Week 3 Recap - Neal Cohen

Once i start writing i can't stop...so if its a bit long let me know.

Wednesday's run set a few marks that have not been matched yet this season, as far as I'm aware:
1) We had the longest game of the year, lasting close to 25 minutes as Neal, Dorf, Joe and Josh (game winning shot) defeated Dave, Sam, Goff and Jay in what those playing called an defensive battle while Crane and Smitty felt it was a painful display of offense to sit and watch for almost a half hour.
2) Biggest age difference between two players guarding each other as smitty attempted to guard the shifty 22 year old Sam for a game, but he did a better job than Jason Kidd would do on Derrick Rose.
3) The sign of a good night of Wednesday hoops is when we had another record... most players who have the court after us watching the Gatorade blog game, as there had to be at least 5 guys waiting for us to finish.

Some fashion awards from Wednesday include Josh converting from the suit, which he hangs from a side hoop in a garment bag into the Charlotte Hornets #2 LJ jersey he got for a birthday gift in high school. Goff losing the high socks for the week, and then randomly throwing on the head band for the 2nd to last game only which he won, to then take it off for the Gatorade game, which he lost. Crane going with the funeral outfit sporting black from top to bottom.
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Dorfs high school buddy Joe made his season debut. Joe suffered some early jitters, with a few turnovers, air balls, which I can sympathize with, as he struggled to find his rhythm, but he picked the right game to find his game, as he could be considered the MVP of the Gatorade game.

As i can't remember each game and the details the way smitty somehow can, one note was that a team with two of the offensively inept players, Neal and Goff, along with Josh and Sam defeated crane, Dave, smitty and jay in the nights 2nd to last game (maybe it was the head band), but I credit the coaching move by Sam to switch a few defensive matchups in this game to the victory.

Gatorade game match up- Neal, Goff, Josh, and Sam vs. Dorf, Joe, Smitty & Jay. Sam came out firing from the outside, but the shot wasn't falling the way it was for most of the evening, so he started taking the ball to the hoop but had trouble finishing with all traffic in the paint. Josh started taking his game outside away from the Post where he struggled to the top of the key where he found his stroke carrying his team in this game getting help from the role players Goff and Neal who were active on the offensive boards, as their team was up early and feeling comfortable, with the score 5-2(give or take a point or two). At that point Joey B woke up and began knocking down shots that he was struggling to hit all night, Jay started hitting jumpers, Dorf making acrobatic lay-ups and smitty hitting his signature right side, short range bank shot, helping lead their team back to a 7-7 tie. The game was closed out by the staple reverse lay-up by Jay who, while I never saw his game pre-injury, has been more and more of a force on both ends of the court each week this season.

Individual reviews:
Dorf- he won the Gatorade game and that's all that matters to him. Although his FGs made on pull-ups at the top of the key was down considerably from recent weeks. While he had plenty of highlights his 20 foot jumper on 'point game' is one Jon knows was out of the schweid school of shot selection.

DL- a late night out Monday, a late hoops game Tuesday = Dave's performance Wed night. Will he be back in game shape before baby Lewis arrives?

Smitty- Solid performance, only complained once during the "marathon game", and depending on his age guarded a kid who may not have been born when smitty had his bar mitzvah (assuming he's Jewish)

Crane- that "crane" game where he carries his team never happened, but did have a great block on Josh in the post

Jay- continued improvement, getting more aggressive at both ends of the court, only yelling "oh JAY!" twice, well below his avg

Joe - slow start in his debut but a strong finish and a good win/ loss record. Potential to be a physical presence in this game among guys who don't lift weights

Josh- the baseline jumper attempts weren't as frequent, nor were the baskets in the paint yet was still among the top performers on court knocking down a few game winner and countless mid range jumpers. He must make the LJ 'L' arm signal going forward on every hoop if he wears that jersey again

Sam- came out on fire, couldn't miss from the outside, actually shooting a better fg % from outside the paint than in the paint. a few incredible dribble moves though some didn't result in a hoop. When he starts dishing off his dribble penetration more, it'll be tough to get his team off the court

Goff- you really have to box him out, if not he'll make you pay, grabbing countless offensive rebounds. a few flashes in the paint on offense as well, still not looking for the mid-range jump shot. a see lots of Joakim Noah in his game.

Neal- played every game, as his FTs made to keep playing was close to his baskets made in actual game play. Good bounce back after last week's disaster of a performance, after only 1 made hoop and struggling to guard anyone.

a week where no team was ever able to establish any sort of dominance.

see you after memorial day