2023-2024: Week 7 Player Reports

Game 1: Team Green vs. Team Yellow

-Change is a good thing when your team is winless. I don’t think you can be too critical of ANY changes you make after your results have been disastrous. You have to try something, right? It sounds like Yellow did just that in the first half, sharing the ball much better than they have all season, leading to a very close game at half time. But changes can’t be temporary. You have to commit to them and make them the new standard. Unfortunately, Yellow regressed in the second half and went back to 4 guys standing around Stevan Jones while he played hero ball. It hasn’t worked all season and it didn’t work again in Week 7 as the game slipped away. It’s common sense that a change was needed. One half of change isn’t enough. Green has snuck their way into a three-game win streak. Good for those tiny lads.

Game 2: Team Purple vs. Team Silver

-While they almost blew the opportunity, down by almost double digits in the second half, Team Silver finally took advantage and beat the Konrad-less Purple Nurples and handed them their second loss in a row. Kennedy was launching and bullying his way to a big game, but Silver continued to provide a balanced attack that won out in the end. Purple has looked extremely clunky the last couple weeks in the face of some more intense competition, so we will see if they ever get back to the high-flying ways they started the season with. Silver continues to win in a pretty boring way. They are taking care of the basketball and giving honest effort for all forty minutes. It’s hard to think their ceiling has changed much, as they don’t seem to have evolved much strategy beyond: Richie’s shots are now falling and they have enough size to be a pretty solid team defensively. Ali’s role off the bench can’t be understated, as he continues to provide valuable minutes. Chris likely has a few big games lurking and I expect them to be a threat to win every game they play. How many of those victories they secure is the question.

Game 3: - Team Pink vs. Team Orange

-After a few players were officially out of what was expected to be a great battle, this game started off on a funky note and never really normalized. Pink let Orange dictate the pace and style of the game, leading to a lot of awkward possessions and matchups. Rashad ran the show on offense, while Rob Walus had the game of his life leaking out in transition. Pink tried to recompose themselves several times, but Matt V’s boys continued to hit shots when they needed to, never letting them fully back in the game, cruising to a comfortable double-digit win. Hard way for Pink to finish the first half of the schedule after having so many successes, but no need to dwell on it. Time to swallow hard and move forward.

Game 4: - Team Gold vs. Team Blue

-In the game of the night, we got undeniable proof that good things can happen when you trust your teammates. The game was tight throughout and Ed was having his best outing of the season on his way to 31 points. Still, with the game on the line, he spotted a double team and rightfully got the ball to an open Dave Wills who hit the game winning shot. It’s a simple thing to pass the ball to an open teammate. But there’s often a lot of psychological nuance about who “should” be taking the final shot in a close game. It’s silly, but an ingrained obstacle that fits into the exaggerated narratives we attach to sports. We participate in a group lie that sports matter, thereby elevating the importance of the crucial moments that separate victory and defeat. Selflessness and teamwork are rarely accounted for when everything is on the line and the superheroes of sport are often given leniency to take matters upon themselves. In a perfect world, all that would matter is the right decision, not the right outcome. This was a nice blend of both. Good for Ed. Good for Dave. Definitely good for Blue. So who loses out? Oh, right. Team Gold. Fuck ‘em.

Standings

Team	Captain	Win	Loss	Record	Win %	Streak	PS	PA	DIFF
PINK	MARK KOLL	5	2	5 - 2	0.714	L1	436	426	10
PURPLE	STEVE DUDEK	5	2	5 - 2	0.714	L2	493	417	76
ORANGE	MATT VITALIANO	5	2	5 - 2	0.714	W1	539	482	57
SILVER	MATT KOLL	5	2	5 - 2	0.714	W5	471	440	31
GOLD	DAVE TROY	3	4	3 - 4	0.429	L1	529	544	-15
GREEN	ROB KNAPCZYK	3	4	3 - 4	0.429	W3	498	496	2
BLUE	LUKE ASIMAKOPOULOS	2	5	2 - 5	0.286	W1	393	461	-68
YELLOW	KYLE GARMES	0	7	0 - 7	0.000	L7	414	508	-94