A Draft

Commentary by LYON & CLARKE...

A47 74  The Old and the Nutes-less 60

Dropped Balls 62  Redeem Team 59

Dropped Balls Claim #1 spot in Instant Classic

Premier match-up in the premier time slot! Our second game of the night featured the #1 and #2 best teams in the league, and they put on an absolute show.

True to Redeem Team form, scoring was at a premium to start this one off. Jibrail started the game with a couple physical drives right down the throat of the defense, initiating a ton of contact before throwing up a wild lay-up attempt and turning around mystified at the lack of a call. Medeiros had a similar reaction to Coy’s defensive efforts, but with some patented Dropped  Balls passing were able to knock down a few buckets anyway. Redeem Team got a jolt when Despots entered and grabbed a nice offensive board and kicked it out to Johnson for his first 3 and tied the game at 15 all. A rather chippy last ten minutes of the half saw Dropped Balls eek ahead, with Medeiros capping a nice little 7 point run with a step back 3 to go up 28-21. Johnson added a bucket at the other end to stay within shouting distance, and we went to the break with DB up 28-23.

The second half started with the scariest sight in CAC basketball (draft or otherwise) - a white hot Matt Medeiros. Presumably a bit peeved by both Jibrails excellent if slightly illegal defense and an inability to draw any calls, Back-to-back stepback 3’s keyed an 11-3 run, capped by an absolutely gorgeous assist to Hunter. Medeiros finally missed about 8 minutes into the second half, only for Pollock to swoop in for a beautiful one-handed put back to go up 48-28 and this one seemed all but over. My #1 ranked team looked to be in shambles.

After an inspired meeting of the minds during the time out, RT showed a mettle rarely seen in A Draft and completely flipped the tables on DB. In just 7 minutes, Jeff Johnson made a solid case for MVP of the league, answering everything Medeiros had done in the previous 8 (including bitching at the refs!). It started innocently enough with a few easy buckets off solid defense, but things really got interesting after a Jeff buried a deep 3 after Lyon missed the second of 2 free throws to draw them within 12, 50-38. Jeff hit two more 3’s, and then scooped and softly scored to bring RT within 6! Not a single one of Jeff’s 3s so much as scraped the rim. From here, DB showed remarkable poise, led by the MVP himself, Matt Medeiros. After a nice dish to Ray who finished a soft and-1, MM added a 3 to stretch the lead back to 7. After another Jeff 3 and a nice Gill finish through a double team, RT would have a chance to tie down the stretch but couldn’t take advantage, and Dropped Balls escaped with the A draft crown and a 62-59 win.

Grades:

Redeem Team:

Coy - B: Another tough offensive night for Coy, but he salvaged it by playing some brilliant physical defense on Medeiros. Dropped a few nice nice dimes again.

Johnson - A: Quiet for most of the first half but he brought his team back from the dead in the 2nd. One of the best offensive stretches I’ve seen in the second half.
Lyon - B-: Pedestrian game from Lyon, although he played great defense. Not much of an offensive threat these days.

Gill - B: DB did a great job of keeping Gill off the glass for the most part, but he did have

Green - C+: Not his best outing, think they can get him a few more open looks on offense though.

Despots - B+: Some really nice passing, and he coupled it with some timely offensive rebounding.

Dropped Balls:

Medeiros - A: Pretty much did it all and then some. Didn’t love him not running back after not getting a foul call down the stretch, but when you are carrying your team like he is I can’t complain too much.

Pendergast - B+: Started off hot, but didn’t see much of him in the second half. Did a very good job on the defensive boards though. His sky-scraping floaters are mind-bending.

Pollock - B+: Great rebounding and defensive performance from Sam. Didn’t do much in the way of scoring, but another solid team game.

Ray - B+: Once again flashed his much improved finishing, but also got into foul trouble down the stretch. Did play pretty good defense against a tough match-up though.

Colin - C+: Didn’t get on the board, and I usually expect to see him knock at least a jumper or two.

Zikaris - C+: Not much to speak of for Kevin.

The Corporation 76  The Penetrators 83

Penetrators snag first win before bidding adieu to leading duo

The nightcap was a let down from the best draft league game I had ever witnessed. Both teams had all their starters present though, which is a real feat when you have MGW on one team and Rosiello on the other, so I’ll take what I can get.

Phil picked up right where Medeiros and Johnson left off, canning 3 of his first 4 three point attempts on nearly consecutive possessions. Pentrators came out with an excellent defensive game plan as well, playing Mazz tight and forcing some tough deep shots for Eric. Content to let anyone else shoot open long-range 2’s, Mulholland stepped up, knocking down several jumpers in his best outing to date. The highlight of the first half was certainly a classic Sydorko mauling of MGW, followed by an equally classic defense of said mauling. The Penetrators really got rolling late in the second half by playing some triangle and 1 against Mazz, turning them over, and seemingly refusing to miss any open shots. Marcel, having his best game of the season, smartly leaked out several times for easy buckets. We even got some sharp shooting from groom-to-be, Billy Jackson, surely looking to start the most important week of his life off right. Brob got in on the act too, knocking down two 3’s when Corp seemed content to let him set up for as long as he wanted from the 3 point line. At half, the Penetrators were sporting some rare basketball-related smiles, up 39-27.

The second half saw a complete abdication of defensive by both teams, which led to some delightfully sloppy and fast-paced basketball. For the first ten minutes of the half, Corp decided to not play a lick of defense. Penetrators, and Phil in particular, were more than happy to take advantage, and stretched the lead out to 20. With the game seemingly out of reach, Penetrators subbed Phil out, and Corp seemed to start playing defense again. I think these two things are related, but it was enough to jump start Corp, helped out by Mazz finally knocking down a few threes and Eric finally knocking down a couple open shots. Sure enough, even when Phil returned, the Penetrators struggled to keep their heads above water. Thank God for Billy Jackson though, as he nailed a huge pull-up 2 to stretch the lead to 6 with 5 minutes left. Corp wouldn’t go away, but could never quite get over the hump. Mazz hit a pull-up 3 to bring them within 2, but Rosiello then missed 2 FT’s which would have tied it. Then, down 3 with 30 seconds left, Sydorko got two WIDE open 3 point shots in a row, but missed them both. I don’t think I need to write down what he said specifically, but he did voice his displeasure for all to hear. Another valiant comeback attempt falls short, and Penetrators get their first victory of the season. Good thing too, as I believe this is the last week they’ll have both MGW and Phil on the floor at the same time.

Grades:

Penetrators:

Phil - A: Unstoppable, and a shame we won’t see him in the playoffs. Lightning quick release took Corp by surprise early, did enough late to steal the deal. Absolutely torched Corp in the first ten minutes of the second half.

Brob - A: Best game of the season, hit his open jumpers, had several nice blocks. Played great team defense, and I can’t say that about pretty much anyone else in this game.

Billy - B+: Not a ton, but came through when his team needed him. His fastbreak pull-up J was massive down the stretch.

Packard - B-: Usually see more from Sam but might have been tough coming off the bench with all 6 guys there. Still got his hands on a few passes but no steals to speak of and he missed a couple he normally makes.

Marcel - A-: Best game to date. Superb rebounding, ran smart fastbreaks, and his best shooting night yet.

MGW - B-: Couldn’t dial it in from deep. Flashed a few nice PnR’s with Phil, I wish I could see more!

Corp:

Mazz - B: Struggled early but drove the comeback in the 2nd half.

Mulholland - A-: Excellent game from John and a nice reminder of why Tibbs was so happy to pick him up for Mazz.

Rosiello - B: Decent outing but his missed free throws loom large.

Sydorko - B-: Missed threes down the stretch and I thought he got a bit reachy on defense despite poking the ball free from Phil a few times.

Ganley - B+: Displayed some nice interior finishing and a knack for snagging o-boards.