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GM: “Coach Reina, are you seeing what I’m seeing here in the data being presented?”

Reina: “Yeah. I’m sure you can understand why I’m equally thrilled and mortified.”

GM: “I do. I get why you would feel that way. On the other hand, this is a very small sample size…”

Reina: “Yet it tracks with what my eyes tell me, and tracks with other recent performances from individuals. Ultimately, it tracks with our stated development goals for the season for our bigs, and we have definitely seen a progression with the group, even accounting for the changes that were made.”

GM: “I know it’s been rough, but we’re getting there. We’re closer to being able to do what we want than we think.”

Reina: “It’s funny you think that. We’re far from it. The best overall ball handling big can’t crack the rotation, and 6 of them are not very good passing at all; they’re not even decent at it. As far as offense, only one would be called a shooter without diminshing the term. That doesn’t even account for the weak inside game. You know we only have 3 players I’d consider usable in the post offensively and one of those is relegated to scrimmages to get time to get caught up because he’s mot playable on the boards.”

GM: “Would you rather we not have him?”

Reina: “No! Are you kidding me?!? That kid is going to be a huge part of the future inside!”

GM: “We’re going to have some hard choices coming up soon…”

Reina: (laughs) “No we won’t; YOU do. That’s YOUR job. I just coach who’s here.”

GM: (laughing) “I knew you were gonna say that and it’s still funny!”

Reina: “Funny, but true!”

GM: “Tell me about your view of the small forward position on the roster. Include Paul Lutz in that assessment.”

Reina: “There are some things that need to happen but I want to have the option of having Lutz and Kamp on the floor together. Consider this: Lutz, Kamp. Knowles, and Coenen, where 3 of them are on the court at all times.”

GM: “That could be a hell of a thing in the postseason, but that’s not playable in the regular season. Severely restricts development.”

Reina: “I’m glad you see it like I do. Garcaa would likely be the 5th player with that grouping, but Mann has given us reason it could be him in a few years. Guevara is in that conversation right now, and so is Czagala. The notable part of that is we don’t have a single guard who is in that conversation.”

GM: “I read you loud and clear. Please, continue on our small forwards.”

Reina: “You know why I love Lutz. You also know why I think he was the best choice for the second unit. Given our recent development at his natural position, he becomes more important. We have to get him where we need him to be there also. At the small, improving his perimeter and inside defense, and then rebounding are the biggest things. Specifically the inside part. If we can get him to get better in all 3 areas…”

GM; “Yeah, I know. Kamp?”

Reina: “He’s a better version of Lutz in many respects. If we can get him to improve that outside shot.---”

GM: “So you think we’re coaching up Lutz to reach Kamp’s level and not vice versa?

Reina: “No. We’re pushing Lutz to be better. All things being equal, I think Kamp is nearor at his ceiling. Lutz still has a level or maybe 2 in some instances to go, but pulling that out of him won’t be easy. Clearly, we all think it’s there.”

GM: “All right, now tell me about Reese.”

Reina: “If it weren’t for the logjam up front, he’d have more improvement in his inside game. Glad you found this kid though. He’s playable for us defensively. We just have to develop the rest of his game and keep improving what’s already there. Next year is going to be huge for him developmentally. We’ve got a meat grinder of a schedule. For us, we’re in the playoffs now, and we have to play as if a loss knock us out. Having said that, I’ll find ways to get him the minutes he needs. He’s as important as Mann for our future.



Last edited by Speedtraps at 12/30/2022 5:59:25 AM

(continued)
GM: “Anyone else you’ve thought about there?”

Reina: “Guevara is one. Needs to improve his passing, but he could move back. His transition to the power forward has been remarkable. Czagala is another. Ball skills and range aren’t what we want offensively, but defensively? He can do it right now and well. Brown is another; I just wish he could shoot.”

GM: “Thanks Pio. These talks help me to understand what and how you see things, what you view as needs, what’s important, and what you want. They really help a lot.”

Reina: “I probably don’t say thank you as much as I should, but thank you. I have a feeling we’re going to be going through this another year before we really begin to compete for a championship run.”

GM: “Pio, we’re in a championship run until we’re not. We’re not all out of the postseason yet.”

Coach: (walking into the room) “So you’re telling me there’s still a chance?”

Week Eight Power Rankings
The Power Rankings return after a week off for the all-star break where inexplicably an injured Terry Armstead started and played 34 minutes in perhaps his career best all-star performance (traditionally he's been garbage in those games), scoring 29 points with 11 rebounds. But the MVP of the game goes to Graziano Gattoni who scored 48 points. The difference in the game came down to 3-pointers with the Great 8 scoring on 20 of 30 shots while the Big 8 could only muster 11 of 25.

Traditionally, I stick very strongly to my power ranking calculations, but this week we've got four teams in a tie for the 3rd spot, so I'll be factoring in season qualifications so far to balance those out. Coincidentally, those four teams are the top four teams in the Great 8, so it shouldn't be too surprising how it shakes out, though I'm not making any promises. In addition, with this being the 8th week of the season, each team will show what their ranking was after week 1 in parenthesis so we can see how things have changed. On to the rankings!

1. San Dominica Warriors (6)
EFFG: 3 OPP EFFG: 2
While they don't have a hold on the top spot in either efficiencies and they've lost 5 games on the season, they still have the highest combined ranking in the two categories. Are they the best team in the league, much less their own conference? Perhaps not. With a loss to The Beer Bellys last weekend where they got out-hustled, followed by a fairly dominating victory over Miami, it's hard to get a read on where they slot in exactly. A relatively easy matchup against BKDogs tomorrow is followed by a challenging matchup with Carolina in a battle for what could be the top spot in the Big 8, depending on what happens with the 2nd ranked team this week.

2. Philly Dribble (1)
EFFG: 1 OPP EFFG: 6
Philly Dribble started the season out hot, with a 142 EFFG and holding opponents to a 47.5 efficiency, but it's been a bit of a topsy turvey season for the dominant squad whose had some injury issues. Some nice easy wins off the back of the all-star break against Motor City and Sweaty Bots leave them salivating in anticipation of destroying this writer's sad sack of a squad next week after likely demolishing BOBBBSBOTS this weekend. While their defensive efficiency has slid a little, their offensive dominance is utterly apparent. I'm guessing they'll remain at the top of the standings in the Big 8 come next week.

3. The Ashkickers (2)
EFFG: 8 OPP EFFG: 1
This marks the start of the four-way tie at 3rd betwixt the top of the Great 8. Technically, according to the calculations, Tylormade's crew would be 5th based on my tie-breaking system, but it's hard to exclude them by two spots with how dominant their defense has been, allowing only 68.5 PPG all season. They're also the only team with only one loss, which probably makes the case for them to be ranked even higher - I just wish their offensive efficiency was higher. There are 9 teams with EFFG of 113 or higher, with the top squad (Philly Dribble) only 13 points higher. The Ashkickers rank 8th in this metric at 115.6. Which isn't Terrible - it's actually quite good. What we're seeing this season is some quality defense from quite a few teams. The truth is, they can score with the best of them and hold the best down. They beat every Big 8 team this go around, which makes it difficult for me to feel good about leaving them in 3rd. But math is math, man! Two more wins on the table this week against Sweaty Bots and The Spartans.

4. Miami Cleo (8)
EFFG: 6 OPP EFFG: 3
Another defensive stalwart, Miami's team has been difficult to score against allowing 71.9 PPG in 14 games (one less because of the walk-over win). They did suffer their 3rd loss to San Dominica last week, but soundly defeated then #1 seed Carolina Rebels. A great matchup is on the books for Saturday night as they travel to face Hustlas before then getting a rematch against Żubr Białystok who allowed the walk-over win early on in the season, so we should get a good glimpse of what that game should have resulted in.

5. Hustlas (7)
EFFG: 2 OPP EFFG: 7
In a diametric flip from all but one of the other top 5 teams, Hustlas enters the fray with the 2nd most efficient offense while giving up a bit more on defense than would be appreciated by the home crowd. Still, they've only lost 3 matchups thanks to a league-leading 103.4 PPG scored. Dominant wins this last week over Lion Rebels and BKDogs to finish out their Big 8 run which brought them said losses to Carolina, Philly, and San Dominica for a rare 3 game losing streak before righting the ship against Linndale and cruising the rest of the way through. A difficult matchup against Miami looms for the right to 2nd place in the Great 8, followed by a TV game on the road at The Keg. Pretty dynamic week for Reece's crew.

6. The Beer Bellys (3)
EFFG: 4 OPP EFFG: 5
Based on my tie breakers (Last week's average ranking followed by OPP EFFG), The Beery Bellys would've been 3rd in these rankings if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands. But with a 9-6 record and having shown a tendency for erratic enthusiasm behavior, it's hard to trust them more than I could trust myself lifting a full keg over my head. While they've shown the capacity to score, they've also had several games where their offense just hasn't shown up, scoring only 59 points in a loss to Carolina and 64 earlier in the season in their first matchup with The Ashkickers. Juan Gilberto Segovia is a sexy pick for a top 10 player in the league, but some nights his shooting is just off (he was 3-16 against Carolina). It was as nice win over San Dominica, but that came at the expense of a loss to Linndale the following game. This week they tee off against the Spartans before hosting Hustlas in the aforementioned TV game.

7. Linndale (5)
EFFG: 9 OPP EFFG: 4
Speedtraps' group has the same record as the #1 ranked team, but finds themselves in 7th based on efficiency ranks. Their defensive efficiency is quite good, ranking in the top 4, but their offensive "woes" leave them ranked this low. Truth is, they're only 13 efficiency points behind the league leader. They're a quality squad that is getting a bad rap. After losing their 2nd game of the season to San Dominica before starting their run through the Great 8, they lost decisively to Miami before stringing together easy wins against the bottom of the heap in the Great 8, then suffered another loss to Hustlas, had a convincing win against Zubr, then loss a relatively close match to The Ashkickers before coming out on top of The Beer Bellys by 6. They've got an important matchup against the 209's tomorrow night before playing host to BKDogs on Tuesday. I think they're a playoff team, but we'll have to see what 209's has to say about that.

8. 209's MostWanted (4)
EFFG: 5 OPP EFFG: 8
With a top 5 offense, 209's only issue is their defensive liability, which isn't really that bad. In fact, they made a nice 13-point improvement on it from week 6 when it was 93.9, could for 10th in the league. They technically tied with Linndale for 7th, but thanks to the previous rankings find themselves slotted a spot lower. Even though they've lost 6 games, their point differential is a healthy 252, which puts them in a good spot to contend for that last playoff spot if it comes down to tie breakers. A nice easy holiday game schedule gave them two wins to boost their win percentage and now they find themselves in a critical matchup hosting Linndale in a rematch of the first game of the season which they lost by 12 on the road. If they win that game, they've got a great opportunity to move up in the standings as they face BOBBBSBOTS next week as well.

9. Carolina Rebels (9)
EFFG: 7 OPP EFFG: 10
This is, most likely, the most egregious ranking I've ever made as Daisy Merollin has done a fabulous job of managing their game shape and enthusiasm, using it to their advantage in opportune times, which has resulted in them only having 4 losses on the season, with the trouble being that in 3 of those losses, they were pretty soundly drummed out and in two of them, looked like they had no business being on the floor. A loss on Christmas Eve to Miami followed by a win over Motor City left them with a 6-2 record through the Great 8 run and now they turn to host the lesser Rebels before facing off against San Dominica - two wins here would solidify their playoff hold, while going 1-1 will leave them about the same, though they'll probably be dropped to the third seed in the Big 8.

10. Żubr Białystok (11)
EFFG: 10 OPP EFFG: 9
Despite losing 9 games, whitestok's group has a +152-point differential and technically still has a shot at the play offs if everything goes right for them and one of the top 4 teams takes a tumble. They enjoyed a nice holiday game schedule having been gifted BOBBBSBOTS for Christmas followed by a dominant performance against the hapless (and injured) Lion Rebels. Next up, what should be a win against Motor City followed by a challenging road game against Miami that they'll probably need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

11. The Philadelphia Spartans (14)
EFFG: 12 OPP EFFG: 11
Coach Victor's group endured a brief amount of hope with their two bigs that transferred in, but that was short-lived as it ended up not being sustainable. They've been all over the board this season, with a thrilling victory over then 1 seed Philly Dribble at the end of November in an incredible upset only to lose their next three games against the rest of the top seeds in the Big 8 and even losing a game to the Terrible Lions. Last week was a nice easy win over BKDogs, followed by a thumping at the hands of 209's MostWanted. They're most likely locked into the 6th seed in the Great 8 as I don't see Motor City having a shot at taking them down even though they're only two games back. But who knows, perhaps the Spartans will surprise us and overtake Żubr for the 5th seed and the right to battle it out against BKDogs for relegation. If they perform well against the Bellys, there's a chance that comes true, but they do face The Ashkickers next Tuesday in what should be a loss.

12. Lion Rebels (11)
EFFG: 11 OPP EFFG: 12
The win over Philadelphia back before the all-star break was a muted victory as it was announced after the game that their star center, Terry Armstead was going to miss two weeks of action due to a sprained knee. While they had hoped a win would spark something, the injury all but sealed their fate with the team moving on from SG/SF Fabio Carillo and selling a young guard due to training schedule changes. With the season appearing to be doomed, they appear to have opted to try to not relegate by bringing in two mid-level guards to stable the ground, though the early returns on that haven't proved promising with Parent and Stott only contributing 10 points in their two losses this week to Hustlas and Żubr Białystok. It doesn't look too promising, however, with Armstead still out after 14 days and matchups against Carolina and Philly Dribble. They appear locked into the 6th seed in the Big 8.

13. Motor City Waddupdoe (12)
EFFG: 14 OPP EFFG: 13
Motor City is in a three-game losing streak after finally getting their 3rd win on the season in a victory over BKDogs before the all-star break. Losses to Philly Dribble and Carolina weren't particularly close as they closed out their Big 8 tour with a 2-6 record. But a light is on the horizon after they face off against Żubr in a TV game on the road as they host Sweaty Bots in what is most likely their last win of the season unless they can pull something off against the Spartans next week.

14. BKDogs (14)
EFFG: 13 OPP EFFG: 14
BK has embarked on their 3rd losing streak of the season, dropping games to the Spartans and Hustlas in games that were not very close. But, in good news, they've brought in 6 new players since December 18th, including 35-year-old PG Adrián Galaz, 33-year-old Viktor Lošták, and 33-year-old Karl Easter to play alongside stars Patryk Matkowski and Gilbert Sankoh. The next step in the process is to improve on that game shape. They've got a matchup against the recovering Lion Rebels in week 10, but if they want to get the 6th seed, they'll need to beat at least one other very capable team to try to knock the Rebels down to 7th. (So you're saying there's a chance!) EDIT: I totally hadn't read Speedtraps posts before I wrote this - nice coincidence.

15. Sweaty Bots (15)
Fun fact: if a team goes bot but had set a default lineup and tactics, they still play those tactics and don't revert to Base Offense.

16. BOBBBSBOTS (16)
Fare thee well.

Good luck this week - hope you all had a nice holiday season!

"Why can't we stop the Look Inside offense?" shouts Bobby Sparks. "I don't know. But if Miami Cleo picked this offense, and we picked Outside defense, then we don't have a chance to win this one. It is our weakness. And it's all our losses," said John Walton. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Are you watching this game?" Asked Bobby Sparks. "I don't think so."

"I'm happy we won, but don't start getting the big head. From here on out, every game is a playoff game for us. We cannot afford to slip. You guys understand that? Yes we won, but I'm not happy. Fine, we had 3 guys grab double figures in rebounds, BUT THEY STILL OUTREBOUNDED US!!! WE TURNED THE BALL OVER TOO MUCH!!! THEY MATCHED US IN STEALS AND HAD MORE BLOCKS!!! THAT'S DESIRE!!! THEY HAD THAT "WANT TO"!!! WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO SHOW ME THAT WANT TO?!?" Pio Reina was enraged with his basketball team's performance. "That is not championship basketball. Not going to get it done. Not going to get us to the finals. Not going to get us to the congerence finals. Hell, it won't get us out of the first round. You know better; now do better."

"On the bright side," Pio continued, "welcome back Kyle. Nice to have you visit, Mr. Kamp. Please do stay for a while and make yourself at home. Now I have a question. I'm going to leave this locker room and let you all think about it. My starters don't have to answer this but the bench does; I got a different question for you guys. Hey Bench, you DO know the ball goes IN THE BASKET... right? And starters, spefiically the bigs, you DO know how to score points, right? WE put the ball in the hole, THEN WE STOP THE OTHER TEAM FROM DOING THE SAME!!! THIS IS HOW YOU PLAY BASKETBALL AND WIN!!! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Walking out of the locker room, Pio looks back at the team. "Nice win. Do better."

Pio Reina grabs his phone to charge it when it goes off in his hands. He opens the incomin text message.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. We're shooting. Hope you know if we make any by the time you wake up. And nice speech after the game yesterday. You rattled a couple of people, and they needed it."

Pio's last coherent thought as he drifts of to sleep is "I hope we wreck the depth chart..."

Day 16 (Saturday 31 December 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Lion Rebels 90 - Carolina Rebels 105
BOBBBSBURGS 46 - Philly Dribble 120
Linndale 87 - 209’s MostWanted 77
San Dominica Warriors 103 - BKDogs 71
The Ashkickers 128 - Sweaty Socks 38
The Beer Bellys 114 - The Philadelphia Spartans 102
Miami Cleo 102 - Hustlas 92
Motor City Waddupdoe 42 - Żubr Białystok 97

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 128 : The Ashkickers
Rebounds : 64 : Philly Dribble
Assists : 39 : Philly Dribble
Steals : 14 : The Ashkickers
Block Shots : 11 : Żubr Białystok

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 30 : K. Knowles (Linndale)
Rebounds : 20 : C. Riggins (Żubr Białystok), S. Klin (Hustlas)
Assists : 12 : D. Santana (Miami Cleo)
Steals : 5 : M. Maurin (Miami Cleo)
Block Shots : 4 : C. Riggins (Żubr Białystok)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : D. Santana (Miami Cleo) (14 Points, 7 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 4 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 29
Shooting Guard : L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors) (28 Points, 10 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36
Small Forward : Y. Georgoulis (The Beer Bellys) (28 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Power Forward : L. Talbot (Philly Dribble) (21 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Center : S. Asulin (The Philadelphia Spartans) (18 Points, 11 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34

MVP of the evening
L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors) (28 Points, 10 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36

The bad performance of the evening
L. Adams (Sweaty Socks) (6 Points, 1 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots)J. Medina (Motor City Waddupdoe) (5 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -7

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : G. Locus (Miami Cleo), H. Espinosa (Carolina Rebels) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : A. Bueno (Sweaty Socks), L. Arevalo (Carolina Rebels), I. Gamón (Motor City Waddupdoe) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : G. Locus (Miami Cleo) : 53 Minutes

The shooter : K. Knowles (Linndale), B. Coenen (Linndale), L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors), Y. Georgoulis (The Beer Bellys) : 4 Three points

The best performer : M. San Miguel (The Ashkickers), C. Riggins (Żubr Białystok) : Rating : 17.5

The worst performer : J. Moore (BOBBBSBURGS), J. Billingsley (BOBBBSBURGS) : Rating : 2.0

"I'm relatively new here, but I'm the most experinced guy here. Most of you guys don't have a clue what we're in for. You'd better listen up. We're fighting for a playoff spot, we're fighting for seeding, and we do not have the luxury of an easy schedule."

Ubaldo Pestana hadn't said much since he arrived, but it was clear he was respected in the locker room and his teammates were taking note of his words.

"I hear the talk. I'm putting a stop to it right now. We've got 6 games left. We hold a 2 game lead on 209's Most Wanted. We have 2 trap games we can neither afford to overlook our opponent or lose. We have 3 games that are essentially playoff games. We cannot afford to lose. We have 1 game that's a scrimmage,---"

"BOBBBSBURGS!!!", screamed the team in unison, briefly interrupting Pestana.

He continued, "and if we take care of business that scrimmage will come right before what might be the most important game of the year. You frontcourt guys are very green. My advice is listen to those of us that have been there and gotten some hard won experience. That's me, Antti, and Kyle. Don't sleep on Bobbie, Paul and Daniil either; they don't have the experience we have but they have more than the lot of you and we will be chirping in their ears too. I wasn't brught in to be here long term and I know that. This is what I'm here for. This is my playoff now. This is your playoff now. You can be good, or you can be great. If you don't want to be great, get out of my locker room. This could be my last shot, and I'm not about to have a snot nosed, brain dead punk mess this up for me."

No one left the room.

"Even you guys who don't play much, you're more important now than ever. Bring it. Give us everything you got in practive and scrimmages. Your job is threefold: Get better, make US better, and be ready. If someone gets hurt, you're up AND THERE ARE NO EXCUSES. DO YOUR JOB TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES. COACHES INCLUDED. You guys do that, I promise you we'll sort the rest out."

"Coach, Coach Reina, that's all I have to say. You can come inside now, I know you're outside the door."

Walking in to the locker room, Pio remarks, "Coach, I guess you're in charge now. I feel like I'm supposed to suit up!"

Coach barks out, "ALL RIGHT, WHO'S READY TO WORK?"

"NO DAYS OFF" reply the players in unison.