A MONKS MINDSET

NBA teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven playoff series on the road go on to win the series 86.5% of the time, holding an all-time series record of 32-5. The (3) seed, New York Knicks are in this position after winning two tough games vs the (2) San Antonio Spurs in this year's finals. But how do they manage this David over Goliath feat against the 7'4" alien giant? I think the answer lies in the key. You know the paint, the lane, the post, the block. 16 ft wide and 19 ft long. Where games are won and lost and grown men go to cry. It's a seemingly simple plan, get the ball to the tallest player as close to the goal as possible as many times as possible and we should win. Right? It worked versus the Thunder to the tune of 40 and 20 in game one. It worked out pretty good against the Timberwolves when crunch time came. But so far in this series, in this story, the 7'4" Goliath is content shooting low percentage jumpers, while little David, played by Jalen Brunson, slowly wears him down and takes the game over down the stretch.

Any player who has played the post for any given time knows it's a thankless job. Unglamorous drop step moves. Double and triple teams. Help side is every side and you only have three seconds to execute your mildly exciting move. Meanwhile your backcourt cohorts are launching one on one, step back cheddar balls to the roar of the crowd, risking merely their shooting percentage while you risk your neck, limbs and dignity. But the numbers don't lie. Analytics show that the team winning the "paint touch" battle wins over 65% to 70% of their games. So why isn't Wemby living in the paint? The simple answer is, because it's hard. It's hard to physically jockey for position with the other team's biggest bodies. It's hard to keep taking it to the rim with explosive moves and jumps. It's hard to keep drawing fouls, stepping up to the line and knocking down two. It's hard to mentally discipline yourself to the grind of post play and pick and roll. We all desire that luxurious life of dancing around the three point line with a little fancy dribbling just to launch a 25 footer that goes in 30% of the time.

I think Wemby's tired. It takes a strong mindset for a post player to endure these grueling endeavours game after game. We saw the mistakes at the end of game two. Fatigue. Mental and physical fatigue from a talented, young player on the biggest stage, for the first time. Meanwhile the Knicks are matured professionals, hardened by failure, motivated by spite and visually they appear both mentally and physically locked in. Now, if there is one player that can turn around a mindset it's Wembanyama. He trained with the monks, received tutelage from Pop, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and his conditioning is more sport specific than maybe any other basketball player in history. Plus he's French. So grab the popcorn, sit back and let's see how this story plays out for the 22 year old Goliath. I know I'll be excited to watch the paint dry, metaphorically speaking of course.

Weekly Recap:

These summer Storms have struggled to find the barometric pressure and Tuesday night was no different as Mob rained on Silent Storm's parade, 83-57. Matt Jackson was a one man monsoon as he pounded the glass and lived in the paint going for 25 pts, 29 rebs, 2 dimes, a steal and 2 Mutumbos. Andrew Ellsworth steadied the ship whenever Storm kicked up the waters with a 30 ball to help secure the victory. For our drought tolerant friends from shush-ville Shawn Daniels and Wilford Troup managed 16 pts a piece in the defeat.

Team Nuevo jumped all over IPS like they had Infant Player Syndrome in the first half to cruise in that new car smell all the way to an 88-72 victory. Matt Brito was in the driver's seat as he put together a fuel efficient 23 pts, 9 rebs, 1 dime performance, with Josh Salazar (27 pts) and Dom Baca (24 pts) taking turns riding shotgun. Greg Trujillo got adolescent in the second half and helped blunt the trauma with a team high 23 pts, (Jordan), 11 rebs and 2 assists in the L.

The Standard were automatic through the first twenty minutes as they faced the #1 team, 505 Unit to keep it close 36-42. Bryan Enriquez was working a smooth clutch with a team high 24 pts and 7 rebs but didn't get enough help as The Standard stalled in the second half and gathered the L, 86-110. For the Units Lukas Turner once again flexed his calling card and amassed 38 pts, 15 rebs, 4 dimes and 2 thefts in the win. Angel Parra helped dial in the win with 16/11/5.

Heat vs Kings sounds like an unlikely NBA finals match up, but we got Heatwave and Medium Kings Wednesday night. Instead of Dwayne Wade we got Rico Wagatsuma who went off for a team high 20 ball while Fidel Gutierrez got his LeBron James on collecting 28 rebs, 4 dimes and 12 pts. No Chris Webber for the Kings but Adan Lopez did his best impersonation, leading the Mid's with 21 pts and 8 rebs in the 67-77 loss.

Zia Elite suffered a serious allergic reaction after getting stung 105-75 by the Killer Bees as PJ Lovato pumped out the venom with 36 pts, 9 rips, 2 steals and 2 swats. Derrick Carls made a triumphant return to the hardwood on 14 pts, 14 rebs, 9 dimes and some serious buzzing. Zias Elijah Rodriguez was in elite form with 22 pts but it wasn't enough to ease the swelling, someone get the Benadryl.

Goon Squad got a quality win at the hands of a Silent Storm team that couldn't quite put it together on this night. Izaya Valencia was top Goon with 28 pts, 4 rebs and 2 steals. Silent Storm got a game high 33 pts from guard Wilford Troup but it wasn't enough to overcome the Squad and they dropped a close one 60-62.

The Standard bounced back from their tough Tuesday loss with a big 66-51 dub over Prime Time. Carlos "Los" Quintana was setting the standard with 20 pts, 6 rebs, 2 dimes and 3 thefts while Eric Enriquez followed suit, gathering 12 pts, 9 rebs, 3 dimes and 2 swipes. For the Neon Deion Sandersons, Kamron Tiederman put up 18 pts, 6 rebs, 2 assists and 2 swats but couldn't get the win or a spot on the Buffs squad.

Closing out our eight game slate this week for The League was the chubby midlines vs the best burger and fries this side of the Rio Grande, as Blakes Lottabuckets went on clogging Dad Bod's arteries to capture an 88-75 win. Chase Stafford was huge in the win with a double double of 21 and 10 but was merely the side of fries to Isaac Shanley and his 45 pt 15 reb double double lotta combo. For the beer gut and 5 o'clock shadows, Jordan Duda slimmed down to fit in a size 36 pts and Jassen Lopez helped lose some lbs as he cooked with 11 and 10.

The semis got underway for the 35+ League and Early College Opportunities gym was reeking of tiger balm and overconfidence as Nothing But Net tipped against defending champs, 505 Unit to kick off our double header. NBN kept it close early with a 37-40 halftime score and dreams of daytime naps and upsets bouncing around in their heads. But Rob CdeBaca had other ideas as he mustered up his orthotics, ditched the walking cane and put on a one man whooping show with 29 pts, 9 rebs and 3 thefts. Brandon Encinias added some Ovaltine, a double double (13/10) and 6 dimes to help propel the Units into the championship. Michael Chavez sharpened his dentures and bit into the defense for a 20 ball but there was not enough net to go around as the sweet swishers got sent home smokin', 61-82. Thanks for an incredible season Nets.

In the other semi some familiar foes went toe to toe and let's just say some of these Unc's need a pedi. Mob and IPS have played three of the last four contests versus one another, and this game played out more like a strategic chess match than a hoop game. Knotted 35 all at the half, neither team was giving an inch of retirement home armchair space to the other. Mob switched to a man to man defense, diverting from their trademark 2-3 zone to keep up with the nimble acronyms, and watched Andrew Ellsworth go off, on his way to a game high 27 pts and 5 steals. On the other side of the retirement home, Greg Trujillo was matching buckets and sweater vests en route to team high 23 pts. This one went down to the wire, when Ben "Your's Truly" "Big Ugly" Ellsworth (16 pts) finally got a couple lays to go down the stretch against the stingy, ImPenetrableSolid, defense employed by these acronymic, geriatric warriors. Mob 67, IPS 66. Great run IPS, thanks for a wicked season.

That sets up a rematch of last season's chip game between 505 Unit and Mob. The game will be played at ECO gym Thursday June 11th at 7:30pm. We will have free pick up runs there, that Thursday night, pregame from 5:30-7pm so come on down to get some runs and stick around to support the Unc's in the chip game. Thanks for a super start to summer everyone. Cheers.

Respect the game, Santa Fe Swish