2023-2024 Playoffs

	2. Silver
	3/28/24 @ 8:15 PM
4. Purple		2. Silver
3/14/24 @ 8:15 PM	4. Purple
5. Gold
		4/4/24 @ 8:15 PM	2. Silver
3. Pink
3/14/24 @ 9:10 PM	6. Blue
6. Blue	3/28/24 @ 9:10 PM	1. Orange
	1. Orange

Round One, Game One: #4 Team Purple versus #5 Team Gold

-Timing is everything in HatchetBall. Purple had a major lull during the second half of the season, but started to pick things up near the close of the regular season, which seemingly was perfect timing. They were a major mismatch for Team Gold, who tried to shake things up with some interesting defensive assignments which simply didn’t pan out. Kennedy looked like a gorilla loose from the zoo and dominated on both sides of the glass for forty full minutes. Troy wasted one of his best scoring games in perhaps his entire career in a blowout where none of his teammates showed up to ride with him. Purple plays at a high tempo and has shooters all across their lineup, which is always a dangerous formula to deal with. Gold was sent packing and Purple will have to deal with a much more physical team in Round 2 against Silver.

Round One, Game Two: #3 Team Pink versus #6 Team Blue

-In a wild game of runs, all you have to do is get the last run. You just ride that wave to the final buzzer and hope it’s enough. Pink had a terrific start to this game, but didn’t manage substitutions or matchups well, which emboldened the twin attackers on Team Blue (Justin/Ed) and led to a bucketload of easy buckets. Despite some miraculous shooting from Team Pink that helped them pull within 3 at one point, Blue’s ability to space the floor and draw fouls made it impossible for them to complete the comeback. Team Blue advances as the 6^th seed, with a shot to dethrone the first overall seed in Round 2.

Round Two, Game One: #1 Team Silver versus #4 Team Purple

-It’s amazing how hard it is to simply stay the course in sports, even when it’s working. I’m not sure if we get bored or complacent or frustrated, but it’s a common occurrence to see teams randomly abandon a working strategy from one moment to the next. Purple had everything working in the first half of this one. Silver played zone, as expected, and Purple beat them a variety of ways. Kennedy and Jay both got to the middle of the zone for good looks repeatedly. They kept the ball moving and found each other on strong cuts to the rim. They built a 13 point lead by halftime and held Silver to just 24 points. So what changed? Yes, Silver started making shots. But overall, there seemed to be a slow surrender to the constant physicality of Silver’s defense. By the second half, the ball was no longer moving for Purple. Kennedy rarely caught it on the move, where he is most dangerous. Konrad probed and worked his way into the lane, but didn’t finish many drives. Jay completely disappeared. It’s true the refs let the teams play in this one and Purple was attacking more than Silver, so it was inevitable they would be at the mercy of calls more often. But frustration aside, Purple repeatedly couldn’t finish at the rim and were almost looking to stall with 10 minutes left in the game. They looked like a completely different team than the one making quick reads and slicing through Silver in the first half. The credit goes to the ultimate poise of Team Silver. With such low expectations, they’ve emerged as a zen counterweight to the run and gun style of most of the rest of the league. They play with intensity, don’t get me wrong, but they use their steady passion to inch back into games play by play. There’s nothing particularly fancy or advanced in their strategy. They played some zone and some man to man. They hit some shots in the half court and others in transition or on second chance opportunities. They took what was there and made it work. Their prize is a trip to the title game in an awkward matchup with Team Orange. Let’s see what happens.

Round Two, Game Two: #1 Team Orange versus #6 Team Blue

-First off, Team Pink’s loss to Blue doesn’t look so bad now, does it? It’s almost a shame this version of Team Blue was seen so rarely throughout the season. Justin looked like a lock-down defender on the most talented perimeter played in the league. Ed was getting deep on one of the best guard defenders we saw all year. Wills/Felipe/Luke repeatedly made good decisions on both sides of the ball and were all active on the glass. Unfortunately, something was in the air and their double-digit lead was similarly dissipated in the second half to the dynamic Team Orange. Orange’s comeback was certainly by committee. Everyone on the roster scored at least two baskets and no one scored over 14. Ryan Gulden looked like Karl Malone navigating the pick and roll as the screener and was a threat all night. Rashad and Antwan finally came alive late in regulation and were able to just barely force overtime. Of course, this game will be remembered as a massive missed opportunity to the title-less Justin and Ed and they have no one but themselves to blame. Up by 5 with a minute to play, they embarked on one of the worst choke sequences we’ve seen in HatchetBall history. Justin missed a point blank, wide open layup. Then he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then Ed took a turn missing the front end of a one-and-one. If any of those plays goes differently, even a single free throw, they still likely win. Of course, none of that matters if Antwan doesn’t hit a huge three to force overtime, but he did, and the wind was certainly out of Blue’s sails for overtime. After some frantic back-and-forth action, Blue neglected to call a timeout with 11 seconds remaining and basically didn’t get a shot up to try and win the game. Lots of regrets in this game, but it’s worth it to keep in mind that every team will have regrets about this season. Except one.

Championship:

- There’s a certain perverse satisfaction in being proven wrong. There’s something inherent in our evolutionary instinct that roots for underdogs and cheers for unlikely scenarios. We don’t abandon the cold, calculating side of our brain that understands how things are supposed to turn out, but the impulsive, anarchistic side of our mentality is allowed to ride shotgun cheering for chaos and loving to see the favorites fall. And, of course, it’s always satisfying to see Matt V fail. We didn’t get to see the “full” version of Team Orange for most of the season. But when they were together and clicking, they had a five-man unit that seemed to be the class of the league. They could defend. They could shoot and score from all positions. And they were lethal on the break. But bad decisions can tip the scales and make you vulnerable when you shouldn’t be. Team Orange made an infamous, puzzling decision to start one of their slower-footed big men on Chris, which allowed him to instantly get a rhythm and control the offensive flow for most of this game. By the time Orange finally adjusted, it created opportunities for Silver’s supporting cast and they cashed in. The game was a dogfight on every possession, as it should be in the championship, but Silver received the ultimate reward by simply not doing anything stupid. There was no justifiable reason you wouldn’t start Antwan on Chris to limit his ballhandling and playmaking and adjust from there if needed due to foul trouble or game flow. He is one of the few athletes in the entire league who could competently make life difficult for Chris and they mostly didn’t use him that way. Orange had the opportunity to force Silver’s secondary options to initiate more of the offensive action, which would likely have resulted in more turnovers and broken possessions, exactly the type of stuff Orange has feasted on all year in kickstarting their transition game. Rashad, in his rookie playoffs, did not look like the effortless killer we saw most of the year. But that’s a learning experience everyone goes through in their first playoffs. It’s nice when things go your way the first time, but seeing how the intensity ramps up in the playoffs and how the refs allow brutal contact can be a useful educational tool for the future. Rashad will be back competing for a title as will most of the other players on this talented Orange squad. But this year will be remembered rightfully for the magical run Matt Koll’s team put together to beat the odds and secure the glory. Well done.