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"They are playing Look Inside and we went with a 3-2? Come on coach," says Josef Talman at Halftime of the Hustlas @Philly Dribble game. "And Ziehaus is exhausted. He's going to get injured or something. He can't do much out there."

John Walton paces in the locker room. "You heard the GM. There's not much we can do. We may very well lose this game. And come Monday, you all will be on the transfer wire as we search for a new, much weaker team, and next season get demoted. But there is nothing we can do about it."

"You could have at least let us play man to man. We would win this game close in man to man with us in Run and Gun. The bigs can't get us the ball, they are too tired. They'd be killing the boards and insides. We miss Samuk, and the others," says Legkauskas.

"Just do your best. The game plan is my fault. But just do your best," says John Walton.

"We had them, we really could have," says Huk. "If only we had not played that defense and offensive set. The bigs could have rested a bit more, and we could have beaten this team."

The GM Bobby Sparks walks into the locker room. "Tough break guys. I think we'll be getting a lot of those, if we hold out on this roster. Sadly it looks like all of you will be on the transfer wire come Monday. But if not, you'll have a lot of games like this. Good news, you're still tied for first place, for now. I don't see that being maintained, but just keep going. Philly Dribble or Rip City is winning this league. You don't have to worry about that. You won't even make it out of the first round. We'll just have to wait and see."

Linndale News and Notes--- The Rotation
Since training the week of the "backwards lineup" to train guards inside offense, Kyle Knowles has been a house afire. He's scored 47 and 43 points respectively in the two league games since, with a combined 16 of 31 from deep. He's also achieved his first 15.0 or higher ratings of the season in league play, hitting 15.5 and then 16.0 respectively. In that span he's 33 of 64 from the field. with 7 steals, 7 assists, and 1 turnover. In the same period, Bobbie Coenen has 14 assists, 1 turnover and 7 steals. He'a also had his highest ratings of the season with a 15.0 followed up with a 14.5. Since his arrival, he has 65 assists to 5 turnovers in league play. That's a 13 to 1 assist to turnover ratio! That's so insane, we're asking STATS to verify that.

Paul Lutz in the same two game period averaged 24 ppg, with 7 boards and 5.5 dimes, 3 steals and 2.5 blocks.
That trio clearly likes this new style.

Arley Coronado has only played 1 of those games since the backwards lineup going 22pts, 12 boards, an assist and 4 steals. Frontcourt mate Mikhail Klimenkov has also only played 1 game in that period, going for 8 points and 11 boards with an assist. Observers note that during the backwards lineup, Klimenkov averaged 15 pts, 9 boards 2 assists and 4 steals; while never a huge scorer, Klimenkov seems willing to give up shot attempts and focus on what is needed from him for the sake of the team. Privately, coaches wonder how to light that fire and unleash his inner beast.

Árpád Sütöri is said to be working furiously on his inside game. When asked about his goal, he indicated making Linndale's bench more versatile would be beneficial to running the press full time. "I'm just trying to be one of the guys on the floor when we finally explode. We haven't even hit our stride yet..." Joe Brown similarly agrees: "Coach told me what to work on and that's what I'm doing. I don't think they understand what's coming if we get firing on all cylinders, and I say that knowing full well I may not be on the floor for that explosion, but I 'm gonna try as hard as I can to be!" Brown says he's working on his jumper and his work on the boards. Nick Guevara says he can work on both his inside and outside games, but he really wants to on his passing, too. He's hoping to get some time at guard to work on his passing and his perimeter defense. "Gotta tighten that up; I wanna be able to go back and play some small forward if needed." When asked what he was working on, Musa Özol said passing and inside play. He says his goal is to either take the starter's job from Knowles or be a 20 point guy off the bench. He knows he has work to do. Duilio Teti wants another inside camp for the guards. "If we can make our layups, that's huge. Coach figures we win at least 2 and maybe 3 of the games we lost. "We still don't have an answer for Philly Dribble, but maybe the answer is to make them answer us. We'll see..."

Balthasar Gebhardt Datler says he's focused on the inside game right now, but will be working on those perimeter skills too. He says he wants the backup center minutes when postseason comes. Kevin Jung, for his part, says he'll help where he can, but his focus is on tightening up his inside game and finding time to steal minutes to develop his perimeter game. It looks like these two will be going back and forth for that spot come the postseason.

Attempts to speak with Daniel Gale were refused. When asked about him, players indicated off the record he's got a lot of growing up to do. Said one player, "I'd like to take him under my wing, but he's not a kid. He's a professional now. Dancing in the locker room when we think he's injured ain't a good look."

Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/19/2022 12:34:07 AM

Day 14 (Saturday 17 September 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)
Loving the coach drama you gents have added into the conversation!

Night results
The Ashkickers 114 - Linndale 123
Miami Cleo 91 - Lion Rebels 89
2 percent 60 - Rip City Revival 133
Is This Heaven? 89 - The Lone Wolf 103
The Beer Bellys 115 - Mighty Moose Rockets 64
Żubr Białystok 106 - Carolina Rebels 104
Tachenko 69 - San Dominica Warriors 93
Hustlas 97 - Philly Dribble 110

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 133 : Rip City Revival
Rebounds : 66 : The Ashkickers
Assists : 37 : Rip City Revival
Steals : 15 : Linndale
Block Shots : 8 : Miami Cleo, Linndale, The Lone Wolf, Rip City Revival

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 43 : K. Knowles (Linndale)
Rebounds : 19 : P. Baker (Is This Heaven?)
Assists : 9 : J. Glicas (Philly Dribble)
Steals : 4 : M. Woesler (Philly Dribble), J. Glicas (Philly Dribble), K. Knowles (Linndale), A. Coronado (Linndale), J. Segovia (The Beer Bellys), V. Laddha (Rip City Revival)
Block Shots : 5 : P. Lutz (Linndale)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : L. Rojas (The Ashkickers) (25 Points, 7 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), I. Fuica (The Lone Wolf) (26 Points, 5 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 0 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Shooting Guard : K. Knowles (Linndale) (43 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 4 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43
Small Forward : V. Laddha (Rip City Revival) (21 Points, 6 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 4 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Power Forward : H. Espinosa (Carolina Rebels) (25 Points, 14 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Center : D. Ziehaus (Hustlas) (24 Points, 14 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36

MVP of the evening
K. Knowles (Linndale) (43 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 4 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43

The bad performance of the evening
H. Stark (Tachenko) (3 Points, 1 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -7

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : E. Kljajević (Mighty Moose Rockets), H. Stark (Tachenko), F. Torreira (Is This Heaven?), V. Sesamo (The Ashkickers), S. Legkauskas (Hustlas), K. Huk (Hustlas), K. Park (2 percent) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : O. Engler (Carolina Rebels), V. Sesamo (The Ashkickers) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : G. Locus (Miami Cleo), J. Cadelago (Mighty Moose Rockets), H. Espinosa (Carolina Rebels), L. Arevalo (Carolina Rebels), M. Carrillo (Lion Rebels), R. Sedonio (Lion Rebels), H. Quindós (Żubr Białystok), K. Park (2 percent), P. Mari Acuña (2 percent), M. Rubin (2 percent), F. Bowie (2 percent) : 48 Minutes

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

The best performer : N. Neochoritis (Rip City Revival) : Rating : 17.5

The worst performer : O. Oynak (Mighty Moose Rockets) : Rating : 1.5

Pio Reina live at halfcourt where Coach is making an announcement.

Coach: I just wanted to tell good folks here at home I'm gonna have to step away from basketball for a few weeks, but I'll be back for the playoffs. Doctor's orders and all that. In my absence, the team will continue running things as they see fit. I guess I'll just have to watch and listen to Happy and Pio like the rest of you good folks.

See you guys in the playoffs, and know I love each and everyone of you all. Thank you for your support.

Hope everything is okay and wish you a speedy recovery!

"Coach thanks you for your concern. He assures all concerned that he will be back for the playoffs and ready to go."

- Vikentij Cimovski, Manager of Public Relations for the Linndale Basketball Club.

Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/20/2022 7:43:52 PM

Pio Reina live postgame with Linndale point guard Bobbie Coenen after tonight's 94-66 win over Miami Cleo. Bobbie, we saw a different style than what we've seen recently. What gives?

Coenen: Pio, we knew Miami would try and slow things down a little bit, and since we wanted to work on some things with our bigs, we thought it best to put the press away both offensively and defensivvely.

Pio: To that end Guevara and Jung starting and playing most of the minutes in the paint was planned?

Coenen: Yeah, and though offensively it wasn't pretty for them, they showed up on the boards and defensively. That's what we wanted to see.

Pio: You had a great night shooting the ball, but it appears that Miami was able to take away your playmaking tonight. Why was that not a problem for the team?

Coenen: I actually have two point about that. First, I made shots and got steals. Those are plays. That's the definition of playmaking.

Pio: I get that. What's your other point?

Coenen: Paul Lutz has been the starting small forward ever since he got here, but I think a lot of folks have forgotten he's listed on the roster as a point guard. Always has been. He came here knowing full well he'd be playing there. He's our second leading scorer, second on assists, 3rd in steals, 3rd in three point shooting percentage AND shooting percentage, first in blocked shots; he just does whatever we need whenever we need it. If the point guard is the team's conductor, he's the percussion. Percussion gotta be steady, man.

Pio: Interesting analogy, Bobbie. What's the takeaway from tonight?

Coenen: Just trying to work on fundamentals of Linndale basketball. Defense, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, and free throw shooting. We have to do a better job taking care of the basketball, and we have to get to the line more. The rebounding is a work in progress; it's not nearly where we want it. The defense was nice, but we can be better. Playoffs are a halfcourt game, so we still have work to do.

Pio: Bobbie Coenen, starting point guard for Linndale. Thanks for joining us Bobbie,

Coenen: Thanks for having me.

Pio: Bobbie had a lot of good things to say about Paul Lutz, but Bobbie was the star of the show tonight. Back to Happy Ourer in the studio!

Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/20/2022 10:16:44 PM

Day 15 (Tuesday 20 September 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Linndale 94 - Miami Cleo 66
Lion Rebels 104 - 2 percent 107
Rip City Revival 143 - Is This Heaven? 28
The Lone Wolf 87 - The Beer Bellys 110
Mighty Moose Rockets 53 - Żubr Białystok 141
Carolina Rebels 83 - Tachenko 103
San Dominica Warriors 121 - Hustlas 109
Philly Dribble 115 - The Ashkickers 125

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 143 : Rip City Revival
Rebounds : 79 : Rip City Revival
Assists : 43 : Rip City Revival
Steals : 11 : Żubr Białystok
Block Shots : 12 : Rip City Revival

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 45 : K. Brown (Lion Rebels)
Rebounds : 26 : D. Wilmink (2 percent)
Assists : 10 : E. Rutledge (Rip City Revival)
Steals : 5 : C. Riggins (Żubr Białystok)
Block Shots : 7 : F. Fornels (Rip City Revival)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : K. Brown (Lion Rebels) (45 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 38
Shooting Guard : F. Carrillo (Lion Rebels) (32 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 25
Small Forward : G. Gattoni (The Ashkickers) (44 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36
Power Forward : F. Fornels (Rip City Revival) (18 Points, 11 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 1 Steals, 7 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 40
Center : Y. Semiramis (The Beer Bellys) (40 Points, 12 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots), D. Wilmink (2 percent) (28 Points, 26 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 4 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 47

MVP of the evening
Y. Semiramis (The Beer Bellys) (40 Points, 12 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots), D. Wilmink (2 percent) (28 Points, 26 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 4 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 47

The bad performance of the evening
W. Huffman (The Beer Bellys) (0 Points, 1 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), : Efficiency : -12

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : E. Kljajević (Mighty Moose Rockets) : 7 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : A. Varpukevicius (Miami Cleo), L. Shunhao (Philly Dribble), R. Cuberas (Mighty Moose Rockets), N. Mezzalira (The Lone Wolf), T. Ogata (2 percent) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : A. Gallucci (Miami Cleo), E. Albright (Mighty Moose Rockets), E. Kljajević (Mighty Moose Rockets), W. Johnson (Mighty Moose Rockets), T. Plummer (Carolina Rebels), B. George (Carolina Rebels), J. Cantrell (Is This Heaven?), T. Medina (Lion Rebels), D. Harden (Lion Rebels), S. Hatch (Żubr Białystok), J. Gołas (2 percent), D. Wilmink (2 percent) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : K. Brown (Lion Rebels), F. Carrillo (Lion Rebels), K. Huk (Hustlas) : 7 Three points

The best performer : N. Neochoritis (Rip City Revival) : Rating : 17.0

The worst performer : W. Johnson (Mighty Moose Rockets), B. Ross (Is This Heaven?) : Rating : 0.5

"The Hustlas are in trouble. All of their players are on the transfer wire, and they lost two in a row. With 7 players, you will struggle to win when players are exhausted halfway through games. Even still, better coaching could have resulted in possibly two wins. But that's all a toss up," says ESPN anchor 1.

The second anchor took a deep breath. "This season for the Hustlas is over. Unless they can make a profit off of their players and rebuild immediately like they've done before, I don't see them staying in this division. Sorry for them, they had a good half season, but it's over."

"I agree. No playoffs this season, and demotion next season. That's what I see. And I think it would be wise to tank a little bit," says the first anchor.

"I agree," says the second. "Make some money, build your roster, have some luck, and hopefully move on up. Because these next few seasons are shot. And if they try to win, it will only get worse."

Bobby Sparks, GM of the Hustlas watch the show as they talk sbout his team. "You never know what cards I have up my sleeves," he says to no one in particular. "We are not making any money on these players. If we don't make money, we can't buy new players, and this franchise is over and done with. Maybe it's time. I am thinking of buying my own team. But we'll see. Hope is still alive. And we know what we're capable of."

The owner of the Hustlas, "Yes, we know, we showed it, but that's it. I'm tired. And I don't want to sale. I want it to be over."

"You can't be serious," says Bobby Sparks.

"I am. I love this game, I love this league, and this division, it's excellent. I love these teams here. But, I am tired. It's time to fold."

"If you do," says Bobby Sparks. "Do I have permission to use the Hustlas name? For my own team and businesses once I get started?"

The Owner looks at him, "We'll see Bobby, we'll see."

"It's over. Time to hang them up," says the owner of the Hustlas. There are no players, thus no team. They are all gone, and we are still in debt. Most of the players were undersold, but, nothing we can do about it. But, I will fold this team and it's other team, and call it a career."

"I say we wait," says Bobby Sparks, GM. "Let's see what happens. Maybe we can recover, though that will take multiple seasons. But let's see if we can get lucky. We have a few weeks left. We will not have a team for at.least two to three weeks. That's six losses right there. That would put us at 11-10. And maybe by then we have a team. Relegation may be or may not be in the cards. We will see. But we need about 9 good quality players. Or we can field a team that can compete at the lowest levels, but we get relegated the next two to three seasons. I don't mind starting over. It was fun then. Though it was more fun now before you took it to extremes with the final purchase, and then refusal to get rid of it cut him. You did the same with the other team. But you are the owner."

"Yes I am. And I guess that's why I should hang it up now. But, we will see what happens. Salvage this season, if you can. And if you can't, no harm done."

I've been exactly where you are right now. I liquidated the entire club and got about 1-1.2m for a rebuild. It was brutal. I fired all of my staff and just reset the economics of my club. My strategy was to find two trainees for 80% of my capital. I tried to find guys that were about 22-24 with high potential, that I knew I could train and sell for a profit. Nobody on that roster was a long term guy. . everyone was an asset or filler to help me get to the minimum salary for the league. It took a bit, but slowly I was able to pull through and start getting back to a club that felt more like what I was used to. Along the way I learned that I wanted a different type of player. I decided to focus most of my investment on guys that could have a defensive build, and on guys that had high secondaries. For my current club it means that I've got multiple guys that are +10 OD and ID. Everyone builds differently and I don't know what the right way is. For me anchoring around defense has been a way for me to get higher TSP with somewhat lower salaries.

Good luck with your rebuild. I know you didn't get the money you wanted but hopefully that just means you'll find guys for cheap right now because the market is down.