- WEEK 12 RECAP -
Week 12 in the books and now we have 2 regular season sundays left before we start the playoffs with the best 16 teams. It's been a fun ride but we are slowly going to be saying goodbye to teams that are getting eliminated from playoff contention. This will be a very quick recap as we prepare for the home stretch.
LAKERS vs WARRIORS : Big grind out win for the Dubs as they gave themselves a chance to make the playoffs. A loss would have been devastating and the Lakers did whatever they could to give them a run for their money but in the end the Warriors pulled it out. Lakers were on a good run lately but this one will hurt as the rebounding and clutch shotmaking let them down in the 2nd half. They still have a chance but they will need some luck.
Final Score: Lakers 50 - 54 Warriors Player of the Game - KEN KAILASANATHAN 9pts/7rebs/5asts
HAWKS vs JAZZ : Big time win for the Hawks as they made some clutch plays down the stretch to take down the Jazz. Mithun was incredible and showed off his long range shooting with 4 bombs. He is so tough to stop once he gets that outside shot falling! Roheel with a clutch 3 and now the Hawks have moved up to the number 6 spot on the standings. Tristan with a rough game as he went 3 for 22 and couldn't buy a 3 point shot. Would have loved to see him punish the Hawks inside instead of settling for long range shots. Alex returned from his back injury and was solid with 13/7/4 and 3 steals! He unfortunately missed the wide open game winning layup with a couple seconds left on the clock but the Jazz are glad to have him back and contributing as he is an integral part to the team.
Final Score: Hawks 64 - 63 Jazz Player of the Game - MITHUN KRISH 29pts/7rebs/3asts/2stls - 54.5% Shooting - 4 Triples
CLIPPERS vs PISTONS : Two of the ETBL's finest went at it and the defending champs showed their grit and ability in this one. Only playing with 5 guys but everyone did a heck of a job and contributed to the win. Sugee was dynamic as he did a little bit of everything again. Anson double doubled and played fantastic defence. Randy hit some big time 3s and overall they have to be very pleased with the results. Pistons were shorthanded as well and played well for the most part especially Kendell with a game high 23 points.
Final Score: Clippers 65 - 57 Pistons Player of the Game - JAVED AHMAD 19pts/9rebs/7asts/2stls - 5 Triples
BULLS vs BUCKS : Two teams going in opposite directions. Bulls just had too much experience for the young Bucks and had full control of this game. Shang was a beast while the rest of the guys did their part to contribute. They are sitting in the number 2 spot in the standings but the chatter around the league is that they are not deserving and haven't beat enough good teams. They have a chance to change that narrative with a matchup against the Thunder and Bobcats to finish the season.
Final Score: Bulls 71 - 58 Bucks Player of the Game - SHANG SINNATHURAI 28pts/9rebs/5asts/3stls/1blk - 54.5% Shooting - 2 Triples
HEAT vs RAPTORS : The Heat put on a show versus the Raps and destroyed GM Gogs chances of making the playoffs. Nidun continues to creep up into the MVP conversation with a rediculous line in this one. He can affect the game in so many ways and he balled out against the Raptors. Jacky came off the bench and lit it up with 6 triples!!! If he can provide this sort of spark the Heat could be looking at hoisting the trophy in June. Raps had some talent on their squad but ended up underachieving and it will be a tough offseason for them. However, they aren't too far from being a legit team.
Final Score: Heat 81 - 49 Raptors Player of the Game - NIDUN CHANDRAKUMAR 18pts/10rebs/13asts/3stls/1blk/1to - 70% Shooting - 3 Triples
GRIZZLIES vs SONICS : The Sonics were down 17 and looking like the biggest ETBL dissapointment this season. But Zaid decided that this would not be their fate and put on a clinic and saved their season...for now. They even held a 3 point lead with 12 seconds left and looked to have locked up the game in overtime. I think a lot of people were expecting them to foul the Grizzlies once they inbounded so that they would not be able to get off a 3 point shot...but they decided to play it straight up and...BIG BEN hits an incredibly tough 3 pointer to tie the game!! Double teamed by the Sonics but Ben still managed to get his shot off and drilled a heartbreaking three. The Sonics will take the tie as a loss would have been devastating but man...it still certainly stings.
Final Score: Grizzlies 74 - 74 Sonics Player of the Game - ZAID PAREKH 38pts/15rebs/3asts/1to - 55% Shooting - 2 Triples
BEN OKYERE 34pts/14rebs - 86% Shooting - 2 Triples
SPURS vs THUNDER : The Thunder defeated Vijay and the Spurs on Sunday after a hard physical battle between the two teams. The Spurs punish you with their physical defence but the Thunder still found ways to make plays in the first half including a big 'and 1' by Camren who was great in this one. He is known for his outside shooting but he did a great job being a playmaker and getting to the basket. Spurs have now lost 4 in a row and this is not the way they wanted to go into the playoffs but they still have a chance to right the ship on Sunday. The Thunder are rollin.
Final Score: Spurs 52 - 62 Thunder Player of the Game - CAMREN KORHANI 16pts/5rebs/9asts/2stls - 54.5% Shooting
ROCKETS vs NETS : The Rockets put away the Nets pretty easily in this one. Rockets are slowly finding their groove and at full strength they will be a tough matchup for anyone. The Nets battled hard this season but a few roster tweaks might serve them best for the following season. They have some good parts that they can work with but raising the level of talent with a couple changes will serve them very well in the future.
Final Score: Rockets 68 - 46 Nets Player of the Game - ROSHANE ROBERTS 23pts/3rebs/5asts/2stls - 61.5% Shooting - 4 Triples
BOBCATS vs KINGS : The Kings had control of this one late in the game but Allan and company refused to lose even though they only had 5 players show up on Easter weekend. GM Omar was forced into game action and he played the entire 42 minutes and eventually came up with the game sealing freethrows. Nishan decided to send him to the line with about 25 seconds left in the game as the Kings were down 2 at this point. These were the first freethrows of the season for Omar as he stepped up and...drilled the first one! He walked off like he hit a buzzer beater to win the game and started trash talking the Kings bench LOL. The scorer's table and referee's had to yell at him to tell him that he needs to shoot one more freethrow lol. But to his credit...boom...drills the 2nd one and that sealed the game for the Cats. Alot of heart shown by the Cats missing some of their star players but when you still have Allan and Kalsang you definitely have a chance. Allan went crazy dropping a 30 piece and Kalsang helped out with 20. The amount of talent on the Bobcats is rediculous and they earned every bit of this win.
Final Score: Bobcats 80 - 72 Kings Player of the Game - ALLAN MACINTOSH 30pts/5rebs/6asts/2stls/1blk - 71% Shooting - 2 Triples