B Draft

Commentary by CHAS & AUSTIN...

Cleared for Takeoff 89  The Best Hair 72

Cleared for Takeoff dominates from start to finish and takes the title

Cleared for Takeoff 89 - Best Hair 72

With only 4 (without Cundall and Abrams), Cleared for Takeoff absolutely torched a full Best Hair squad, much to my (and Evan's and Tibbs's and KD's) shock. They never trailed, and it was never closer than 12 from about 18 minutes to go in the second half. All four in double figures for CFT, led by goddamn Joel Shaffer with another 33, shooting 4/5 from deep (semis and ship: 74 points, 11/14 from 3). And he had 2 monster blocks negated by fouls on teammates. MVP of the playoffs without a doubt, and I'd be surprised if he isn't drafted top 5 next season.

Best Hair didn't play too badly, but they also played a bit outside of their zone, and got away from what had been twerking for them all season -- a lot of high pick and roll, lot of ball movement on the perimeter of the high P&R. Without it, Chuck was often a little bit stuck, and they weren't as able to get quite as many good looks on offense, at least not consistently. Got a little stagnant at times. Kap was in negative Kap mode, basically from the start. I could tell he was fighting it all night, and it just didn't do Hair any favors. They also needed more from Al and Dan, who struggled to get anything going, outside of a really good 3-4 minute stretch from Dan. Marc kept them within striking distance with a few tough 3s late in the 2nd half (and had a solid game overall), but it ended up being too little too late.

There was just no way Best Hair was ever going to win this one. Sammy Big Boards hit 3 huge 3s in a row in the middle of the second half, finished with 13 and 7. Jet dropped 20 on 3-5 from deep and a couple of tough finishes -- with the left! Pollock: solid as always, did a great job on the boards and keeping the ball moving, getting out in transition. And Joel just casually being the best player in the league. Just as close to a perfect game from those four as you'd likely ever see.

GRADES

Cleared for Takeoff

Pollock (A-) Did everything he needed to, and largely stayed away from the turnovers, which can get him from time to time. Exploited a lot of mismatches on switches, blowing by Chuck a few times. Just a smart, well-played game for Sam

Joel (A+) That stat line above, though excellent, doesn't even do his performance justice. Might say he could've gotten more boards, but he also was getting out and running and burning Hair in transition. Tough to push back against an A+ here.

Jet (A) 3/5 from 3 (and 3/4 when it counted) was huge, and he made a handful of tough buckets at the rim. A couple of nice steals as well and 3 O boards.

McAlpine (A-) Missed some early, but those 3 huge ones in the second half were actually the final daggers. The deflation was just so clear after each of them. Did get beat off the dribble a few too many times, but also had some really good defensive possessions, and he rebounded well.

The Best Hair

Gans (A-) I thought Gans played really well. Fought hard on the boards, scored well -- didn't shoot quite as well as you might expect, but there were a few that were in-and-out. The poor defense was certainly a team effort, but didn't get back on a couple of possessions and had a few lapses.

Leblanc (B+) Lights out in the second half, and he briefly brought Hair back within 12, but an uneven first half and relatively early foul trouble were problems for Leblanc in this one.

Kap (C+) Made some nice plays early in the first, but the frustration soon kicked in, and we saw pessimistic Kap for much of the game. He fought against it, but when it happens, it's palpable.

Chuck (C+) Gotta get more out of Chuck, but it's hard to get him involved when he's not running the P&R. It's where he's at his best, and it's how he ends up with either a lot of easy looks or a lot of offensive rebounds. Still plucked a few, but just wasn't as much of a factor as he needed to be.

Miller (C+) Had one spurt of about 5 possessions where he was all over the place, but the rest of the game just couldn't find his rhythm. Ok on the boards, but also struggled on D in a way that he normally doesn't.

Al (C-) Just non existent for much of the game. Hit one of his nice hook shot / short jumpers in the lane, but struggled on both ends, and didn't hit the boards on either end. 

MVP of the Night/Playoffs: Joel, as I've mentioned

Chasmanian Devil: Sammy Big Boards, with 13/7 and 3 massive 3s in the second half, and held his own on D for 40 minutes.