THE DREAM LEAGUE
Asian American / Open Basketball Leagues
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2009`Fall/Winter AAA (NYC) |
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PLAYOFF PEEK | ||
| Is it PLAYOFF time already??? Playoffs??!! We talkin’ ‘bout PLAYOFFS? Well, yes, we are Jim Mora. It’s playoff season here in the wild and wooly AAA and as sure as the sun will shine, an upset or two or three or four is going to happen over the course of the next month or so that no one could have predicted and we just can't wait to see how it happens. Personally, we also can’t wait to see how this whole Allen Iverson in Philly Part Deux unfolds as well. Outstanding move. If the NBA had a Facebook page and its status read: PHILLY SIGNS AI, the DL would check that we like it. AI back to the Iladelph is like two old lovers reuniting and it just warms our heart. We as humans are all for happy endings after all, are we not? Speaking of warm hearts, it went down to the wire with the seeding, but the top 4 seeds for the playoffs are happy to be resting their weary bones with a first round bye as the post-season kicks off this weekend. Gritty, Run & Gun, TSIVOS, Bearmen 2.0 – enjoy it while you can. Though you’re already in round 2, it’s a long road ahead as anyone who’s been through it will tell you. New Blood (6) and the Lions (11) open the post-season on Sunday in a game that means everything to everyone. If the Lions lose, their season is over. (And oh, by the way - why did you guys wait till the END of the season to get new lime green uniforms???) It’s obvious everything is on the line for them here. If Blood loses, however, it could be worse to them than it would be the Lions. While the Lions would go home with their tails tucked between their legs, it would end a season that’s been filled with more downs than ups and sometimes that’s a good thing in order to allow a team to regroup, retool, and reload for the next season. A New Blood loss would pretty much instantly shatter everything Blood has worked for this season. They have double-e and would remain awake, but now is not the time to stop pushing for them. James Lam is having a remarkable season averaging 16.3 ppg and the supporting cast around him that includes his brother Charles is quality stuff. They have the size with Nick Gao and Joe Yen, the athleticism with Jason Kwok, and 7 guys who played for them this season whose names start with a J. This point has nothing to do with anything, but New Blood better recognize that only 6 players on their roster played the requisite minimum of 3 games in the regular season to be playoff eligible. NICK GAO, ARE YOU READING THIS????
The Lions are giving up more points than anyone this season and getting outscored by nearly 16 points per game. It makes absolutely zero sense. Leighton Kuet, Hanson Hui, Vince Morales, and Ricky Ho ought to be winning more than 1 game on a season. But this season just hasn’t come together. If there is any miracle in them, it’s time to pull it out now. There’s no tomorrow (unless you have double-e.) Mr. Mora, it’s playoffs. Let’s get ready to roll. PLAYOFF PREVIEW INTERVIEW As the playoffs get set to tip off, regularly during the run, we'll bring you inside the head of player as we sit down to get 5 good minutes with them. This week, we bring you the one and only GM of all things Tri-State. Andre Liu (TSIV OS) - Being the captain of your team means many things- leading by example (Dre helped TSIV OS to a comfortable 6-2 in the AAA this season, all while suffering a near career ending knee injury), making key acquisitions to bolster the roster (see: Kwan, Chris) and most importantly, doing these interviews! In one of the lighter interviews that Dr. Dre (the OG) has given to Dream League we learn what his favorite position (or is that positions?) is, that Vegas Dave Wong is more dangerous than you think and why the Gritty Committee might not look so sharp come playoff time. DL: When was your first “Hey, I’m pretty good at this game, maybe I should play in an Asian basketball league in the future” moment? AL: I am currently still waiting for this moment to occur, although I am certain that it will be coming very soon. Just kidding, actually it happened during an Asian charity 3-on-3 tourney, and my team played a squad consisting of Brian Yang, Stan Yeung and Young Yu in the round robin. I held Brian to about 10 baskets and 20 rebounds (game was up to 21) and the rest is history. DL: What position do you play and what do you bring to your team's table? AL: My most natural position is the fetal position, especially when I “play” in the current incarnation of the NL division. But I also excel in other positions as well, since I consider myself a multi-talented player: official gatorade bringer, writer of postgame article, person responsible for making substitutions, player responsible for calling out the shot clock as it is running down, player who keeps track of time outs remaining, player who brings extra jerseys for teammates who forget...the list is endless and frankly it’s just shameless boasting at this point so I feel I must stop. I decided as captain of Tri-State Old School, as I was making up the roster, that we needed a player that wouldn’t demand a lot of minutes and that I was just the man for the job.
DL: What current NBA player best describes your game? AL: I have not yet experienced the honor of an actual NBA player deciding to take time off from their busy schedule to describe my game. But like the answer for question #1, I feel it’s about to happen very soon. DL: Come playoff time, what makes your team so dangerous? AL: Teammate Vegas Dave Wong, who is a carrier of multiple diseases of both a highly personal and highly contagious nature. DL: If we win a Championship this year it’s because of… AL: The placebos I substituted for NYC Gritty Committee’s team swine flu shots. |
