BuzzerBeater Forums

write an article for your team every once in awhile if you want, or not, i just feel like writing about something...


The Red Claws are stuck in the middle. Last year the team was in 3rd and 4th place virtually all season, this season they will be lucky to grab a playoff spot. Nobody on the team has any real long term value besides Othello Lefever. At just 24 years of age, the belgium guard is already a proven all-star caliber talent. He is averaging a league leading 31 points per game with a respectable shooting line of .438/.434/.867 and an otherworldly 6 three's per game while maintaining prolific efficiency beyond the arc. The other 4 Red Claws starters could all be in different uniforms within the next season or two, especially considering all are between age 27-34. The biggest need is a Small Forward. The past 3 seasons, Maine has gotten by with having their big wing over the age of 30. Now the team is in rebuild mode and a 33-34 year old does absolutely nothing for them. They recently got rid of Wilfredo Sta Ana, who despite struggling with efficiency offensively, was having a very good year for the Claws, averaging 19.8ppg 7.2reb 2stls and over 2 threes per game. The Red Claws are also looking to acquire a younger center who can actually put a basketball through the hoop, because Desgranges has apparently lost all ability in doing so since coming to Maine(hes 20-72 from the field this season). Red Claws point guard Salva Eguilez has been with the team since it's inception into Buzzerbeater, but will probably be the back up at best when the team is ready to compete for D3. Tomislav Bajlovic has proven to be one of the more versatile big men in the entire league, averaging over 5 assists last season, but at 30 years old, he is on the decline. The Red Claws are a long ways away from competing at D3, but things may look much much different come this time next season. With a small arena and 4 starting spots to fill with promising young players, this organization is going to have to generate a ton of money to make a D3 jump happen any time in the next 5 seasons, especially how competitive IV.57 is becoming. It only took 1 full season to promote from D5 though, maybe the management can speed this rebuilding process up as well.

The Briscoe Eagles GM balling expected to be out by maybe 2-3 seasons but it could be longer. with money issues and lack of upcoming young guards. Who knows how long it will take. The lack of guards have slowed them down with the lack of an arena to produce a lot of money. Their best guard or small forward is their point guard Anthony Audin. Anthony used to lead the league in assist but due to amount of games played he won't on the list now but will be soon hopefully. He is All-star caliber with his shooting and assist and almost getting triple doubles. He has proven he cans still contribute but with back ups like Will Solis, and Pat Ocampo things are bad. both on the team just for merchandise yet the teams merchandise is still poor. 7k less than league average. Anthony, Valter, and Mirco both proved their worth at some point and Nikos is a trainee that should get things going for him in season 26. So the team is in a rough spot looking for a trainee at SF and an okay back up PG. while replacing trainer to save money. could save an average of 5k a week. Arena also stands in their way at 10.2k . the GM wants it to be near 11k by the end of this season. and he plans on making a run in the cup for easy money. But trying not to relegate and have a cup run can be hard on GS so they have had a weaker league start than possible. The Eagles are trying to move forward and fill in the holes for a championship team. but they ave to do it before a couple players get old and decline.

Mickeal Desgranges is getting ready to join a new team. The center has spent parts of 4 seasons with Maine, signing just days after the franchise was integrated into a division 5 league that the Claws promoted out of the following season, Desgranges was arguably the most important player on that team, putting up monster numbers on the defensive end of the floor. Desgranges has become less and less effective on the offensive side, which is largely the reason why he is no longer with the team. Phil Bowens is expected to replace Desgranges in the starting lineup, though the team could move 34 year old veteran Manolo Herencia to the PF slot to act as a stretch 4 in the team's patented run and gun style, Tom Bajlovic would move down to the center spot in that case and they would start a three headed backcourt of Lefever, Radford and Eguilez. The team is now just a bunch of spare parts thrown together for the most part, Othello Lefever and Joseph Radford are the only real long term players they will hold onto as they try to advance to DIII. With a promising young backcourt set in place, Maine will now turn it's attention to cleaning house and starting over. With 4 wins this season, they are not in danger of demotion, giving the coaching staff a chance to properly evaluate the young and unproven talent on the roster and weed out who will be here long term and who will be auctioned off. Veterans such as Salva Eguilez, Tomislav Bajlovic and Manolo Herencia will likely soon find themselves in different uniforms. Maine is looking to become a defensive minded team, right now they have one of the worst defensive clubs in IV.57. The club is a long ways away from truly being a contender in this league, but in time they should be right in the thick of things. The Radford-Lefever duo alone will keep the Red Claws at least entertaining to watch, but the overall play this season from here on out could be ugly. Fans do see a light at the end of the tunnel though with this electric young backcourt, and this season Maine will have a "lottery" pick in the upcoming draft for the first time in the team's existence. A good young draft pick could help speed up this rebuild, but most likely the Claws will have to fill out their future starting 5 by buying young talent. Patience is a virtue, and it could pay off big if Maine can match the frontcourt talent with what they have in the guard slots. In 3 seasons this team could be a force.

I post stuff about my team as a press release. Check it out. Happy Holidays

New story up (BB)

Last edited by Billy at 12/29/2013 12:35:04 PM

New story posted... The 88's(28824)