2022-2023: Week 4 Player Reports

Game 1: Team Blue vs. Team Black

-This game was a pretty clear example of teams going in opposite directions. Blue battled hard and endured some extreme roster disruption to start their season 0-2. With everything now sorted out, they continued the fast-paced style that has served them well and brought it to new heights. They had an extremely balanced attack with almost 6 players in double figures. Konrad fits in well, as he’s probably at his best when picking his spots, not as the primary ballhandler every play. Blue has already played the 2 best teams, so they should be able to beef up their record in the coming weeks until they get those rematches and can see how good they really are. Team Black needs a team dietician and a therapist. They look slow and punchless. Ed was very effective early and dropped off like he always seems to do. At certain points, Jay was battling pretty much by himself. There were moments when Team Blue was playing 5-1 in the front court leading to a ton of easy looks. It starts with effort. Until Black finds a way to get consistent effort for 40 minutes, nothing else really matters and they’ll find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoff picture.

Game 2: Team Pink vs. Team Green

-In the most anticipated game of the year so far, this one lived up to the hype for the most part. The first half was exciting and fast-paced. Green moved the ball well and converted on seemingly every open shot they created. Team Pink took their first major punch to the mouth of the season and struggled to find a way to respond in the first half. But, importantly, they didn’t let the game get out of hand and they didn’t change what they do out of desperation. Even with a last second bucket by Green, Pink had trimmed the lead to single-digits going into the half, which allowed some confidence for the last 20 minutes. From there on, they got back to business, allowing just 8 points in the second half and completing the comeback win. It wasn’t pretty, but that’s not the style of this squad. Pink’s shooting will come and go, but if their effort remains persistent, they will absolutely wear teams down. All of the things Green did well in the first half evaporated under pressure from the Pinkertons. Even without one of their key starters, Team Pink’s depth was on full display. Due to a scheduling glitch, Pink won’t be able to ride the momentum of this big win, but the early returns on their season should have them as the team to beat.

Game 3: - Team Yellow vs. Team White

-Speaking of scheduling glitches, we saw Team White in Week 1 just barely get by the lowly Team Purple and we haven’t seen them since. Team Yellow has shown flashes of being a hard-nosed, athletic squad, but haven’t been lighting the nets on fire. This was one of those games where the differences in the teams was obvious, but you had to see it play out live to believe it. Rob’s team is slow and soft. Matt V’s team is fast and dynamic. It’s still troubling that the only “easy” baskets they get are offensive rebounds of their own misses, but their lineup is causing problems for opponents each week. Not many can deal with their combination of size and speed so far. Team White’s DNA is to out-score teams, but that isn’t going to happen unless Rob and Carter step up their aggression in a big way. They have plenty of shooting and they were missing Stan in Week 4, which would have helped a ton, but you can’t be one of those teams banking on shooting well night after night. You have to be able to manufacture points and stops even when things aren’t going your way. White doesn’t seem like a team that is naturally suited to withstand that type of adversity. Some of their players are soft, skill players and Rob is always a step away from a meltdown. After an easy one in Week 5 against Team Orange, they’ll play Team Green in what will be a good chance to show what they’re made of. Conversely, Team Yellow will go into the meatgrinder, having to play Blue and Pink back to back weeks. Let’s see if they can compete with the big dogs while scoring only 50 points per game.

Standings

Team	Captain	Win	Loss	Record	Win %	Streak	PS	PA	DIFF
Pink	Mark Koll	3	0	3 - 0	1.000	W3	203	164	39
Green	Kyle Garmes	2	1	2 - 1	0.667	L1	203	187	16
Purple	Jerry Hahn	2	1	2 - 1	0.667	W2	162	153	9
Yellow	Matt Vitaliano	2	1	2 - 1	0.667	W2	161	150	11
White	Rob Knapczyk	1	1	1 - 1	0.500	L1	113	108	5
Blue	Dave Troy	1	2	1 - 2	0.333	W1	199	203	-4
Black	Steve Dudek	1	3	1 - 3	0.250	L2	220	260	-40
Orange	Matt Koll	0	3	0 - 3	0.000	L3	162	198	-36