JCC of Central New Jersey Men's Basketball

Disclaimer: Week 15 is presented by a team of ghost writers, as our brave commissioner, Ed Seiden, is sidelined after successful shoulder surgery. We send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery and look forward to his return to the court.

The last week of the regular season delivered everything we could have asked for: drama, intrigue, and a lot of yelling. Before diving into the details, it's worth noting that the playoff picture was wide open leading into the week. While Gary Levine (pictured below) attempted to map out the numerous scenarios, ultimately, only a few key games determined the final seeding.

Billy Hoyle 78 - Ball Don’t Lie 54: Ball Don’t Lie was coming off of a long bye week, and let’s be honest… it showed. They couldn’t get it going offensively, and Billy Hoyle never let up. This game didn’t have much playoff implications. Ball Don’t Lie was destined for the play-in game, and Billy Hoyle needed a miracle to stay out of it. In the end both teams play tonight in their respective games.

Money Ball 77 - Big Ballers 59: Another one that didn’t carry much weight in terms of seeding. Big Ballers has been fighting an uphill battle all season long missing their star player for a majority of their games. Moreno is a great player, but let’s be honest, the best ability is availability, and he just can’t make these weeknight games work. If Big Ballers could play consistently with their full squad they would be a tough team, but that’s a big IF. Meanwhile Money Ball did what Money Ball does best, pass the ball to Andi…partially joking. Money Ball took care of business as a unit and finished their season on a high note. They couldn’t control their own fate and so they end the season as the 6th seed, and will play next Monday night against Going Buck for potentially a short week.

Shortland Blazers 75 - Going Buck 71: Tuesday night featured one of the marquee games of the week in terms of playoff seeding. With a win Going Buck would have locked up the #2 seed, and with a loss they fall to the #3. Meanwhile, Shortland had the ability to lock up the #5 seed with a win. Which for them would be a tremendous end to the season from the way they started off the year. This game was a battle, back and forth, back and forth. Each team hit big shots all night, including Will’s 2x clutch 3 pointers at the end of the game. However, in the end Shortland came out on top. There’s rumors starting to circulate that newcomer Jakub is the frontrunner to win MVP of the season. Did this win solidify it? We shall see…

Heading into Wednesday night the playoff picture was starting to take shape. Fast Break and Household Hoopers were going to be the #1 and #2 seeds, and the loser of Laub & Order and We Got Game were heading to the play-in game.

Fast Break 64 - Household Hoopers 58: Both teams locked up the #1 and #2 seeds so there was not too much to play for in this game, a little extra pride maybe? Household Hoopers tried some unique defensive strategies out there, and it was a close battle all night. But in the end Fast Break came out on top and put the #1 stamp on their great regular season. Colin closed the season out on a high note, fouling out of the game giving Clay and Kevin a piece of his mind. Maybe that talking too contributed to what transpired in the next game? No one knows. Both top seeds will play in their respective games on Wednesday night as they get the privilege to pick their game date&time by getting the top seeds.

Disclaimer: you see that Narod? You’re supposed to get the #1 or #2 seed in order to dictate when you play.

Laub & Order 54 - We Got Game 49: As the saying goes, “save the best for last.” And that stands to be true once again. The final game of the regular season was one of the greatest on the week. It had the highest stakes out of any matchup. The loser being forced to play in the play-in game with a 7-7 record. The crowds were starting to form in anticipation of what was going to happen. The game was a battle from start to finish. The pressure was turned up, and everyone was playing with a high level of intensity. You would have thought it was THE play-in game. Laub & Order started to pull away from We Got Game, but with about 5 minutes left in the game the tides started to turn. We Got Game began to find Matt who hit big time shots. Before anyone noticed, Laub & Order had blown a 7 point lead and both teams were tied going into the final stretch. After some back and forth free throws and defensive stands, Laub & Order had one final offensive possession down 2 points. Eric Sass catches the ball, heads into the paint and with 2 seconds left on the clock Kevin the (worst) Ref calls a blocking foul on Matt that sends Eric to the line for 1 and 1. The call was absolutely controversial. Could Matt have had him wrapped up a bit, sure?. But at that point in the game it was a tough call, and it ended up changing the trajectory the rest of the way. Eric deserves the praise because he nailed both clutch free throws and sent the game into OT. In the end We Got Game never was able to overcome that moment. Laub & Order locked up the #4 seed and sent We Got Game to the play-in.

It was a hell of a season boys! Thank you again to Ed for being a rockstar commissioner and to everyone who helps contribute to the success of this league. The Playoffs begin tonight, and any team has a chance to come out on top. Best of luck to everyone!