Grinders HQ writers decided that you get no weekly review. Instead you get a look back at the half-way point of the season.

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First Team All-Grinders mid-season

• Curtis Masich: (23/9/4/1/1) leading candidate for MVP before his near-fatal ankle injury.
• Richie Creamer: (22/5/1/3/1) best guard in the league (statistically – at least in games he actually plays).
• Justin Rybinski: (17/12/2/1/2) third best GAPE in Grinders – walking double/double. So tall.
• Matt Vaillancourt: (14/14/1/3/1) leads Grinders in rebounding, 4th in GAPE.

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Second-team All Grinders – mid-season

• Mike Gersitz: (17/12/4/2/1) highest GAPE in Grinders, team is in 5th place
• Josh Lanzot: (14/8/3) 7th in the league in GAPE
• Jon Witt: (15/6/3/1/1) spearheads best defensive team in Grinders
• Jimmy Zeitz: (16/8/3/2) toughest to guard when he goes

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Road to the Grinder Title…

Dadbods (4-1)

– Strengths: ball movement, lead league in defense, BB IQ, strong depth 3-5

– Weaknesses: offense…..anything offense

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Gimmie a Minute (3-2)

This team was destined from the moment the draft ended to be the most “vanilla” team in Grinders. Tall Justin Rybinski, the “Jeff Fisher of Grinders”, always powers his team to ~.500 every session, but then fizzles out in the playoffs. This team has to be happy with their 3-2 record so far, with Jeff May and Eric Carlson struggling to live up to expectations. Eric, along with fellow goons Justin “Helmet” Girardi and Josh Morcelle, are happy violently hacking unsuspecting Grinders for something to do.

– Strengths: scoring, possible personnel mismatches

– Weaknesses: ball movement, athleticism

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What’s a Pass? (3-2)

This team may be he most offensively gifted Grinders squad put together at EBC. Curtis “Playoffs???” Masich, Matt “Hack-A-Matt” Vaillancourt, and Peyton “The Child” Urbaniak are all shooting over 44% from the floor. Jon “Ironman” Tirado and Eric “E” Boerdner each have the ability to put up big points in any given game, but also, have been more likely to tank their team’s chances with an off-night. This team could be a force if they all play together, as a team, and the young guy continues to gain confidence in his rookie season.

– Strengths: lead league in scoring, good shooting, actual b-ball talent

– Weaknesses: Playoff Curt, shot selection, shaky depth play

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BOHICA (2-3)

Captain Richie Creamer has selfishly played in just 2 games this session. The only games this team have won by the way – including an opening night banger against Dadbods, where there was some hugging or whatever. When everyone actually shows up, this team is difficult to beat. Josh Lanzot is an absolute bully down low, Jimmy Zeitz is a baller, Todd “Fucking” Nixon is a fan favorite, and Aaron “AK” Kiselev does AK stuff on the court.

– Strengths: great guard play, shooting, BB IQ

– Weaknesses: size

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Laundromats (2-3)

First time captain Mike Gersitz drafted a bunch of dudes who aren’t even on the team anymore. Cory “New Guy” Muldowney and Al “I went for how much???” Derrico have done their part in trying to complement Mike Gersitz’s dominating play. Mike “Q-Worm” Benjamin has been quietly chipping in 12.0 PPG, with a 40% EFG. Without a fifth guy to add a blow to the starters, a deep playoff run could prove difficult.

– Strengths: GAPE god Gersitz, size, championship pedigree

– Weaknesses: aggression, finishers

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Chuckets (1-4)

3-point legend Chuck Thomasula, at +0.8 Expected Gape, is the only guy on this squad who hasn’t underperformed. Team is somehow winless when Tommy Hughes, and Mike Ford plays. This team relies on balanced scoring and balanced play from top to bottom on the roster, but haven’t had much success so far. Mark Doyle has been shooting 41% from the field. Chuck leads the team in scoring. Tommy leads in GAPE, and Ford has vertigo. Old man Jon U contributes little.

– Strengths: talent, athleticism

– Weaknesses: size, scoring droughts, defense, old

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Round 1 Playoff Predictions

Based on the game film that Grinders HQ reviews we believe this is how the first round of the playoffs might shakeout:

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Game 1: What’s a Pass vs Chuckets (3v6)

Chuckets take this one. Playoff Curt shows up again. Ford goes to work. Tommy cheats just enough to get the win.

Game 2: BOHICA vs Laundromats (4v5)

Laundry Guys over BOHICA. No one can stop Gersitz. Richie melts under the pressure.

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What about the rest of the playoffs? The Grinders HQ writers are tired. You get what you get…

Week 1, welcome back, blablabla. Honestly it was good to see people again and have a pint or 3. I’m sure Edlridge was thrilled we were back as well. Onto the games……

6:30 – Gimmie a Minute VS Laundromats now known as MIA (only Mike In Action)

I’m not sure how this game was played or counted because Mike “Silent Death” Gersitz was the only one from his team to show. This was a hard game to follow as most there were trying to figure out who was actually playing for their team. Apparently Justin and co. had all their people, though no one really showed up (statistically). This should be an interesting team to watch as there is potential. But as usual, Justin stayed on the perimeter against the much smaller Gersitz. Lil’Cuz went “Happy Go Jacky” on every shot he saw, mostly out of iso ball. Jeff May struggled again with his calves and his shooting percentage showed it. Lil’ Josh was a pest as usual but had no major effect on what was going on. There was a lot of one-on-one, I’m getting mine going on. Wait and see if that changes.

Gersitz dominated play as proven by his 40 GAPE (26/18). Dude just finds a way to be effective even if his team doesn’t make him a focal point. Crazy Al went for $28. Based on last year and game 1 of this year, that’s about $22 too much. He struggled scoring again but his energy did help to get his team extra possessions. To be honest, we lost interest in this one after the first 16 minutes. It was best placed as the first game out of the shoot, much like the first fight in an undercard. No one knows who they are and no one cares or will watch. Be better next time.

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Based on talent, this should have been the game of the night. Instead we got what may be the greatest disparity in Team GAPE…….ever!!!!!! (96-20) What’s a Pass? came out and absolutely dominated play. Matt “Eye Rake” Vaillancourt looked like the UNC version of “Psycho T” Tyler Hansburough. He destroyed Ford in the paint and completed dominated everything in the 3-second area to the tune of 26/20 on 68% shooting and a career high GAPE of 48. Curt did Curt things and scored at will against a much inferior team (mostly in garbage time) and almost had a triple double (30/10/8). Peyton “Jon’s kid” made his Grinders debut and contributed in every stat category, as did “Bang Bang” Tirado. This game was done before the 1st half had even expired.

Team Chuckets had us up-chucking with how bad they were. They didn’t score. They didn’t pass. They didn’t rebound. They didn’t try. Frankly they didn’t care. Once again self-proclaimed top 5 player in the league Tommy Hughes called “game” with a ton of time left on the clock. Rumor has it that he didn’t want rival Crut to drop 80 on his ass. There’s not much to go on stat-wise for this team. Tommy had a double-double (10/10) but……..ewwwwwww. Be better in week 2.

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BOHICA vs Dadbod Does the Shammgod

“THE HUG”. That is all.

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The games/shenanigans/trash-talk at the bar was waaaaaaaaay better than any of the games played. You want more write-up? Play better games.

Week 2 didn’t bring us much excitement as far as the outcomes of the games. Both were pretty bad beatdowns. We’ve learned that Team Black desperately needs the return of Curt and while Grey might not necessarily need Tommy Hughes, he certainly can’t make them any worse. On to the recaps……..

Team Black vs Team Blue (W 60-41)

Team Blue was again in cruise control from the tip. Pre-season MVP candidate Mike Mllllilllickil kept it in first gear most of the game serving as more of a puppet master than performer. Blue ran up and down the court with ease finding easy baskets. The transition game suits Blue better than any other team, where their athletes can get up and down the court. Mark Doyle had 15 and 7 while Nixon chipped in with 8 points. Witt had his best game in recent memory with 19 and 12 and the biggest G.A.P.E. on his team. Blue would have better served if Helmet didn’t play a second (-1 G.A.P.E.).

Team Black needs to go back to the drawing board…..or pray for the early arrival of Import Curt. They again got blown out looking like a first year P.A.L. team that needed to play on the lower rims. Black did something no other team in Grinders history has ever done….. have 2 players with a negative G.A.P.E. rating. More shockingly they also had the player with the highest G.A.P.E. this past week, Grant. His 27pt. 21rb performance and 35 G.A.P.E rating is the best in the league so far. With help on the way and a rejuvenated Decz, could Black become a serious contender?

Team Grey vs Team Pink (W 60-35)

There is no bigger disappointment in the league right now than Tommy Hughes. He’s been MIA for open runs, MIA for games, and MIA in any meaningful category. Could these be James Harden ploys to get shipped somewhere? Little Cousin Eric continues to struggle but is showing some signs of improvement. You know it’s bad when you can’t win your Grinders game OR a one-on-one game against a guy who gets the cheap coffee at McDonalds (as well as the rest of his meals from the looks of it). Keep Grinding kid. You’ll get there. The league was pleased to see former league scoring champion “E” back in action. Maybe next week he’ll do something worth writing about. AK47 does what AK47 does……chuck and duck. Don’t count out the Mad Russian bear. Vaillancourt played his role as well as he could (11rbs) but wasn’t able to crash the offensive glass and be a force on the inside with put-backs.

Team Pink has had the same winning strategy for 2 weeks now….shoot, shoot, and shoot some more…..as long as it’s a 3 baby!!! Jon Tirado had 5 more 3-balls (17pts) adding to his league lead in that category. Speaking of league leaders Richie Creamer is on a freaking tear ladies and gents. Creamer dropped an Eldridge Club record 29 points to go along with 8 boards and showed his team what a real man’s G.A.P.E. looks like. Ford and Cole each had double digit rebounds.