by interstellarshadow » Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:25 pm
April 1, @ New York (58-14): W 134-131 (2OT)
It was a hell of a ride. Harrington was phenomenal, trying to prove that he had what it would take to lead this short-handed team to a finals appearance and championship. He scored 44 points on fifteen shots, had 17 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Tomas Havens had 25 points and 10 boards, with two blocks and 2 steals. Baykurt had 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals, though McEverett Woods held him to 8 points (He returned the favor—Woods only scored 6). Griffin was best for the Metros (as we knew he would be), scoring 39 points and leaping his way to 5 blocks, 10 dimes, and 7 boards.
Record: 58-15
April 3, vs Phoenix (17-56): W 128-98
Phoenix’s record is just about the opposite of ours, and it showed. With 3 players reaching 20 points (+ Evans, who had 19), it was hard to see this going any other way. We scored at least 30 in every quarter but the fourth, and shot 56% overall, plus 53% from 3. They had fewer assists than we did turnovers (12), and it comes easy. The one quip I would have is our free throw percentage. We missed 17 of our 40 free throws, which is unacceptable.
Record: 59-15
April 5, vs Washington (21-53): L 106-87
Scott Stukes Kobed the game, scoring 45 on 28 shots, draining every three he looked at (7 for 10), and playing stellar defense. With that combined effort, despite poor performances from every other player, he was able to shut us down. Granted, our play was essentially a one man show as well, with Harrington scoring 34, plus 4 dimes and 7 boards and only 2 others in double figures (Havens and Evans). We shot 42% as a team, and 30% from 3.
Record: 59-16
April 7, vs New York (60-15): W 129-125
Evans and Harrington combined for 60 points, 13 dimes, and 9 rebounds. It was a close game, where the scoring was concentrated in two players on each team. Jack and Griffin combined for 67 points, 13 dimes, and 8 rebounds. But we had some scoring from both Holland and Baykurt, who combined for 40 points. We allowed a 55% field goal percentage, to our 47% mark, but made 5 more threes and 5 more foul shots, pushing us to a 5 point win.
Record: 60-16
April 8, @ Chicago (39-37): W 111-92
Sitting half a game above .500, the Bison are holding on to that eighth seed, and a win against us only helps them keep the position. Ray Jonson had 22 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Bison, while Havens managed 23 points, 9 boards, and 3 blocks. Baykurt had a double-double, with 15 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks. Harrington was pretty cold from the floor, but managed to get 11 boards, 6 dimes, and 9 points. Evans went 0-4 in 26 minutes off the bench (Edwards has been starting), and had 4 points, 4 dimes, and 3 boards. We shoot a dismal 37% from the field, and just get sunk by a deep effort from Chicago that had six players scoring in double figures.
Record: 60-17
April 11, vs Atlanta (21-56): W 126-103
Harrington had 40 points in the win. Had 4 dimes, 5 boards, and 2 blocks as well. Havens was 2 blocks away from a triple-double, scoring 10, with 11 boards. Baykurt had 21 and 13 boards and Evans shot 5 of 7 off the bench. We shot 54% as a team, and held Atlanta to 45%, and shot 90% from the free-throw line as a team (which was mostly Harrington’s doing, as he made 13 of 13 from the stripe).
Record: 61-17
April 14, @ New Orleans (44-35): W 114-108
Harrington got back to his passing ways, with 23 points and 14 dimes. He had 5 boards and 2 steals as well. Every game we play makes me want to get rid of Holland, and his inefficient shooting (when compared to Evans), as he scores 10 more points than Evans, in 18 more minutes, on 13 more shots. Edwards had 11, making 3 of 5 shots (all 3’s) and passing out 3 dimes, in 18 minutes. George Mapp had 25 points for the Wasps, to claim game-high honors. But the real big man of the game was Havens, who had 18 points, 14 boards, 2 steals and 5 blocks on the night.
Record: 62-17
April 15, vs Cleveland (28-51): W 120-95
The last three games of the season are against teams that probably cannot wait for the season to be over, so that they can prepare for the next, and hopefully get a better record. Tonight, we definitely made them look forward to the end of the season a little bit more. Harrington led the team with 23 points, also getting 10 dimes, 6 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Evans had 15 points in 19 minutes, and Holland had 18, with 8 dimes. Edwards had 8 points and 4 dimes in his 27 mins.
Record: 63-17
April 18, @ Indiana (25-56): W 127-104
Harrington had 32 points and 15 dimes on the way to our 23 point victory, and we had 2 other players with more than 25 points. Holland had 25 points on 7 for 10 3-point shooting, with 7 dimes and 2 steals, while Baykurt had 26 points and 7 boards, with 2 steals. Havens had a double-double, with 16 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks (+ 2 steals). 22 from Alen Trumbic wasn’t anywhere close to enough to staunch the bleeding from that kind of firepower (especially because he had 7 turnovers).
Record: 64-17
April 19, vs Orlando (37-44): W 104-96
Harrington had 22 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks, while Havens had 9 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks to lead us to an 8 point victory over the young, but competitive Mystics. They aren’t playing rookie Justin Wells nearly enough (he had only 8 minutes on the court), and our offensive firepower and stingy defense was hat one the game for us. We made more free throws than they took, and also put up points from behind the arc. A strong rebounding effort, which led to 54 rebounds, and a 6 board advantage, also helped keep this team away.
Record: 65-17
Season End Standings (West)
1. Portland Pioneers (58-24)
2. Dallas Rangers (55-27)
3. Denver Peaks (54-28)
4. Minnesota Coyotes (48-34)
5. Los Angeles Waves (42-40)
6. San Diego Riders (40-42)
7. Seattle Speed (40-42)
8. Utah Blues (38-44)
Sacramento Royals (35-47)
San Antonio Outlaws (33-49)
Golden State Spartans (31-51)
Houston Blast (25-57)
Phoenix Blast (20-62)
Season End Standings (East)
1. Philadelphia Freedom (65-17)
2. New York Metros (65-17)
3. Boston Irish (56-26)
4. Detroit Gears (51-31)
5. Miami Burn (51-31)
6. Brooklyn Hoops (49-33)
7. New Orleans Wasps (46-36)
8. Chicago Bison (45-37)
Orlando Mystics (37-45)
Cleveland Knights (29-53)
Indiana Racers (25-57)
Washington Americans (24-58)
Milwaukee Moose (24-58)
Atlanta Eagles (21-61)
Team Leaders:
Points: Griffin Harrington – 22.6
Assists: Griffin Harrington – 10.6
Rebounds: Naim Baykurt – 7.4
Blocks: Tomas Havens – 2.5
Steals: Oliver Dobbins – 1.6
Efficiency: Griffin Harrington – 27.5
League Leaders:
Points: Scott Stukes, WAS – 32.0
Assists: Griffin Harrington, PHI – 10.6
Rebounds: Chris Shelton, SEA – 11.9
Blocks: McEverett Woods, NYM – 4.2
Steals: Justin Toxey, POR – 3.3
Efficiency: Shaun Horan, LAL – 30.6
Rookie Leaders:
Points: David Burke, SDR – 15.3
Assists: Robert Radl, IND – 4.9
Rebounds: David Burke, SDR – 7.2
Blocks: Lamond Woods, DAL – 1.2
Steals: Bradley Green, SEA – 1.6
Efficiency: David Burke, SDR – 17.2
Player of the Month: Scott Stukes (32.0 ppg, 1.6 apg, 6.4 rpg, 1.5 spg, 1.3 bpg)
Rookie of the Month: David Burke (15.3 ppg, 1.3 apg, 7.2 rpg, 0.6 spg, 0.6 bpg)
Final Draft Watch:
1 (N/R). PG Orlando Thomas, 6’1”, 185, HS – 30.2 ppg, 13.2 apg, 11.3 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 2.3 spg
2 (4). C Aleksandr Chernyaev, 6’9”, 260, 20 Russia – 23.9 ppg, 4.6 apg, 8.0 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 1.2 spg
3 (3). C Elton Jones, 6’9”, 267, HS – 16.0 ppg, 3.8 apg, 18.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 2.4 spg
4 (N/R). C Roberto Marhsall, 7’4”, 270, SO Xavier – 18.5 ppg, 3.8 apg, 13.0 rpg, 2.6bpg, 0.5 spg
5 (N/R). C Icikas Stekel, 7’5”, 295, 19 Latvia, 18.6 ppg, 5.4 apg, 13.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 1.6 spg
Okay. I take back some of what I said about Elton Jones. He’s shown through the end of the High School season, and a bunch of AAU ball, that he can actually ball. 18 rebounds per game is nothing to sneeze at. I like seeing Orlando Thomas getting recognition. He’s done it all this year, and will likely be high on people’s draft boards.