2016-2017 Playoffs

	1. Orange
4. Yellow		1. Orange
	4. Yellow
5. Red
			2. Green
3. Blue			Champion
	3. Blue
6. Dark Blue		2. Green
	2. Green

Round One, Game One: #3 Blue (Garmes) versus #6 Dark Blue (Tierney)

-You would think after 7 years of consecutive title appearances, some folks would give Mark the benefit of the doubt in high-pressure playoff games. Instead, after a rough back half of the season, commentators were ready to ditch Mark & Team Blue’s title chances altogether. And, at least on paper, it seemed that squaring off against the resurgent Team Tierney was their worst possible matchup in the first round of the playoffs. In fact, Team Blue lost to this very same opponent just one month before. But hopefully this was a reminder to everyone that the playoffs are different. Teams play shorter benches and the effort level sustains for the entire forty minutes. It seems obvious enough, but just TRYING a little harder can bring about a different result. And, in reality, Team Blue could have just shutdown early in this one and stopped trying. Sharpshooter and first overall draft pick Kevin Harrigan hit multiple shots from deep early on as Team Dark Blue raced out to a double-digit lead. But Team Garmes stayed the course, focusing on defense, rebounding, and getting the ball in the paint, which led to continuous lay-up opportunities and free throws. Team Tierney played poorly overall, but most of that you can contribute to the effort of Team Blue, who was willing to get down and dirty and fight them for every rebound and loose ball. It was a low scoring game, which better suits Team Blue’s style of ground and pound. Matt V declared Team Blue underdogs in this matchup, but he might end up choking on that prediction in Round 2 when his Fighting Irish come face to face with Team Black and Blue.

Round One, Game Two: #4 Yellow (Bo) versus #5 Red (Brennan)

-Seeds really do matter in the playoffs, because matchups are so important and can vary so much from team to team. Yellow was easily the biggest team in HatchetBall this year, with two 6’5” big men who know how to use their size in various ways. Team Red was easily the smallest team in HatchetBall, having to outscore opponents to make up for their weak interior. But, as is the case every year, a superior defense usually beats a superior offense in the playoffs. The reasons for this are many, but the simplest one is that you can always rely on defense and effort if that’s what you do well. Teams that rely on streaky shooting will get varied results. Team Red had several scorers, but never really figured out a way to defend as a team. Yellow battered them with size and Red’s quickness advantage only showed itself a few times throughout the game. Yellow won this game easy. It’s hard to say what their chances will be in the semifinals against Team Orange. That game should be an ugly slog, but if Yellow can keep it close, there’s a chance they can pull off the upset.

Round Two, Game One: #4 Yellow (Bo) versus #1 Orange (Vito)

-This game turned into an hourglass pretty quickly. Yellow tried to keep up early on, but it was really only a matter of time before the sand elapsed and the speed of Team Orange overwhelmed the slow Team Yellow. To continue his streak of unreliability both on and off the court, one of Yellow’s primary scoring options didn’t even show up to the game, resulting in a handicap that was too large to overcome. Team Yellow could hang with most teams in the half-court, but on long rebounds and turnovers, there was no chance they were going to recover and stop Orange from an easy one. Rob led the way with an effortless 29 points and cruised to the championship round. Steigerwald added another 21 points to his playoff scoring total and another big fat loss. His playoff record now stands at a paltry 3-4 and he still has not played in the championship game. We’ll see how low Steigs drops in the draft next year.

Round Two, Game Two: #3 Blue (Garmes) versus #2 Green (Matt V)

-It took one of the most exciting finishes in HatchetBall playoff history to end Mark’s streak of 7 consecutive seasons appearing in the championship game. He’ll be watching his first title game from the stands this year, as his 29 points weren’t enough to get by the well-balanced Team Green in Round 2. Luke was steady with 14, 10, 6, and 4 blocks, but Matt Koll was hampered by foul trouble the entire game before fouling out officially with five minutes left to play. Team Blue coughed up a double-digit lead in BOTH halves and this game turned out to be a classic example of “whatever team has the ball on the last play will win.” You’d think players would learn to box out on the final shot, after the countless buzzer-beater put-backs that everyone’s seen over the years, but there it is. In respect to Team Green, they could have shut down multiple times in this game as Team Blue sliced them up for easy buckets all night long, but they didn’t. They continued to play, grabbed a few key rebounds, and hit the right shots at the right time to steal this one away from Team Blue. Team Green probably has the scoring to keep up with Team Orange, but there’s no doubt they’ll need to play their best game of the season to pull the title from Jerry’s midget-like hands.

Championship: #1 Orange (Vito) versus #2 Green (Matt V)

-After many years of, more or less, expected results…it was refreshing to have a season that went off-script a bit. While Rob and Team Orange secured the #1 seed and eased their way into the championship, Team Green needed a miraculous buzzer beater in the semi-finals to get a shot at the title. However, it seemed like Team Green was not going to be a good matchup for the athletic Team Orange and there was concern that Orange was going to waltz towards another title for Rob and the Rat King Jerry Hahn. Instead, Team Green used depth and timely shooting to keep the title game close throughout. It was one of the most memorable title games in HatchetBall history. In fact, forty minutes of regular time wasn’t enough to decide a winner. In overtime, Green held on to a narrow lead of just one point and Rob had the ball in his hands with a chance to personally secure a three-peat for his legacy. He dribbled left, spun right, and was able to instead secure a three-peat for Matt V. In result, we were left with the first title roster in 8 years that didn’t include Mark or Rob. But, let’s be honest: league dominance can only last so long. Even the best of players fade overtime and are overtaken by a new wave of stars. 2017 seems like a natural transition point toward the next phase of HatchetBall, which is a good thing. If Matt V can win a title on his own…literally ANYONE can be a HatchetBall champion.