Saturday Draft League

Commentary by DJORDJE & MAZZ...

Angels in the Backcourt 59  The Corporation 110

Corporate Greed Curb Stomps Angels

For the first game of the season, we had an Angels in the Backcourt squad who were without their first-round pick in Lagno and their fearless leader Alan. On the other side, only Martins was out (though I hear that he may be out for the season, so it’ll be interesting to see who fills in the rest of the season if that’s the case).

The game started off with both teams putting up shots at a rapid-fire pace (I learned quickly that I needed to make my tallies in the stat sheet much smaller once I saw that I was running out space by halftime). Though both teams were putting up shots, the Corporation was actually hitting theirs while AITB was back-rimming 3’s and missing lay-ups. For the Corporation, it was Mazz doing most of the scoring either pulling-up from 3 or putting on the jets when the D wasn’t set for the easy lay-up. Dylan was a monster on the boards pulling in D boards and sending outlet passes to Mazz forcing AITB to get back and play D (if you can call it that). EJ, Marra, and Brooks did a great job with spacing by being in the right spots for Mazz and Dylan to make the extra pass for the open shot.

On the other side, you had buddies Morel and Pasian try and answer the Corporation’s scoring as Pasian was either slashing to the basket or pulling from 3 anytime he was behind the arc. Morel would play more of a stretch big either trying to muscle it in from the paint or taking the catch and shoot 3’s. Blaikie would chip in with some 3’s and Agresti creating some second-chance opportunities off of O boards. By halftime, the score was 50-30 with Mazz already having 40.

In the second half, it would only get worse for AITB as what was a bad defensive effort in the first half became atrocious. The Corporation’s offense started to become more diversified with more offensive possessions where guys were making the extra pass or cutting backdoor for wide-open lay-ups. Marra, Brooks, and EJ were getting wide-open 3’s and hitting them like it was nothing. Mazz and Dylan just kept dimming them up with 10 and 8 assists each. AITB kept putting up shots to try and keep up with the Corporation, but it looked like it was just compounding the issue as it created more transition opportunities for the Corporation.

FINAL SCORE: 110 – 59 The Corporation

Player Grades:

The Corporation

Mazz (A+) When you have a 72-point triple-double and outscore the other team by yourself that’s gotta be up there as one of your best career performances.

Dylan (A) I honestly thought I was doing something wrong when I saw all of the tallies in the rebound column for this guy. He was unbelievable on the glass and he was making really nice passes on offense, could have had a triple-double in this one.

EJ (A-) Hit a lot of the looks he got, was efficient when he was on the floor, and didn’t force looks.

Marra (A) Dude was cutting to the open spaces and getting open lay-ups. Made his 3’s and brought some really good defensive energy that turned into some transition opportunities.

Brooks (B+) Solid game from him, was efficient on both sides. I think he’ll have games where he’ll make more of an impact based on the flashes I saw.

Angels in the Backcourt

This might seem harsh for the first game…but if the WHOLE team gets outscored by ONE guy that warrants an F for each person. I’ll still give thoughts on guys though.

Pasian – Guy looks like he can score, had some good drive and finishes, but he forced a lot of 3’s that didn’t look good. Also didn’t have him for any assists which is not a good sign if you’re getting the most touches on the squad.

Morel – His outside shot looked good and he was working it in down-low earlier in the game. But needs to be able to finish more on the inside and needs to create more second-chance opportunities on the boards if he’s gonna be the big on the team.

Blaikie – Made a decent number of 3’s when he got the touches. The team should have looked for him more instead of forcing the other stuff.

Agresti – Created some second-chance opportunities, quietly chipped in some points.

Super Spreaders 53  Splash Mountain Guy 91

You Got Tibbs'D 55  WTF 52

Tibbs’D Comes Back to Hold Off WTF at the Buzzer

Jamil would only have Tyreke and Keddy in this one with Motha filling in. You Got Tibbs’D was coming in with a fully loaded squad. The game would start off with cold shooting from both teams as they were both settling for outside shots. Finally, WTF would start using their athleticism via Keddy to get to the basket for some nice lay-ups. Jamil was also using some of his veteran CAC experience to get some points for his squad from some off the dribble 3’s and finding some holes in the paint for lay-ups and trips to the line. For Tibbs’D, DiNuzzo was starting to find his shot hitting 3 3’s in the first half. Taiye would also chip in with a few buckets to keep Tibbs’D within striking distance at half where WTF would be up 30-23.

In the second half, WTF started to lose momentum as whatever offensive flow they were showing in the first half ceased to exist. There seemed to be less ball movement in the half-court for WTF which resulted in a lot of isolation jump shots that didn’t convert. On the other side, there was a more noticeable contribution from the rest of the squad as Taiye turned it up finishing with a team-high 19 points. Washburn would stretch the floor for them hitting a couple of 3’s and securing D boards for the team. DiNuzzo would cool off from a scoring perspective, but he continued to run the floor dimming up guys with good looks. With 10 minutes to go, Tibbs’D brought the game within 1 possession. Keddy would start to use the defensive attention he was getting to put in some slick passes to Motha in the paint. Jamil would continue to add points for the team to hold the lead and found open looks for his guys. But going into the final 5 minutes, Tibbs’D would take the lead behind a key 2 and 3 pointer from Corporan. WTF would try to answer and take back the game with the ball at 5.6 seconds left on clock down by 3. After coming out of the timeout, Jamil got the ball on the left-wing and took a 3 that would have sent the game into OT, but the ball ended up going off back-rim and that was game.

FINAL SCORE: 55 – 52 You Got Tibbs’D

Player Grades:

You Got Tibbs’D

DiNuzzo (B+) Kept his guys in it the first half, felt like he wasn’t able to find his scoring in the second half. Continued to contribute to his team in the second half through facilitating and defense.

Balogun (B+) Led the team in scoring, made some good shots. Thought there were some questionable shot selections from him, but if he can clean that up could be a really good scoring option for this team.

Washburn (B) Looked like he was trying to find his fit with the squad. Made more of an impact in the second half with 3’s and boards that helped contribute to the win.

Wood (C+) Similar to Washburn, was trying to find his footing with the squad. Made some contributions with 6 points and 6 rebounds, will be interested to see how he is used as the season goes on.

Corporan (B-) Was a non-factor in the first half but made some really key shots at the end of the game which was critical to the win.

Balcerzak (C-) Didn’t really see much from him, we’ll see what kind of role he carves up for himself as the season goes on.

WTF

Jamil (B) Thought it was a good game from Jamil, he did most of the team’s scoring, made some good passes, and created some turnovers. There were some forced isolation 3’s that didn’t help with their offensive flow in the second half.

Keddy (B) Liked what I saw from Keddy, was finding his stride with those drives to the basket and used good vision to find Motha on some easy baskets, but was 0-5 from 3.

Robinson (C-) Was expecting more from him in this game, was pretty quiet all game. Like the rest of the team couldn’t find the outside shot.