Keys to Victory-Team Legs Feed the Kittens

Here is a classic conversation between me and anyone.. Let's use Eskildsen as an example. The two of us are sitting down around 4:00 pm in Palo Alto after a nice long hoop session where we probably go 2-4 against a bunch of scrubs. I order the omelet with spinach and feta cheese (My go to) and we start discussing PCTI. Here is a typical exchange:

Brian-"How do you think your team stacks up against ours?"
Danny-"Great. I know appear a little light on scoring, but you don't know what McKinney is capable of. He will definitely have a break out year."
Brian-"Well what about you, Wes and Smo?"
Danny-"I've started playing a lot more so I will be back to my old self (6 PPG maybe). Also, you have no idea how effective Smo can be offensively. He will get going and average 10 a game.
Brian-"What about Wes?"
Danny-"Wes scored 20 in a game in PCTI-1 on a bum ankle. This will be the first time he is healthy in a PCTI. He will probably go for at least 20 a game in PCTI-III."
Brian-"20 a game?"
Danny-"Yes. What about your team, who do you like?"
Brian-"Abe, Joe and Pitto played well last year."
Danny-"Yeah but Joe will go back to his PCTI-I performance. Pitto will lose his head and quit in PCTI-III. Josh will just turn it over."
Brian-"We still have me, BC, Donley, The Spotlight and Hops."
Danny-"You will get hurt, BC only plays good when his team loses, Spotlight will take too long to get acclimated, Hops doesn't score much, and Donley will leave early."
Brian-"So what you're saying is that everyone on your squad will play twice as good as they played last year, and everyone on my team will play twice as bad?"
Danny-"Yep."

When breaking things down during an offseason, I've noticed that I spend more time talking under the assumption that everyone on TLFK is going to play the best they have ever played, and that everyone on Breaking Bad is going to play the worst they have ever played. Fact of the matter is that that is just not realisitic but it's funny now that I recognize that's what I do. However, below are scenerios that will really help TLFK be successful over the 7 game stretch in no particular order.

1. Ian Van Horne being aggressive offensively. Fresh off what he perceived as an All-Tournament Team snub, the ex-football player with great natural touch and toughness needs to decide it's time to say so long to the 9-10 ppg and a 67.5 productivity level if he wants to be a captain at some point in the future. It's been well documented the importance of him coming into PCTI basketball ready, so look for this to play a big role in TLFK overall success (Or lack there of).

2. Cross Fit training translating to basketball production. Through the excessive promotion of Jeff Sabin, Cross Fit has been hyped as the best way to spend an offseason if you want to have success in PCTI. It has become the equivelant of when an NBA player spends an offseason doing MMA training. However, we have yet to see specific proof as to if CF translates into production on the court. No one has received more notoriety this offseason as Bryan McKinney and rightfully so.... By all accounts he looks significantly better physically than he has in the past.. There is no doubt his increased stamina and high motor will help TLFK, but if he is not producing on the offensive end, it will be another let down from the CF Gods.

3. Not getting caught up in the offseason hype. Coach Sabin has gone on the offensive for his team, representing them as an unbeatable team and alternately representing Breaking Bad as the worst team in PCTI history. That's all well and good, but TLFK will have to stay focused and keep their eye on the prize if they truly want to have success. There will be plenty of opportunities while BB is focusing on ruining Sabin's weekend, so TLFK will need to capitalize on each moment.

4. Aggressive play from the guards. Murray, Krow, Beasley and McKinney have been insulted repeatedly by Breaking Bad all offseason by being labeled as the team with no scoring. If Krow, Beasley and McKinney respond by averaging a combined 41.8 productivity level (Three of the lowest in PCTI-II) and 4.4 ppg like they did last year, it will be a long road to the championship. Beasley is the best natural scorer of the bunch which will help, but TLFK will need to get around a combined 65% production level from the three if they want to be successful.

5. Easy buckets in the paint. With two post players (Bruise and Smo) that prefer playing near the basket, a PG (Krow) that prefers posting up, the best cutter in PCTI (McKinney), and slashers (Beasley and Wilson), it will be important for TLFK to take advantage of their player's strengths and try to pound the ball inside. One of the issues that leads to such lousy FG shooting in PCTI is how easy it becomes to settle for jump shots when both teams are tired. If TLFK allows games 3-5 to become a shootout, it's going to be a long road to the championship.