- WEEK 6 RECAP -
Week 6 in the books. We will highlight a couple games but keep it short and sweet for the rest of them as we prepare for another power rankings update! Top 16 make the playoffs and some teams are at the halfway point of the season. It is going to be a wild finish. The main thing we look at is run differential at the end of the season. If somehow only 2 teams are tied for the last playoff spot...then we will look at their head to head record. If they did not play each other then back to run differential! Now let's get to it.
BULLS vs LAKERS: The Bulls pulled this off with a solid 2nd half. Their new addition Davion Parnsalu was exactly what the doctor ordered as he came up big down the stretch. An "And-one" followed by 2 straight huge triples which pushed this game out of reach for the Lakers. Great shooting form and poise from Davion and he will look to keep it going for the rest of the season. If the squad can get healthy and show up, they could make a nice push in the 2nd half of the season. Lakers need to step up on defence and play with alot more intensity and hustle. They do it sometimes but not all the time. Start sweating...lay it all on the floor...don't take breaks on defence...sub off if you are tired! More ball movement on offence will also help not be so predictable.
Final Score: Bulls 64 - 54 Lakers Player of the Game - DAVION PARNSALU 22pts/5rebs/2asts/1stl/0to - 4 Triples
BOBCATS vs CLIPPERS: This game was a thriller. Clips had control even without their star Kris who was out with injury. Bobcats however pushed through in the 2nd half and managed to tie the game. Just a total team effort and they took control in overtime. Solid win for the Cats as they move to 2-0. Clippers have lost back to back for the first time ever but they gotta be encouraged with their performance without being at full strength. Even a couple of the guys that played may not have been fully healthy and so hopefully they can recover and bounce back.
Final Score: Bobcats 66 - 58 Clippers Player of the Game - KAREEM WILLIAMS 16pts/3rebs/1stl/1blk/1to - 86% Shooting
HAWKS vs SUNS: This was a great game to watch! It had scoring back and forth with runs on both sides. As expected, the Hawks made this a transition game with their 3 guards doing the most of the damage. This is my second time seeing the Suns play and they have trouble guarding teams that run. This would eventually cost them the game plus their low IQ plays late in the second half. Mithun was a man on a mission as he scored, soared, and sliced his way to the rim on a very efficient night. Scoring 30 points on 13-19 shooting! What a bounce back performance from him after being held to 4 points on 2 of 10 in his previous game. Let's fast-forward to the end of regulation and OT. That’s where the game was ultimately decided. The Suns were up 2 with 10 seconds to go and the Hawks called a time out. I’m not sure what was talked about in that timeout on the Suns bench but they were clearly unprepared. The Hawks ran a fake dribble hand off that completely froze the Suns defenders. There was no switch or communication and Roheel drove to the basket and dished a sweet assist to Ganen. Tie game! To make matters worse there was 3 secs left and the Suns called time out. Only problem was they had none left. Luckily for them the refs didn’t hear it. They inbounded the ball and had zero urgency to get the ball up the court for even a shot attempt. This brings us to OT where the game was decided on the last possession of the game. There was 14 seconds left with the Suns up 1 and the shot clock was turned off. Not sure why the Suns player shot the ball as the Hawks had to foul. The Shot was blocked and Mithun took the ball full court scoring the winning basket. The Hawks gutted out a W. As for the Suns it was a bad loss. They couldn’t guard in transition, low IQ plays, and although Dakoda dropped a game high 36 points...he still had to work hard for them as he ended up taking 30 shots to get them.
Final Score: Hawks 69 - 68 Suns Player of the Game - MITHUN KRISH 30pts/1reb/3asts/2stls - 68% Shooting
SPURS vs WOLVES: The Spurs pulled this one out without Shawn and Ahash. Grind it out style like usual for the men in white. Anand was everywhere on the court as he returned from injury. Wolves were a bit sluggish and their best players will have to do more if they want to make some noise this season. Gelo, Shaq, Walshak, and Danniel combined to go 5 for 31 and that is simply not going to get it done.
Final Score: Spurs 48 - 45 Wolves Player of the Game - ANAND MISTRY 12pts/11rebs/6asts/6stls
ROCKETS vs THUNDER: This was a fun matchup as both teams know each other and practice together frequently. But no friends on the court and the Rockets showed that with a dominating 2nd half led by Roshane Roberts who made his ETBL debut. He had a dagger 3 late in the game and sealed the victory for the red squad. Thunder were playing solid in the first half but couldn't get shots to drop in the 2nd half and now drop to 0-2 on the season. Not time to panic yet as they still got enough time to turn it around starting on Sunday against the Suns.
Final Score: Rockets 48 - 43 Thunder Player of the Game - ROSHANE ROBERTS 20pts/7rebs/5asts/3stls - 4 Triples
KNICKS vs KINGS: Going into this game the Knicks felt disrespected by the Commish (Power rankings, recaps, prediction blogs) even if he does not write them all. Unfortunately for the Kings, the Knicks took out their anger on them. From the jump the Knicks were relentless on defence and put a pace on the Kings that they couldn’t match. Must be nice to be in your early 20’s. The Knicks made it a track meet led by team sharpshooter, Ryan, who scored in bunches to put the game out of reach by half time. The knicks showed that they are not just a pick up team but an organized group with multiple guys who can impact the game. With the performance I saw, I believe they are in the upper tier of the league. The Kings looked OLD in this one. Season 5 MVP Duzan was the only one that looked in shape. The Knicks made him work for everything and he still dropped 20 points. For the Kings, no amount of X’s and O’s would have helped in this game. They need to be on the court more and play their way back into shape. The talent and IQ are there but the gas tank is on empty.
Final Score: Knicks 57 - 40 Kings Player of the Game - RYAN JAYASINGHE 20pts/3rebs/1ast/1blk/0to - 4 Triples
JAZZ vs HORNETS: The Jazz were too much for the Hornets who are officially in last place in the league (0-5). First half they just ran the Hornets off the court and Tristan was incredible with a season high 27 points. He could not be stopped while the rest of the guys scored at least 4 points each! They took their foot off the pedal in the 2nd half but still cruised to victory. They could make a big time statement against the Rockets on Sunday in what should be a great game.
Final Score: Jazz 62 - 40 Hornets Player of the Game - TRISTAN QUARRY 27pts/7rebs/1ast/0to - 53% Shooting - 3 Triples
WARRIORS vs BLAZERS: The Warriors made enough defensive stops in the 2nd half to put this game away. Chris was a beast defensively and the whole team pitched in on the boards to secure possessions. They still have a long way to go to be mentioned with the upper echelon of teams but they are trending in the right direction. Let's see if they can keep it going against the Sonics.
Final Score: Warriors 49 - 38 Blazers Player of the Game - CHRIS D'SOUZA 12pts/5asts/1ast/3stls/2blks/0to - 62.5% Shooting
NETS vs BUCKS: The Nets pull off a big victory and now find themselves clinging onto the last playoff spot. They hit huge 3 point shots when they needed to and got enough stops throughout the game. Khalid was clutch and the rest of the team pitched in with everyone scoring at least one bucket. The Bucks have been a big dissapointment this season but to be fair they are just getting everyone healthy and available. They are going to have to get it going asap or the window to make the playoffs will slowly be closing.
Final Score: Nets 53 - 48 Bucks Player of the Game - KHALID FAIZI 16pts/9rebs/2asts - 50% Shooting - 3 Triples