Game One S4 Playoff Recaps

LA Flexes Two-Way Brilliance in Dominant Game One Victory

LOS ANGELES—Two teams met on one hardwood floor brilliantly adorned with purple and gold Friday night, surrounded by mostly purple and gold fans. Given the reactions of those fans all night, as well as the demeanors of the men in purple and gold as the teams headed back to the locker rooms, there would be no doubting which team was victorious.

Any who watched the game needed no confirmation of its result, from Polan Stronk’s toothy grin made only partially visible by his enormous lumberjack beard, or anywhere else for that matter—the Stars left no doubt on the floor in their 91-74 drubbing of the Portland Roses en route to taking a 1-0 lead in the series. Los Angeles hit 39 of 67 shots, including 13 of 29 from downtown, while beating the Roses in every other major category besides assists, in what can only justly be described as a complete victory.

The Stars trailed early, but a scorching first half performance by Carl Joseph led LA to a 45-37 halftime lead, from which they never looked back. Joseph, who was more reserved and taciturn in his postgame interview, said “This is one important step in the right direction.” Joseph finished with 22 points on 9/17 shooting, with 10 assists to boot. Nevertheless, he seemed unsatisfied with the performance. “I could have hit more, Polan could have hit more…we have to play better. [Portland is] way better than their record and the scoreboard tonight suggests.”

Portland struggled largely because of a lackluster performance from Jamon Alexander, who scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but shot just 15/35 from the field. Alexander was brusque after the game, saying “We’ve got to play better. I’ve got to play better.” Portland also saw a tremendous contribution from Jordan Frazier, who poured in 30 points on 10/15 shooting, all from downtown. Frazier was more upbeat, saying “We’ve been down before. We can do this. We are good enough, and both sides know it. It’s a battle.”

Frazier referenced the reservoir of history that exists between these two; this series represents one of the richer rivalries in the league. Portland and Los Angeles first met in the playoffs in Season One, where the Roses easily dismissed the upstart Stars led by a rookie Stronk in just 2 games. Both missed the playoffs in Season Two, but Season Three had them meet once again in the conference finals, where LA took a 2-1 series lead but lost two in a row, including one on their home floor in Game 5. This meeting represents the third iteration of the most common playoff series outside of the storied BOS-CHI matchup.

When asked about the Roses, Stronk was coy. “They are a good team, yeah, […] they made the playoffs. They’ve made the playoffs before. They won it last year, I believe.” After a pause, he smirked. “I think we’ve got them this time around, though.” The Roses and Stars next meet later today for Game Two.

Vintage Canny Powers Cosmos in Game One

HOUSTON – Joseph Canny is no stranger to playoff action, particularly not in a Cosmos uniform. He’d played 18 games in the playoffs with Houston leading up to Friday’s action, and had had performances ranging from “terrific to horrific,” in his words. Yet even being so well-travelled, he couldn’t help but grin as he stated that his 28-point performance in Game One “felt as good as ever, as good as any of those other games, maybe even better”.

Canny and the Cosmos are two seasons removed from a run that saw Canny finish second in MVP voting and saw Houston finish mere minutes away from their first-ever title. A lay observer would have been forgiven for thinking they were still in the midst of that run after watching them handle the San Francisco Quakes 64-55 in Game One. The Cosmos shot 31/50 from the field, good for an even 62%, while grabbing 24 rebounds, blocking 8 shots and swiping the ball 4 times in what veteran guard Alex Sinclair described as “a performance to meet the moment”.

It was not a blowout by any means, however. San Francisco led 55-53 with as little as 51 seconds to go, but Houston closed the game on an 11-0 run that included 5 points, two rebounds and a key steal from the inveterately reliable Canny. Maxwell Goodson, who finished with 14 points, 19 rebounds and 6 blocks, had 4 points, a block and a rebound during the final minute as well, but gave all the credit to Canny. “He’s the leader, in the locker room and on the floor,” said Goodson. “He set the tone for us, never lost confidence in our winning the game. He’s tremendous.”

The younger Quakes sometimes looked wanting for a leader of Canny’s caliber during the loss, particularly in the last minute as the wheels came off. Samuel James missed three key shots to end the game, and Marcus Nobles clanked an open three off the back rim as well. Car Lo and Darth Jor-El both had relatively easy looks at the rim, but Lo missed, then fumbled the rebound away, while Jor-El opted for a jam attempt over Goodson that ended predictably poorly.

James, who put up 31 points on 11/21 shooting, including 9/19 from deep, said that he “…was not bothered by the bright lights,” a reference to this being his first-ever playoff game. Regardless, he acknowledged he “had not made the best of the opportunity,” and that he would “have to come back harder for Game Two”. Darryl Stevenson, the only member of the team to have played in a Finals game, said “The pressure was on, for sure…we as a team are new to this, and it affected us, particularly in that last minute, no doubt.”

Stevenson and his counterpart at the shooting guard, Alex Sinclair, agreed on one thing in their postgame interviews: Game Two was going to be different. “They’ll have gotten out the jitters, I’m sure,” said Sinclair. “They haven’t seen our best yet,” agreed Stevenson. The Quakes will hope to bring their best on ____ for Game Two.

Charms Brilliant in 68-51 Game One Rout

BOSTON – It is sometimes said that while playoff seeding determines which teams square up in the first round, it means nothing once the ball is tipped off. Yet no reminders were needed of which team was seeded higher in the Boston-St. Louis matchup, as Boston showcased the end-to-end dominance that was expected of them as the #1 seed in a 68-51 dismantling of the lesser St. Louis Archers.

It was a team effort from the Charms, who saw three players score in double figures and two more with 8 points apiece. Their play was fluid and harmonious all game long, a style starkly contrasting with the oft-disjointed and haphazard way the Charms carried themselves through much of the regular season. Thomas Shoffner, who missed 11 regular season games with a hip injury but earned POTG honors today with 17 points and 4 rebounds, said “We’ve finally had the chance to play together for an extended period of time, and that’s made all the difference. We know where each other’s heads are at all the time, and that’s pivotal.”

Boston was missing Aaron Fiedelak, their principal facilitator, who sat because of a lingering dislocated thumb injury, yet they had no issues with distributing the ball. Kyron Hickman alone racked up 13 assists, earning plaudits from his teammates, particularly his bench-mate Noel Stoner, who scored 17 points of his own, many of which came off of Hickman assists. “He’s a tremendously gifted passer, and it can’t be ignored after today,” said Stoner.

The Archers, on the other hand, played exactly as you would expect a young team to, especially one against a Goliath, and especially one with nearly no playoff experience on the squad altogether. They never led, and trailed 10-2 after just a minute of gameplay. Though the Archers shot 58.1% from the field and outrebounded the Charms 22 to 16, they only shot four threes all game and lost 8 turnovers, something the St. Louis coach attributed to “nerves and great defense [from Boston].”

Some performances were worth noting on the Archers’ side, however: Tobias Miller, the rookie forward who spent much of the season in the D-League, put up 18 points on 9/11 shooting, a career-high, and all while defended by one of the game’s premier SF defenders in Tone Show. The Archers coach praised his “cool tenacity” and complimented his fellow rookie Westbrook Darius (14 pts on 7/13) as well, saying “the future is bright, regardless of what happened today.”

Even the immediate future offers some solace, as the Archers will get veteran center Pierre Brodeur back for game two. Cedric Hardwicke, the Charms’ All-Star center, said “We’ll be ready for them, whoever they bring out against us. We’re here to win.” The Charms and Archers meet next later today.

Bridges Buries Blues In Final Minutes of Game One Tides Upset

CHICAGO – Ask Anthony Bridges about the Chicago Blues, and the generally laconic superstar will crack a smile. He and the Windy City squad are what Bridges called “old friends” in his pre-series interview—he has faced them 16 times in his career, more than any other team, and their matchups are often legendary. Though tonight’s 58-49 victory may not be deserving of that label, it was a memorable affair nonetheless, as the senior Bridges buried 12 shots, including 8 from downtown, leading the Miami Tides to their first-ever playoff victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Bridges does not have a particular reputation for being ‘clutch’; that qualifier is generally owned by Bridges’ longtime rival, Walter Yensid. Yet the roles were reversed tonight, as Bridges poured in 10 points in the final 1:14 of the game, while Yensid missed multiple key threes in an uncharacteristic performance. For the game, Yensid was just 3/10 from deep for the game, mustering only 13 points in the losing effort. The Blues as a team shot 46% from the field, 23% from deep, a rough outing for a team known for its scoring prowess.

When asked about what was the cause of the Blues’ struggles, the oft-upbeat and lucid Yensid was instead somewhat listless. “We just didn’t have it out there tonight, for some reason. We have to come back better for Game Two, no doubt,” he said. Fellow Blues star Tshaka Zoulou, who scored 12 on 6/8, demurred on the idea of the Tides defense being the cause of their struggles. “I think it was more of a psychological struggle for us, for whatever reason…we both know we are good teams, and it’s as much a battle on the court as it is in our minds.”

Given the history many of the players on each team have with one another, Zoulou’s answer is hardly surprising. Anthony Bridges hinted at that same element of the game when he called the victory “cathartic”, reminiscing about how “[Yensid] got the better of [him] the last time [we] were on the court”, a clear reference to the show-stopping buzzer-beater three Yensid hit to send the Blues to the finals over the Charms last season.

Kacey Cunningham added 7 points and 3 assists for the Tides off the bench in his first-ever playoff game, but no other Tide scored more than 6. Outside of Yensid and Zoulou, Jaga C had 8, but the most notable performance from the supporting case was a 1/8 shooting line from Kwanzy Iceberg. Iceberg struggled all game, but his poor performance was most pronounced in the final minute of the game, when he missed 6 shots. He did not talk to reporters after the game.

Despite the triumph by the Tides, both sides agreed the series was not yet decided. Yensid assured reporters that “the Chicago Blues never give up or give in,” guaranteeing they’d hit harder in the next game. Anthony Bridges, on the other side, said “We’ll see what the rest of the series brings. I expect it will bring plenty of competition.” The Blues and Tides meet for Game Two later today.