Full Court Press: Off The Bench - Week 4

Injuries can plaque even the best teams, but when mixed with inconsistency and inefficiency they can be detrimental to a team's success. The Colorado Bears and Las Vegas Doggs have had such a mix to start the season, and it's the main reason they currently sit last in the EHBA standings, heading into Week 4.



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Excuses, Excuses
By Clarence Cutter and Courtney Hysocs

Every team has excuses for playing poorly. Everything from "lack of fundamentals" to "lack of teamwork" to "the distracting hooter girls in row 7" has been heard a thousand times. Three things usually stick out: Injuries. Inconsistency. Inefficiency.

These three things will undoubtedly doom a franchise. Such as the case of the Colorado Bears and Las Vegas Lizards, two teams who felt like they had a legitimate chance at making a run into and through the playoffs heading into this season. First off, let's take an in depth look at the reasons the Bears have struggled to get out of the gate.

• Injuries: Stars Gilbert Arenas and Manu Ginobili haven't seen the court this year. Sharpshooter Michael Redd has also spent time on the injured list.
• Inconsistency: The team is shooting a woeful 41% from the field. Nobody other than Andris Biedrins is shooting over 44.8%. They have been repeatedly pounded on the glass and in blocking shots, which is curious since they were comfortable giving up All-World rebounder/shot blocker Dwight Howard to South Carolina before the start of the season.
• Inefficiency: They essentially have all the parts to be a quality club, but these guys are playing like 13 individuals, and not as one team. They've also been plagued by players taking the phrase "Sunday is the day of rest" seriously, leading to some large victory margins.

Bears fans expected the injuries to start the season, as Arenas and Ginobili made their ailments known prior to the first tip off of the season. Michael Redd has missed two week's worth of play, and his return date in currently unknown. Unless they can get some sort of leadership, leadership that may have been lost when they shipped Dwight Howard to South Carolina, fans cannot expect the Bears to right this ship anytime soon.

As for Las Vegas, a team that either won or tied its final 8 games of the 2007/08 regular season to push their way into the playoffs, they are being plagued by injuries in every aspect of their game. let's break down exactly what it is that's been plaguing the Lizards after the first 3 weeks of play.

• Injuries: Greg Oden, the man that was supposed to be the savior to this club, made his long awaited debut only to be carted off the court in the first quarter of play, twisting his ankle under the basket. he has since returned to the floor, but he's been careful of his previous injury and perhaps hasn't posted the numbers needed help lead his team to victory. The Lizards also miss the outside shooting game of Mike Dunleavy and Shane Battier, while Monta Ellis, who averaged over 20 points and 1.5 steals per game hasn't seen the court this season and isn't expect back until late December.
  
• Inconsistency: The Lizards' defense is allowing teams to run up and down the court on them every week, as they currently sit last in the league in blocks, rebounds, and steals.
  
• Inefficiency: The Lizards, as a team, are hitting their shots, but they just haven't been able to take that many. They sit second in FG% as a team, but second to last in total points scored and last in 3-pointers made.
  

This team needs to start taking more chances and putting up more points if they expect to be a contender in this league this season. Their ability to control the ball on both sides of the court is appalling and down right embarrassing to their fans and more importantly themselves.

So what is the answer for Colorado? Do they sit tight and watch the season crumble before it begins, do they make another big time move to try and stop the bleeding, or do they sit back and let whatever plan they have work itself out? GM Mike Comtois was reportedly on vacation at the time this article was written, basking in the Florida sunshine.

How about Las Vegas? Can they blame their terrible start on injuries alone or do they have to do something drastic to push the team in a positive direction? GM Howe Dogg was reportedly too upset at the recent play of both the Stardust University Crazy Horses and Las Vegas Lizards to comment coherently.

Other notable injury concerns:

Josh Smith (South Carolina Rebels)

The Rebels currently sit tied at the top of the EHBA standings so Smith's recent injury hasn't set them back too much. Moving forward it will have an impact however, as Smith adds a key source of defense off the South Carolina bench. His youth and energy helps push the rest of the team to be better at what they do best, and right now that's winning.

"There's no replacing Josh [Smith]. His injury has set us back, but our second tier guys are really stepping up. Guys like Wilson Chandler, OJ Mayo, and Udonis Haslem are really coming up big in crunch time situations. But, I have no doubt we'd have a 2 game lead on Tokyo if we had Josh," were the words from Rebels GM Horace Grant when asked if he preferred MTV or VH1 in a recent interview for a puff piece on EhSPN.com, so you have to assume it's something he and his coaches have been thinking about a lot recently.


Al Harrington (Bridgewater Phenoms)

Both expansion teams were hit by an injury recently. The injury bug took its toll on Bridgewater's Al Harrington, who has been missed for over a week, and is expected to be out for the foreseeable future.

"We could have really used big Al last week, especially his 3's and rebounds. If we had him, I think we could have came home with a win instead of a loss. Hopefully is "back pain/contract issue" can get resolved soon so we can get back on the winning side of things," Coach Carter told reporters after Week 3's loss to Weymouth.

Deron Williams (Tijuana Matadors)

As one of the best point guards in the EHBA, the loss off Deron Williams on the Matadors' offense has been missed. Tijuana has had to rely on Jason Terry and Delonte West to take the point for the majority of the time. Such a transition is difficult to adjust to, especially when the team had been practicing with Williams at the point for the entire off-season.

"Even playing partial time, a guy like Deron Williams can have a major impact on a team. Unfortunately, that impact was a 6-3 loss," Tijuana head coach Saul Smith was quoted to saying to his niece at her 7th birthday party. Unfortunately for her at this time, Smith's niece is really into Tijuana basketball.

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Week 4 In The Key Match Ups
By Courtney Hysocs

(4) Dumpsta Divers at (4) Peoria Bricklayers
The Divers and Bricklayers currently sit tied, both 3 games over .500. It may be too early for either team to separate themselves from the pack, but enough talk has been going on between the two teams to warrant this the "game of the week".Apparently, it has been reported from media covering both teams, that not one person has been able to pronounce Peoria F Kelenna Azubuike or Weymouth F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's name correctly. It is rumored that whichever owner can pronounce the other team's entire roster properly first, will automatically win the game, regardless of the final score.

(1) Tokyo Vegas at (6) Fitch Foo Fighters

Tokyo currently sits tied at the top of the stands. Fitch shouldn't put up much of a fight against the protein-deprived Vegans in week 4, allowing Tokyo to sit alone on top of the EHBA standings once the week is over.

(6) Rakeville Crows at (10)Dublin Bar Brawlers

This game gives the Crows an opportunity to push their way back toward the top of the standings, but the Brawlers have everyone back healthy and ready for action this week. Dublin is looking to get back into contention and this may be the week they finally put it all together.

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Expectations

Bridgewater over Las Vegas (6-3)
Montreal over Colorado (7-2)
Rakeville over Dublin (5-4)
South Carolina over Tijuana (7-2)
Tokyo over Fitch (7-1)
Peoria over Weymouth (5-3)

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Barely Worth Mentioning....

Rocket's Steve Nash was suspended last week for picking a fight with Las Vegas' injured SF Shane Battier during the two teams' match up last week. "That's what I do. What do you expect?" Nash said, smiling.

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Full Court Press: Off The Bench - Week 3

Stephen Jackson and the rest of the Bar Brawlers were the latest team to fall to the expansion Rebels, who sit near the top of the standings, along with five other non-playoff teams from a year ago. Now Jackson and Dublin face off against defending champs Allen Iverson and the Montreal Death Piggys in Week 3, the same team that kicked them out of the playoffs a season ago. It's early in the season, but are the first two weeks of the season an aberration or a sign of what's to come?



Off The Bench - Week 3
By: Courtney Hysocs

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Expansion Contention

The EHBA is off to a fast start, with a few surprise teams starting off hot, including both expansion teams, both of whom sit in the top three of the EHBA standings after the first two weeks of the season. South Carolina has had to go through two playoff teams (Las Vegas and Dublin), while Bridgewater faced off against a low ranked Fitch in week 1, but then had to travel to Rakeville to face the 2007/08 runner up.

"As a new team we had something to prove. We went into Rakeville knowing we had to win in order to put this franchise on the map," said Phenom starting shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

The cities of Bridgewater and Rakeville have long owned one of the countries most fierce rivalries, stemming from the EHCC where the Rockets and Weasels have fought it out for 8 years now.

"When you have two teams in such close proximity you're bound to have some conflicts," stated a fan who chose to stick with the Rockets, and all other Rakeville-based teams, when the Weasels moved from Bellingham to Bridgewater in 2003, "...they [Weasels] just couldn't handle the heat so they fled. I can't root for a franchise like that."

The Phenoms, Bellinghams' second pro-team, are now 12-6 in their first season in the EHBA, winning their first two games.

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Surprise! Surprise!

Not only are there a few surprises on top of the EHBA standings, but a few players have stood out in the league that were less than ideal draft picks this year. After just two weeks, here's a few players that have given their new teams high reward so far this season, even if it they were thought to be a risky pick at the time:

R6P7 - Senser Hawes (TKO)
Hawes has seen increased laying time due to the suspension to starter Brad Miller, and Tokyo is reaping all the benefits. Hawes has put up better numbers so far this season than any other layer eligible at Center besides Amare Stoudemire. Hawes laying time, and thus his production, should dwindle in the coming days and weeks however, with Miller's pending return. Still, thus far, great reward for Tokyo with a low round pick.

R6P1 - Tayshawn Prince (COL)
Colorado knew what they had when they picked up Prince at the beginning of the 6th round. Though Tayshawn isn't putting up exceptional numbers in any one category, his overall game is balanced and above average. He has helped the Bears in just about every category, and does not turn the ball over. Seems like a great late round pick thus far.

R2P7 - Ben Gordon (LV)
Gordon wasn't a low round pick, but he's producing like a top 3 keeper on any roster after the first two weeks. He currently sits tied for 2nd in the league in 3TM and tied for 8th in total points. Gordon should continue his production from behind the arc for the Lizards, who drafted him for just that and little else.

R2P12 - Zydrunas Ilgauskas (MTL)
Another not-so-late round pick, Ilgauskas has produced well enough to convince Montreal brass they made the right choice between him and center Chris Kaman at the end of the second round. Ilgauskas doesn't excel in the typical categories expected out of a center such as rebounds and blocks, but he also doesn't hurt in the typical categories expected out of the position such as FG%, FT%, and Turnovers.

R3P1 - Chris Kaman (FIT)
As far as "leftovers" go, Kaman hasn't been too disappointing thus far. He's top three in the EHBA in rebounds, and to 5 in blocks. He's keeping his FG% over .500 so far, and has been a pleasent surprise for the Foo Fighters thus far this season. Fitch was "stuck" picking Kaman after Montreal selected a more well-rounded Igauskas the pick prior. It seems both teams should be happy with their selections.

Honorable Mention
R5P4 - Chris Duhon (TKO) - Tokyo got what they wanted out of Duhon thus far - Assists. Duhon is in the to 10 in the category int he EHBA, but is adding little else to the Vegans' offense.

R6P4 - Travis Outlaw (MTL) - Montreal did get one late round gem, at least based on his performance in the first two weeks of the season. Outlaw has been a great all around layer for the defending champs off their bench.

R4P5 - Luis Scola (TIJ) - Scola has a perfect FT% threw the first two weeks of play, not so typical for a big man.

R7P5 - Grant Hill (LV) - The veteran returned to Las Vegas and is helping mold some of their young talent by giving them a defensive standard to reach and surpass on the court. Hill currently ranks second only to Chris Paul on the Lizards with 11 steals.

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Week 3 In The Key Matchups

South Carolina @ Colorado
Dwight Howard returns to Denver to face off against his former team. The Bears currently sit in last lace int he EHBA, but that can be accredited to injuries more than poor play. Look for the expansion team to make it three in a row at Colorado's expense.

Dublin @ Montreal
Last year Montreal kicked the Brawlers out of the playoffs on their way to an EHBA championship. Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett should help propel Montreal back to the to half of the standings after this matchup is over.

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Expectations

Rakeville over Las Vegas (5-4)
Montreal over Dublin (7-2)
South Carolina over Colorado (6-3)
Tokyo over Tijuana (7-2)
Peoria over Fitch (6-3)
Bridgewater over Weymouth (7-2)

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Don't agree with Courtney Hysocs? Make sure you let him know in the comments section of this article.

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It's a Block Party in South Carolina

Coming into Sunday's action, The South Carolina Rebels have tallied 29 blocks as a team this week. Led by freaks-of-nature Dwight Howard and Josh Smith, South Carolina will win it's inaugural week over Las Vegas 6-3. When asked about the trade that sent Howard and Jameer Nelson to South Carolina, Team Owner Matt Austin said "He (GM Mike Comtois) may have gotten some quality depth, but everyone should plan on 'punting' blocks every week".

Next up for the Rebels is the Dublin Bar Brawlers, who have a supreme block specialist themselves, in injured Center Marcus Camby.

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