Reapers Return! Second half season outlook...

Happy New Year!!

I hope you enjoyed your New Years Eve, and of course the latest article from Learning the Venture, your favorite newsletter of 2023! If this is your first time reading this lovely publication, it’s free to subscribe and join our growing roster!

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the Reapers since the season took a break for the holiday period, so this edition is going to look at how we are shaping up heading into the final stretch of the season. So now let’s get stuck in!

Our current situation…

The Reapers are currently sitting at the bottom of the standings at a measly record of 1-5, with our last game a victory over the Splash Brothers. With only 4 games left in the season (I know right, pretty sad, like why not wait to start the season when there can be 20 games?), we’ve got a chance to go on a bit of a run and at best finish 5-5. While 4 games isn’t much to work with, we’ve still got a decent shot and turning things around and at least finishing with a respectable record.

A bonus will be getting our leading scorer and easily our best player, Jorel Smith, back in action after he missed the last few games with an ankle injury/looking at universities. On the other hand however, Jadon Springer, our leading rebounder, is heading back to Barbados and will no longer be a part of the roster. While it is going to be tough without Jadon, we’ve got good cover in that department with Zakai, Jericho, and Karim all more than capable at filling Jadon’s massive shoes.

Where can we improve?

If you’ve been subscribed to this newsletter for the last few months, you’ll know from the our weekly review that we’ve struggled with rebounding, offensive pace, and late game management in our 5 losses this season. However, you’ll also know that we’ve improved in each game, ultimately culminating in our first win of the season just before the break. As long as we keep that momentum going and continue to work on those areas, winning our final four games is not unrealistic by any means.

What we’ve also done really well is just showing up. Out of all the teams this season, we are the only one who has had a full bench each time out. Although this kind of makes it more embarrassing that we’ve only won 1 game, it speaks to the commitment of the players, and gives us the confidence that we can put a decent five out on the court each game. We probably won’t be looking to add anyone off the waiver wire, even though we do have an open spot now that Jadon has left. Unless a decent guard or wing becomes available, it’s likely we will finish the season with the current 10 man roster.

Likely outcome…

Given there are only 4 games left this season, finishing at .500 is going to be tough, but again, not unattainable. Luckily for us, even though I personally disagree with it, is that every team makes the playoffs, so hypothetically speaking as long as we maintain this current form, we could potentially cause an upset or two. Basically, our best case scenario is we finish either 4-6 or 5-5 based on the games we have left, and make some noise in the playoffs, either making it to the finals or bouncing out in the second round. What’s also going in our favor, is a lot of the other teams bar maybe one, are beginning to hit a few bumps, so we will be keen to take advantage of that!

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Learning the Venture, and if you are new here I hope you enjoyed and I invite you to subscribe below:

Enjoy the your weekend!

Cheers,

Jason