th, Juljonas Glicas, Philly's SF misses the cut and then the slew of guards of Begley (Carolina) Alidori (San Dominica) and Sébastien Rigaux (Philly) missed out as well. One interesting one to me was Philly's back up SG Paride Fasselli who is 4th in AR but only averages 17.9 minutes per game.

So there you have it - I'm sure I'm terribly incorrect on several fronts. Feel free to criticize!

3-Point Contest Predictions
For the 3-point competition it seems like players have to have shot some where around 50 shots, so I pulled the top six which have shot at least 47 shots (average number of threes taken by the top twenty three point shooters is 51.6), which excludes the following "sharp" shooters thus far:
Navot Peretz - Żubr Białystok - 66.7% on 21 attempts
Fabio Alidori - San Dominica - 57.1% on 35 attempts
Melichar Bobôšík - Żubr Białystok - 53.8% on 26 attempts
Nick Williams - Hustlas - 47.7% on 44 attempts
Michael Stott - Lion Rebels - 47.2% on 36 attempts
Marko Maurin - Miami Cleo - 44.7% on 38 attempts

So, here are my guesses:
Ariel Ziółkowski - 209's MostWanted - 58.6% on 58 attempts
Fabian Carrillo - Lion Rebels - 49.1% on 53 attempts
Kyle Knowles - Linndale - 51.3% on 76 attempts
Victor Papageorgiou - The White Walkers - 45.8% on 48 attempts
Paride Fasselli - Philly Dribble - 42.6% on 47 attempts
Jonata Esposito - Hustlas - 42.2% on 90 attempts

Good luck!

Day 13 (Saturday 25 March 2023) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)
Boom - Cincinnati with the fireworks this weekend!

Night results
209’s MostWanted 57 - The White Walkers 80
Flamin' Flamingos 80 - Cincinnati Slammers 105
Lion Rebels 99 - The Beer Bellys 93
Carolina Rebels 93 - Tasty Tardsicles 90
Philly Dribble 105 - Hustlas 69
San Dominica Warriors 132 - STG on MCU 94
Linndale 91 - Żubr Białystok 90
Fondy Cardinals 106 - Miami Cleo 100

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 132 : San Dominica Warriors
Rebounds : 62 : San Dominica Warriors, Lion Rebels
Assists : 33 : Philly Dribble
Steals : 12 : Philly Dribble, Cincinnati Slammers
Block Shots : 11 : The White Walkers

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 45 : K. Knowles (Linndale)
Rebounds : 20 : J. Delaire (Flamin' Flamingos)
Assists : 11 : M. Maurin (Miami Cleo)
Steals : 4 : M. Velasco (Philly Dribble), P. Stevens (Cincinnati Slammers)
Block Shots : 7 : B. Rivas (Cincinnati Slammers)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : K. Knowles (Linndale) (45 Points, 1 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Shooting Guard : A. Varpukevicius (Miami Cleo) (33 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 28
Small Forward : P. Stevens (Cincinnati Slammers) (36 Points, 9 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 4 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35
Power Forward : R. Ainsworth (Cincinnati Slammers) (28 Points, 19 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 44
Center : B. Pimentel (Philly Dribble) (20 Points, 11 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30

MVP of the evening
R. Ainsworth (Cincinnati Slammers) (28 Points, 19 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 44

The bad performance of the evening
L. Senserrich (Hustlas) (6 Points, 8 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -4

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : G. Locus (Miami Cleo), Y. Skilas (The Beer Bellys) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : N. Hidasi (Żubr Białystok), Y. Skilas (The Beer Bellys) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : C. Wui Kwong (Tasty Tardsicles) : 53 Minutes

The shooter : K. Knowles (Linndale) : 7 Three points

The best performer : V. Papageorgiou (The White Walkers) : Rating : 18.5

The worst performer : T. Lang (Fondy Cardinals) : Rating : 3.5



Last edited by Baine at 3/26/2023 5:38:10 PM

Bobby Sparks sits in his office, lights out, massaging his temples. "This idiot just two players, two bigs. WE need help with a new PG, SG, and SF, with PG being priority. But no, he got two bigs." He sighs. "Maybe I should just fire him now. But he did try. He tried for multiple players, but only got these two, and left some money on the table." He stood and walked over to the light switch, turning on the light in his office. "Yeah, perhaps I'll do it today. Better yet...." He pulls out a silver dollar from his inside suit coat jacket. "Heads I fire him, tails I don't. Actually, heads I fired him and John Walton. Yeah, just be done with it. Tails I don't."

He walked over to his desk then threw the coin into the air. Just then, his door opened and in walked Lukey Kerry, GM, and John Walton, former GM and current coach. The coin hit the desk with a loud thud, then began spinning around. "Looks like it's going to land on heads," though Bobby, knowing he would have to follow his agreement with himself and fire them both. He took his eyes off of the coin and looked up at the men. "Well gentlemen, thank you for coming," he said, propping himself onto the desk while the coin started to slow down. Both men were looking at the coin.

"Luke, you got us two players, but both were bigs. We need a PG. Jonata should no longer lead this team in scoring. He has lost the range. Nick Williams can run it, but he'd be better at the two. Denkovic just proved he should no longer be starting, and Sillick just isn't on that level for this league. He is a backup. So, two bigs. And then you struck out another 7 times. You tried, but it just wasn't good enough Luke. And you John, that last game was a massacre. What is going on with your game planning? The guys have no energy to play the games. Senserrich, what's going on with him? Klin, he seems invisible. So, I tell you what," He listened. The coin had stopped moving and settled down. He knew that it would show heads. He would fire them. He looked at both men as he stood up to his full height. Both men were looking at the coin.

"A Silver Dollar?" asked John Walton. "I haven't seen one of those in a long while. And yours is in good shape. Shiny, clean. "What year is that coin?" asked John. "I can't tell," said Luke, paying close attention to the coin. "I don't see a year."

"It should be on there," said Bobby Sparks, not looking at the coin. It was on heads, so they would have no problem seeing the year. Besides, it was time to fire them both for their performances this season in their respective positions. "I called you both in here...." "That Eagle is not as spread out as the Lady Liberty one," blurted out John. "Oh, sorry Bobby."

But Bobby stopped. "Eagle," he said, then turned. The coin showed tails. The Eagle was showing, and yes, it's not as spread out as the newer Lady Liberty Eagle. "Well I'll be...," said Bobby Sparks. "Okay, gentlemen," he said, turning back to the two men," we will keep an eye out on the team. John, get their Game Shape up. Let's make some noise the second half of the season. And Luke, if these men can't compete, you know what will happen at the end of the season. So let's just, try, and get some wins, and gain back a little respectability."

Both men nodded, then left the office. John looked back at Bobby before walking out the door. Bobby was staring at the coin. John knew something was up with that coin. He couldn't understand Bobby's fixation on that coin, but he knew, at that moment, he was happy with that tails showing.

“Pio, we have to find a way to get Floyd more involved.” The GM was anxious; he wanted to show off his prized acquisition, and wanted him to look good and put up big numbers.

“Don’t do that to me. You know damn well that his impact doesn’t have to show up in his numbers. It’s showing up in his teammates performances. Three games, three different leading scorers, three different number 2 scorers, 2 different leading rebounders, twice with two guys in double digits, all 3 wins. The 3 point shooting is up over 50% in those three games on 57 attempts. 45 free throw attempts in 3 games. No one has scored more than 90 points against us. We’re winning on the boards. We’re still learning each other, so there will be ups and downs, but right now we have a young team that is learning to play a rugged brand of basketball, but they’re killing it from the outside, too. Let them learn and stop doing that Air Allnite crap! You’re letting him live rent free in your head. Could we use a point guard and power forward? Sure we could, but I like what we have. Let’s get Reynolds and Reese and Nguyen ready for the postseason. Let’s get Mann ready. Let’s see what Petriukstis and Tovar can do. Are they perfect? No. Do they need to be tested? Yes. I think Miami is going to provide a test. The White Walkers are formidable. Lion Rebels beat us earlier this season; we need to get that one back. Those are our next 3 games. I haven’t mentioned the Carolina Rebels or Philly Dribble or San Dominica. You know Carolina wants to avenge their loss earlier this season. We got to figure a way to beat Philly Dribble and San Dominica. We gotta beat 209’s Most Wanted, and Fondy Cardinals and the Flamin’ Flamingoes can’t be slept on. Let the kids make their playoff push. If something comes up that makes sense, take advantage. We knew this was going to be a development year and yet we find ourselves in a 4 way fight for 2 spots. If the Lion Rebels slip, it becomes a 5 way fight for 3 spots. This was your plan last season. Why would you doubt it now?” Pio was greatly irritated now.

“What if Allnite is right? What if he sees what we don’t?” The GM was in his own head, Pio thought, and we gotta get him out of there.

“We needed a point guard. Why did you bring in Mantas Pertiukstis,” Pio asked.

“He has the defensive skills we were looking for and the ball skills to build on. Combined with the skills Kyle Knowles and Trenton Tovar possess, they make a very formidable unit. He fits us.”

“So, you grabbed a shooting guard knowing we needed a point guard, because he had the skills and the right fit we needed?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it working out as you expected?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Tovar thriving in the 3rd guard role?”

“I told you he would!” Pio saw he had him with that, and closed in for the kill.

“Then why would you let an old talking head get inside your head like that? Go see if you find more fits. I’ll keep working on coaching the guys up. We’re gonna be just fine. Let the kids grow.”