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Pio Reina addresses his team pregame…

Pio Reina: Simmons, Pasman, and Uzek, you guys have an opportunity this week to show me some growth. We’ve been working towards this. Big moments demand big things. Here’s your opportunity. Reinholm, Leao, and Frias to show some growth as well. Walt C., you and Carlos been talking a lot of smack back and forth. We’re about to find out if you can do what he can and if he can do what you can. The rest of you, laugh while you can. Ya’ll are on deck next week. Some of ya’ll think it’s easy to play guard, and you’re going to find out. The rest get hammered the next week.

I’m looking to train you up for the playoffs and get these wins. 3 wins probably gets us in. That’s not good enough. I’m going to make it difficult on you. I’m going to ask you to do things you are uncomfortable with, and you are going to do them. You will improve. We need you to improve. We’re looking at a road game at Eternity Rostah. A playoff game in their place? You better be comfortable with being uncomfortable. They are not going to be easy on you. I’m going to be harder. My job is to get you ready. You WILL be ready. Are we clear? Uzek, you time to earn a playoff roster spot begins tonight. Frias, Leao, Reinholm, Pasman and Simmons, you guys are sorting out roles. Who starts who comes off the bench, who plays where. The only known in the back court is Colenbrander. Carlos, are you in the backcourt or frontcourt? You decide. Reinholm, same decision for you. Uzek, that’s a tall hill for you to climb. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready, so be ready for anything. The door’s open, but you’re likely the 13th man. Simmons, don’t sleep on Uzek. There is a universe where he beats you out. Pasman, we know what you do and where you’ll be. No worries there. You guys know what I want to see. Go out and show me.

Douglas Simmons: Coach, why are we talking playoffs when we got a game right here right now? We’ll deal with later when later gets here. Let’s handle this right now.

PR: Son, around these parts, we talk playoffs because we expect to be there. That is the expectation, We EXPECT to be in the playoffs. Year in, year out. You play for Linndale, you come in knowing that is the expectation, and if you didn’t know, bow you know. I appreciate the one game at a time mentality. I encourage it. We can have that mentality and also see the bigger picture. You want to win the championship? You’re gonna have to beat the teams in front of you. You want to be a starter? You have to do starter things. You want to start on a team, or start on a championship team? You wanna be a bench guy on championship team or start on a bad team? If you don’t dare to be great, you can’t be here. It’s going to take everyone. You ready to be uncomfortable?

Joy Beko: Does that mean I get to play point guard again?

PR: We know you’re comfortable with the ball in your hands. You guys ready to be uncomfortable?

Team: YES SIR!

PR: On three. 1… 2… 3…

Everyone: MISERY!

Last edited by Speedtraps at 11/16/2024 7:54:41 PM

We join the pregame show already in progress...

Jimmy Buckitts: Rumor has it you’re running the press tonight. Why the press, and why now?

Marshall Richards: We’ve been running games on defense trying things out for a while now. We’ve been doing that for a little while now, but we haven’t really had the opportunity to get the bench extended time. So we’re making time. We have a few things we wanted to get done and these guys on the floor benefit the most. Plus, there’s a lesson in this. Coach Reina usually has a lesson he wants to drive home.

JB: How does this affect playoff readiness?

MR: We’re only as good as our twelfth and thirteenth men. Plus, we always look at this time of year to give guys a chance to make that final push for the playoff roster. We make the guys uncomfortable now, so they can deal with being uncomfortable in the playoffs and perform. Playoff basketball on the road is very difficult, and we won’t likely see a home game until the finals, if we can make it that far.

JB: Is there anything else the fans can expect from this team this season?

MR: When we take care of business and clinch that playoff spot, there might be a little something for the fans. Maybe a little something before we clinch.

JB: Are we going to see the return of the fan favorite backwards game?

MR: I can’t say you will or you won’t, but if we were, I’m sure Coach Reina has a date or two in mind. Maybe he even takes it out on the road this time…

JB: Are there any changes to the lineup tonight?

MR: Yes. Multiple, to the lineup and rotations. You’ll have to watch or listen to find out.

JB: Good luck tonight. That was assistant coach Marshall Richards on the pre game show. Bach to Happy and Joshua on the radio call for tonight’s game.

Jimmy Buckitts: I’m here with Douglas Simmons after his 30 point performance leading Linndale to an upset win over the Eternityz Rostah at home. Douglas, what was the key to victory tonight?

Douglas Simmons: Coach Rena wanted us to be uncomfortable, and to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We’re not a running team. We turn the ball over too much for that. We’re not shooters; we have talented guys who can make shots, but we’re too inconsistent. We know who we are, but today we embraced what made us uncomfortable, and we tried to use full court pressure to make them uncomfortable.

JB: This was not how Pio Reina would draw this up at all.

DS: We knew it wouldn’t be a typical game for us. We wanted to keep it close on the boards and we felt we did a decent job of that. We has some stretches where our defense was really really good. We did a good job of chasing them off the three point line, and we knocked down our free throws. We knew we had to turn them over and we were able to do that.

JB: We’re joined by assistant coach Marshall Richards. Marshall, when we’ve seen Linndale press, it didn’t look quite like this one. What was different?

Marshall Richards: We’re able to press with size, and we have the versatility to line up guys at different positions. That gives us the ability to have a guy play one position on offense and a different one on defense. Another thing we have that’s different is the size in the backcourt. Simmons is 6 feet 10, Colenbrander is 6 feet 5, Reinholm is 6 feet 8, Pasman is 6 feet 4, and Uzek is 6 feet 6. They all have different skill sets, but Simmons, Reinholm and Pasman are good rebounders, so when our bigs have to go out on the perimeter, we can crash down on the boards with the guards more than we could in the past.

JB: Noting that Frias, Corro and Enfes didn’t play, does that mean the press is in play for the playoffs?

MR: Never say never, but that is highly unlikely. I’m not gonna speak for the head coach because it’s his call, but I’m sure that’s as close to a guaranteed no as you’ll get.

JB: What was the biggest takeaway from tonight?

MR: The minutes. We were able to get some big minutes from people who don’t usually have to or get to play big minutes. Simmons played 34, Vendrell played 33, Reinhold got 24, Uzek got 22. That was huge going forward, knowing guys want a shot to play their way on to the playoff roster, and seeing them step up.

JB: Thanks Douglas and Marshall, and congratulations on the big win tonight. Happy, back to you in studio!

Last edited by Speedtraps at 11/16/2024 10:37:27 PM

Day 16 (Saturday 16 November 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Anchorage Allstars. 114 - AZ Sunburn 128
brooklyn knicks 97 - Defenseless Babies 130
The Dachshunds 126 - Fondy Cardinals 112
GloryBoyz 103 - Las Vegas Red Pandas 117
Eternityz Rostah 99 - Linndale 112
K8be4L 89 - Andersonville Alligators 124
Nanooks of the North 107 - Organization XIII 123
Cleveland Heat Lakers 126 - Duke Devilz 137

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 137 : Duke Devilz
Rebounds : 61 : Andersonville Alligators
Assists : 41 : Anchorage Allstars.
Steals : 32 : Fondy Cardinals
Block Shots : 11 : Anchorage Allstars.

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 39 : J. Imbroda (AZ Sunburn)
Rebounds : 19 : B. Macis (AZ Sunburn)
Assists : 16 : J. Campos (Duke Devilz), H. Olivares (Cleveland Heat Lakers)
Steals : 6 : L. Greenwood (Fondy Cardinals)
Block Shots : 5 : A. Kulacs (AZ Sunburn)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : J. Imbroda (AZ Sunburn) (39 Points, 4 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43
Shooting Guard : N. Sheppard (Cleveland Heat Lakers) (36 Points, 1 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 30
Small Forward : A. Timpanaro (Duke Devilz) (38 Points, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 42
Power Forward : A. Roche (Andersonville Alligators) (22 Points, 10 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Center : M. Kearney (The Dachshunds) (21 Points, 14 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 3 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36

MVP of the evening
J. Imbroda (AZ Sunburn) (39 Points, 4 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43

The bad performance of the evening
K. Trent (AZ Sunburn) (0 Points, 2 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)A. Stockton (Duke Devilz) (2 Points, 3 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -3

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : A. Jackson (The Dachshunds) : 13 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : V. Ravagnin (K8be4L) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : E. Delgado (K8be4L), R. Motti (K8be4L) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : A. Carter (AZ Sunburn), A. Timpanaro (Duke Devilz), N. Sheppard (Cleveland Heat Lakers) : 6 Three points

The best performer : M. Silver (Defenseless Babies) : Rating : 17.5

The worst performer : D. Kendrick (Organization XIII), C. Gates (Organization XIII) : Rating : 3.5

My team just turned the ball over 37 times against the worst team in the conference

Despite the big difference in record, I think you will beat me on Tuesday by more than you did them. That full court press they ran caused chaos in a way few teams can replicate.

We shall see. We have yet to see any separation at the top of the conference. Regardless of what happens next game I don't think it will change anything within the playoff picture. I could be wrong though time will tell.

They turned you 37 TIMES?!? And generated 32 STEALS?!?

That would make me pull out my hair. Never mind the fact I'm already bald...

😭😭😭😭😭

I love FCP...its my favorite to run. If my guys had just 2 points higher OD I would release FCP hell on the league.

I KNEW someone else had to be thinking that! I figured you, the Andersonville Alligators, and myself might do it.

Too many guards on the roster to not have had that thought. I'm not too far from actually doing that...