game 16: hierarchy

so super sunday we hosted roskilde, the league leaders from copenhagen. they are a solid smart team with 3 guys 6'8 or taller, so they look to take advantage inside out. From the top of the club down it seemed like the expectations were low for this game. there was alot more pressure to put a better effort in than our previous two road games though. we had struggled at both ends but especially offensively.



we started off decent, neck and neck with them after the first quarter. we got out and ran in the first quarter beating their zone downcourt for some easy buckets. diedler did a good job of upping the tempo. i was guarding this guy who was a supposed danish legend. he was solid enough, a smart player, but really outta shape. he barely did anything when i was on him except talk to the refs(who loved him).

we were close again till the last minute and a half of the second quarter, when some curious substitutions let them go on a 9-2 run to close out and lead 36-27 at half. it was a tight low scoring affair, both teams played solid d, they just hit a few more outside shots. they played a spread zone and there were good seems along the bottom for us to expose but we didn't do it often enough, especially going high-low with our passing. too many times it ended with the wrong guys taking the wrong shots. thats tough when you play a big team and don't get alot of second chance point opportunities on the glass.

we dried up again in the third q on offence. we moved the ball well but just either weren't finishing or weren't converting the looks. i jammed my thumb on my shooting hand real bad at the beginning of the third quarter and that was the end of my perimeter game for the duration. we created some turnovers but more often than not were so pressed to strike quickly that we didn't make em pay. by the fourth quarter they just played a slow down, low possession game.

they put us to bed like j holiday and ended up winning by 17. final score: 78-61. it was tough to just score 61 pts at home. we need to do something about that. i had 18pts, 5 rebounds, 4 assists but never got to the line and didn't hit a three. i kept my turnovers down, stayed out of foul trouble and tried not to get on the refs except at the end of the second q, when the guy did me dirty on a put back attempt. i'm just getting used to the fact that i shouldn't expect much from them. you play basketball for any amount of time and you see guys that are complaining about forever being wronged, blaming things or just generally being held down: by refs, by coaches, by team mates, by systems. i'm not trying to be that guy(i've seen that guy a few times), its hard when its intertwined with the emotional package and want to win sometimes. but the refs are just such a quantifiable thing to attack sometimes.... tantalizingly easily! problem is; its a talent killer and it takes away from the on court experience.

dre played good; had a lil dwight howard night(15pts/17reb). he got a bit banged up in practice on friday but dude was a warrior(as usual). i think we have finally found our spark for the rest of the year. lasse has really upped his play as of late, especially his defense. he'll hit the open shots and has show real improvement, absorbing everything he can, just like diedler. they started him this game deciding to bring corrie off the bench to start. trying to get him some more experience. i just want him to have more of a nose for the ball.

this big dude(dean thibodeau, pictured above) is from canada as well. i think he is the only other canadian in the league besides me. he's old school and used to play on the canadian national team and in some nba summer league stuff. he was controlling the middle and hitting some nice fadeaways on endre, who usually doesn't give up much against opposing posts.

this dude used to play for benneton treviso in italy, mostly as a reserve. he killed us last game when their pg was suspended. he was big boy'n us in the paint but we limited him pretty good this time. sorensen did a nice job on him. keeping him off the glass and into contested shots

this is martin hermanssen. he was some kind of prodigy coming up in the danish jr system. now he is belaboured and just having fun out there. don't breathe on the dude or force him into a turnover though, that whistle will blow shrill in your ear.

diedler moved awesome this week, he might not have scored great but it was nice to finally see another player on this team move off the ball besides me. it just creates so much more space on the floor. he can finally pass with either hand now and his vision is much better. still potential in a bottle.