Recaps and the Spin for 8/25

Already the second season of the Hoops League Association is nearing its close, and that means it is time to resume the popular review segment, "Recaps and the Spin". In today's edition, we cover all of the action from Game 19, including a battle for #2 in the West, a likely Finals preview, a tankathon, a shocking game that tightened the playoff race and a game with familiar faces in new places.

Surf Douse Roses in Dominant Performance

SAN DIEGO-- Mere hours after they were hammered by the defending champions in Chicago in a game that saw them shoot 31% from three, critics began to question whether the San Diego Surf were contenders or merely pretenders. In the wake of today's annihilation of the defending Western conference champions, however, it is safe to say we will hear no such questions. MVP favorite Thomas Shoffner dropped 31 points on 14/20 shooting, Ben Allen recorded a double-double with 11 points and a career high 14 assists and the Surf hammered the Roses in a convincing 84-61 home victory. Perhaps the most impressive performance of the day belonged to Surf C Eddie Dale, who put up 20 points on 10/16 shooting while collecting 13 rebounds and 7 blocks in a near triple-double whilst matched up with perennial MVP candidate Jamon Alexander. In post-game interviews, Dale focused on the success of his team and his teammates, saying "We know we can beat anyone and everyone when we are all on the same page, playing on the same side. Today was a great team effort and that's why we won."

On Portland's side, the loss stung for a number of reasons, particularly due to their high-octane offense that was recently touted as the best in the league shooting an abysmal 9/27 from three. Koality Game, the star sharpshooter who shot 2/11 from 3 and 5/16 overall, refused to talk to the press after the game, storming out as they bombarded him with questions about his performance. Jamon Alexander, who put up 22 points on 10/21 shooting but looked overmatched and was largely outplayed by the Surf's Eddie Dale, responded with derision when asked about his team's and his own performance, saying "We have good games, we have bad games. It's a part of the league. We will shake it off and move on to the next game. That's all we can do. No point dwelling on a game like this." The loss dropped the Roses to 11-8, while the Surf moved to 15-4 to move 4 games ahead of Portland in the race for the West's 2nd seed.

The SPIN: The loss for Portland was quite deleterious, as they lost the ground on SD that they gained last game and more importantly lost a chance to cut the gap to just two games. With only 8 games remaining, it will be quite difficult for the Roses to catch up. As for San Diego, the victory serves two fronts: it dispels (at least temporarily) doubts about their offensive ceiling, and it provides some breathing room for them in the race for the West's #2.

Blues Shock Cosmos in Overtime in Potential Finals Preview

HOUSTON-- The Chicago Blues found themselves in a most unusual situation Tuesday afternoon, but in many ways, it felt quite familiar. "We're not used to that, no," said Walter Yensid before the game when asked about playing as the underdog. "What we are used to, though, is playing big games and winning them, and we're confident that that's what we are going to go out there and do today." Yensid's confidence was warranted, as the Blues defeated the Cosmos 57-55 in overtime in a potential Game of the Year contender, but so was the Blues' unfamiliar underdog label, as Chicago was facing the undefeated Cosmos in Houston. Nevertheless, the experienced squad and defending champions seemed undaunted by their potential Finals opponent who was previously undefeated, as the veterans came to play once again-- Jaga C scored 14 on 7/10 shooting, Walter Yensid led the Blues with 15 points and Tshaka Zoulou added 12 points with 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. The vets commended the rookies after the game, with multiple commenting on the performance of Sergio Fric, who recorded a game and career-high 10 rebounds. "He's a beast," said the notoriously boisterous Jaga C. "He's an absolute star for us. We love having him on the squad.

The Blues led by as much as 12 and held a lead of 6 with just 19 seconds to go in regulation, but a number of steals by Alex Sinclair and Joseph Canny on the Cosmos plus two clutch three-pointers from Canny sent the game to overtime. During overtime however, Canny and guard Jose Mendes missed multiple key shots for Houston, leaving them unable to come away with the victory. "It hurts," said Canny after the loss, "but it was always going to be hard to maintain that level of play. We'll process the loss, go over what went wrong and move on." Very little went wrong for Canny, who again put up 29 points on 10/20 shooting, 9/17 from deep, something of a regular occurance for the league's 3rd-leading scorer with 21.1 PPG. More of the onus fell on Jose Mendes, who shot 4/11 and failed to connect on a number of critical jumpers. Mendes acknowledged it, saying "I was terrible. No excuses, no avoiding it. Just gotta be better next time. End of story." The loss was Houston's first of the season, dropping them to 18-1, while Chicago picked up their 14th victory on the year, moving them to 14-5.

The SPIN: For Chicago, it's more of a moral victory than anything else considering their large lead on the second place Boston Charms in the east. Nevertheless, to have finally gotten the elusive victory in the odds-on prospective title matchup is encouraging. For Houston, at 18-1, there are few implications of the loss, but San Diego is just 3 games behind in second. A couple more wins will give them the necessary insurance in the West, and hopefully they will figure out what went wrong today.

SJ Pours it on as Quakes Snap Historic Losing Streak

NEW YORK-- Few players are capable of scoring 35 points in a game even once in a season, perhaps once in a career. Even fewer are capable of doing it twice in a row, and of that select club, Samuel James, or "SJ" as some of his teammates are now calling him, is undeniably the president. James cashed in for 39 points against the Empire, going 14/20 from the field, 11/14 from downtown, and largely outscored New York on his own for the majority of the game as San Francisco won its first game in weeks with a 65-54 drubbing of the Empire. "Best scorer in the league", said Darryl Stevenson, who racked up 11 dimes in the win, many of them going to James. "I've played with Jamon [Alexander], played against Walter [Yensid], played all those guys. SJ is a bucket like no other guy. You pass it to him and watch it go in." When asked about his performance, James brushed it off in an unusual manner, saying "Oh, I can do that any day. I was more impressed by D20 [Daws 20] with 12, Darth with 8 and 7, Darryl with 11 great feeds, Dizzy with 4 off the bench...this was a team victory. Young fellas played great today."

Three players were in double digits for the Empire as Cacio Way and Jesus James put up 16 while Randall Ta scored 10 in the losing effort. New York's coach deflected concerns about the team's performance, saying "We are growing. We're getting stronger, better, getting experience, and losing is part of the experience. We're still integrating...[Cacio Way] into [our offense]. It's a process. These things take time." Rookie Jon Rahm, who scored 4 points on 2/3 shooting plus 4 rebounds and 3 assists, said "It's definitely nice to see more of the floor...I think we as a team get better every game, win or lose." The win was San Francisco's fourth on the year, the first since their 3-0 start, moving them to 4-15. The Empire lost their sixth game in a row, dropping them to 3-16 on the year. The SPIN: The Quakes and Empire are horrendous, but both are surprisingly fun to watch. Samuel James is an electric scorer who may have a case for MVP even on this terrible team, Darryl Stevenson's quick growth is exciting, Daws 20 occasionally flashes brilliance and Darth Jor-El is already one of the best centers in the league. As for New York, Jesus James is a talented two-way player who just needs polish, Jon Rahm has shown potential in bursts and Jasper Calandra IV is entertaining on the offensive side of the ball. It was an interesting game between the two franchises duking it out for lottery odds.

Archers Rally Late, Stun Charms in Key Victory

BOSTON-- More than once, St. Louis brass has described their inaugural season in the HLA as "a learning experience." Lesson learned by the Archers today-- never say never. Despite trailing by as much as 6 with nearly 50 seconds to go and after having trailed by 9 earlier in the game, the Archers rallied behind a number of clutch plays down the line by their frontcourt veterans to shock the Charms 56-53 in a game pivotal to their playoff hopes. The Archers (7-12) surprised Boston (9-10) for the second time on their home floor, having done so earlier in the season, and the victory was huge-- the Archers narrowed the gap between them and the Charms (the incumbent second seed) to just two games with 9 left to play, including one more between the two.

Hanamichi Sakuragi, who again earned POTG honors for St. Louis after putting up 14 points and grabbing 6 rebounds while recording a crucial block at the end of the game, said "It always feels extra good to beat [Boston], no doubt," when asked about how it felt to play against his former team. "But we play hard every game, everyone on the squad does, and it pays off against guys like them." Tyrone Jackson, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and rebounds apiece, said the game was a big motivator for them. "Everyone been saying we should've burned it all down at the deadline, should have traded me, should've traded Mich [Hanamichi Sakuragi], saying we can't make the playoffs...that's a big motivator. Gotta prove em wrong." Boston stars were far more mum on the game, with Anthony Bridges stating flatly "We should've won. Can't believe we did not. Real disbelief for me." Cedric Hardwicke called it a "Tough loss" and said they were "...on to the next one".

The SPIN: The Charms were the better team, but poor play down the stretch led to them coughing up a winnable game. Such miscues ought not to be expected out of a team with 3 all stars, and they may lead to them fumbling their playoff spot down the line. For St. Louis, it was a huge victory, one that shows they are alive and kicking in the race for the playoffs.

Joseph, Gritty Defense Help Stars Best Tides

MIAMI-- It's hardly a new concept for Los Angeles to have a defense-first team-- with Jacob French, Anthony Flores and Sebastien Trident on the squad, the Stars have long been one of the league's premier defensive units. The acquisition of Carl Joseph, however, propelled them to new heights, heights evidenced by their tough-as-nails lockdown of the Miami Tides' upstart offensive squad in a 49-30 victory. Joseph fit like a glove in the Stars' scheme on Tuesday afternoon, recording 2 steals but more importantly contributing 17 points on 6/10 shooting, including 5/8 from behind the arc. "It's been fantastic to have him on the squad," said Polan Stronk, who himself added 8 points on 4/9 shooting. "He's just been a perfect fit here from day one."

The Stars (12-7) forced 15 turnovers out of the Tides (2-17) on the day, with 7 of them coming from Felipe Santos. Santos, who has struggled all year, refused interviews after the game. The game was not devoid of hope for Miami, however. The Tides led Los Angeles for large parts of Tuesday's bout, trailing by just 4 at halftime (26-22). Lamarr Chambers again put up double digits, scoring 10 on 5/11 shooting, and recently acquired forward Francisco Gerbi cleaned the glass, pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. "It's all about development for us," said the Miami coach after the game. "We are developing, and we really liked what we saw out of Lamarr, out of Kyron, out of Francisco...we're developing." The SPIN: The Stars picked up a key victory in their race for the second seed in the West, though the victory was somewhat concerning by how close it was. Their defensive brand of basketball was quite successful against one of the league's better (though inexperienced) offenses. With so many of the league's teams looking to the offense-first model, their off-brand perspective may be just what they need to make a run at the title. For the Tides, another loss both sweetens their lottery odds and develops their pieces. That they kept it close as long as they did is an accomplishment in and of itself.