GREELEY, Colo. — The Colorado Hilltoppers' season is effectively over after two weeks. No one expected the Toppers to compete in a brutally competitive league this winter, but their demise has come much swifter than any rational being anticipated. Colorado is now 0-10, with do-it-all star James Harden getting little to no help from his teammates. Despite the team's awful run, Harden was named COMO Player of the Week thanks to a 138-bone week (46.00 average) during which he stacked up 33.67 points per game, 14.00 assists, 7.33 rebounds and 2.00 steals. Colorado will likely owe Harden a $47M extension next offseason; a price tag that might be too much for a rebuilding team. That means Harden will be a big part of this year's trade deadline ... if he doesn't get shipped much sooner. Hang in there, James.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Anthony Davis is, for what feels like the millionth time, in a class of his own. The Minnesnowta Chill forward dropped 72 bones (tying his own league record) in the season opener last week, and helped the Chill get to 3-2 by averaging 46.00 over three starts. For his efforts, Davis was named COMO Player of the Week for the 12th time in his career, extending his league record (Duval United's Kevin Durant is second with 9). Davis is second in COMO with 37.67 points per game, 10th with 12.33 rebounds per game, and and tied for third with 3.0 blocks per game. GREELEY, Colo. — James Harden continued his hot streak this past week. Colorado continued to tumble in the standings. As recently as two weeks ago, the Hilltoppers (26-52) had a decent shot at ascending to the No. 8 seed. But the team has simply not done enough around Harden, who poured in 38.33 bones in three starts between Feb. 8 and Feb. 21. A lock for the All-COMO first team, Harden will key another postseason run in Greeley next season. But with two lost seasons already under his belt since helping Shorewood win the 2013-2014 title, how much more patience will he have? GREELEY, Colo. — For the second year in a row, James Harden appears headed for an All-COMO first-team nod while his Colorado Hilltoppers flounder near the bottom of the standings. Harden won his fourth career COMO Player of the Week award on Monday (38.50 bones over four starts), but the 'Toppers are currently tied for ninth in the standings at 24-44. "Shouts to Harden for holding it down and inspiring the team," GM Collin Atkinson said. Colorado is currently four games behind Minneapolis and Kansas City for the eight and final playoff spot. There are only 14 games remaining in the regular season, and the trade deadline is coming up in exactly two weeks. So, will Greeley boys sell? Or push for their first-ever postseason appearance? "Now that it's crunch time, the plan is to focus in and do what's best for the organization moving forward," Atkinson said. "As of now, Harden is a Hilltopper." Harden is a bona fide superstar; His departure would severely upset the Hilltoppers fanbase and potentially send the team spiraling out of contention for the next couple years. Outside of No. 13, Colorado has little to no options (Ricky Rubio at $9 million? Derrick Rose at $11 million) that playoff-bound teams would be interested in. This week's slate of six games will go a long way toward deciding the Hilltoppers' fate. SHOREWOOD, Minn. — The Show goes on, thanks to Stephen Curry. Shorewood (46-16) heads into its second straight week as sole possessor of COMO's No. 1 seed. Curry (44.33-bone average over three starts) was the primary reason Bobby Finstock's squad went 3-1 with huge wins over Chaska, Rio and Newport Beach. "There are three rules that I live by," Finstock said. "Never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never design a play that doesn't go to Steph. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese." The past two seasons, Shorewood has been out of the regular season title race by mid-February. Now, they're in the driver's seat. But will the Show still make another deadline deal in their quest for a championship three-peat? "We've got our eye on a few players," GM Alex Smith said. "There are always options available. But the guys we currently have in our rotation are making it clear they don't need any help." SHOREWOOD, Minn. — Did we just witness the evolution of Giannis Antetokounmpo? Last week, most basketball fans would have said the 7-foot stud was still another season or two from COMO Player of the Week status. But Antetokounmpo just posted a 33.00-bone average in four starts while Shorewood went 4-0. Now, the Show (43-15) are all alone in first place, and the "Greek Freak" could shape the league's playoff push. Instead of trading for another team's star at the deadline, Shorewood has a homegrown bone collector. "There are three rules that I live by," coach Bobby Finstock said. "Never get less than 12 hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never put Giannis on the bench. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese." Shorewood's eight-game winning streak has broken it out of a tie with Duval United (42-16) at the top of the standings. "We're looking damn good," general manager Alex Smith said. "There are still plenty of deadline options, but we're light years ahead of where we were in November." Anthony Davis wins Player of the Week, still can't save Hollywood from the dark recesses of Hell12/28/2015 HOLLYWOOD — This is sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Even if Aaron Connolly Nutting actually reads this post, the Hollywood Hornets owner is powerless. His team has been sanctioned by the holy basketball powers. No life. No happiness. No hope. Power forward Anthony Davis was in MVP form this week, putting up 36.67 bones across three starts. But Hollywood (11-33) lost four more games to run its streak to six and drop to the bottom of the COMO standings. The Curse of Clauss is alive and well. We're sorry, AD. CHASKA, Minn. — We know Chaska is one of COMO's deepest teams, and the Moose proved that again with a huge week from shooting guard Klay Thompson. The 25-year-old dropped an average of 36.00 bones over two starts en route to his first career Player of the Week nod. But the Moose are no longer in command of the standings; rival Duval United has won 16 straight games to grab a three-game lead over Chaska and Rio on the COMO table. "It's nice to have some individual recognition, but guys like Ty (Lawson) have to step it up and are the reason we aren't in our usual first-place standing," GM Joseph Fafinski said. "Grow up, bro. We're the freaking Moose." Chaska travels to Nova Scotia for a date with Sunnyvale, then hosts Kansas City before taking Christmas Eve off. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Chaska and Shorewood have dominated the COMO narrative for two-plus years, with Duval United serving as the unlucky third wheel on a pair of championship runs. This year, the Moose and Show are strong again. But the Bold City Brigade might finally break through. Reason No. 1? Kevin Durant. The 2013-2014 COMO MVP looks like he's back in elite form; he put up 36.75 bones over four starts last week as Duval (27-9) claimed first place for the first time this year. "First place is definitely where I parked my car," general manager Joe Dreyer said. Co-GM Matthew Fairburn concurred. "At the end of the day, you gotta feel some way," he said. "So why not feel unbeatable? Why not feel untouchable? Why not feel like the best to ever do it?" In other words... "J and I aren't here to take part," Fairburn said. "We're here to take over." HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Maybe things are getting back to normal in Hollywood. Last year's COMO MVP, Anthony Davis, got off to a slower start than usual this season. The 7-footer was completely shut out of the five Player of the Week awards handed out to begin the fall. But this week, he broke through, averaging 38.67 bones in three starts as the Hornets went 3-1, improved to 10-20 and grabbed hold of the No. 8 spot. Coach Jimmy Chitwood knows he needs to lean on Davis if he wants to survive his first season. "He goes," Chitwood said. "I go." |
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