Week Five, December 3, 2011
Game One / Kansas City Kings (2-3) 43 – New York Nets (0-5) 38
Squandered. That’s what the Nets did with their 16-6 1st half lead and their opportunity to do what every other team in PFL has done this season: win a game. Looking at the schedule the Nets must see humps, and be thinking “we gotta get over one.” (Did Justin McCarthy and Matthew Eng drive home together? Anyone see what court they stopped at to practice their FTs?) The Kings had Ché Silva dishing and Sandy Kendall reversing and Marty Bitner loading up the stat sheet with blocks and steals, too. Are the Kings thinking “what size crown”?
Box Score Game One
Game Two / St Louis Hawks (5-0) 42 – Syracuse Nationals (4-1) 42
Deep into the heart of the second half, a gust of wind blew through the gym. Spectators looked at each other. Apocalypse? Now? No, it was Super Hawk Jamal Halawa soaring into the gym a bit late and with his team down 33-26 (inching back from a 28-16 halftime deficit)! Jamal’s been reading the papers. He knows deficit reducing is the thing to do. He didn’t score, it must be noted, but his team rallied after he breezed in. The Jamal effect. Alex “Slam the” Doerr denied the previously undefeated Nationals many opportunities with stellar defense and even a classic drop step hoop. Adam Gilmore rebounded like he was Adam Rushmore. Nnamdi Nwachucku contended with Carruthers nicely. (Someone who looks a lot like me was overheard saying “game winner” when Mr. Natural hit a 3 to put his team up 42-39 with 1:01 to go. 5 points by the Hawks later, that same guy said “oops.”)
Game Three / Philadelphia Warriors (4-1) 47– Minneapolis Lakers (2-3) 28
Chris “Farewell Tour” McIntyre has been heard to give many helpful coaching instructions to his teammates during time-outs, during the course of the season. How about suggesting at least 5 of the them get to the game on-time? It’s a good group, lots of pieces; shame to see them not compete. The Warrior (Razorback) Sloan, however, got there early and got there often: 17 points, assisting 3 times, 2 thefts. Larry Bavis is, like, almost a double-double and almost a triple-double every time he walks in the gym. Chip Allen 3 assists!? He talking up Wole and Erica?
Game Four / Rochester Royals (2-3) 38 – Buffalo Braves (1-4) 32
Shonak Patel and David Po played a combined 47 minutes and the Royals (their team) still won. They are the kind of players that do the little things, the sort of stuff that coaches and teams need: move the ball, get deflections and rebounds, play pressure defense, run the floor, spread the defense out with good spacing. The “Chief” Brave scored 2 hoops! Nice, but what’s with their shot distribution? Eamon Weinheimer has embraced his role as distributor. Awesome. Sometimes the best way to score or get out of a shooting slump (or bad shooting game) is to let the game come to you. Screen, shapeup, cut, move, next thing you know the ball and you and the hoop are friends again.
Classic PFL Game Five contest: OT baby. Classic, too, for missed FTs, some at knees-shaking moments. Rotation and follow-through, please. The Pistons were firing: Jim “Why Not” Wyman was a beast. Jeff Smith has been unconscious ever since he came to PFL. And Scott Lieber blocked 2 shots. The Steamrollers shot 28.8% from the field and were 12-26 from the line. Rotation and follow-through. Ivan Pina avoided earning the nickname that everyone named Ivan wants to avoid by grabbing 12 rebounds. TERRI-FIC!
Game Five / Fort Wayne Pistons (4-1) 48 – Providence Steamrollers (1-4) 43 (OT)
