- WEEK 11 PREDICTIONS -
WRITTEN BY: STEPHEN A. KELLERMAN
6-1 in Week 10 and now 36-17 on the season. I predicted Grizz by 4 and they won by 5. I predicted Thunder by 7 and they won by 10. I said Rockets by 16 and they won by 13. I also had Cavs by 4 and they won by 5. Yes, I was bang on pretty much for last Sunday and I am feeling good about Week 11 too. It will be Super Bowl Sunday but the Commish did a great job of only scheduling games till 6pm so we can get out and watch it in time! There are some interesting games on the dock and some not so interesting. Let's work.
3PM HEAT vs KINGS – (KINGS + 4)
This is a must win for the Kings as a loss to the Heat could have drastic implications to their post season aspirations. The Kings managed to pull of an impressive win in their last game. GM Nishan pulled out all the stops to secure the win, including wearing a Kings uniform and going to battle to secure the dub. The same cannot be said the same about the guys down in South Beach who took an embarrassing 16 point loss. GM Witness better take a page out of GM Nishan’s playbook and suit up after a disappointing performance from some of the guys in their frontcourt. Kings need to exploit the Heat’s lack of offence and the Heat will need to look at taking advantage of a Kings team who has played inconsistent all season. The Commish has informed me their star Damion Davis is out for the rest of the season and so they are in a tough spot currently unless they can find a suitable replacement which will not be easy to say the least. Damion did a little bit of everything and was a problem for defences and he will be missed for sure. With that said, I still think they are deep enough to beat this Heat squad who look like they are coming down to Earth. Slowly but surely.
3PM PACERS vs THUNDER – (THUNDER + 25)
Janath and OKC roll into the Abilities Center to take on season 5 MVP Duzan and the Pacers. The Commish has informed me that the Pacers were not happy with the officiating especially last game against the Bobcats. I have a message to the ENTIRE Pacer team. STOP COMPLANING ABOUT THE GOD DAM REFS! The entire league plays with the same refs as you guys and maybe they missed some calls but it goes both ways for the most part. Here is some advice to Pacer nation, leave the high-definition cameras at home and just play the game of basketball. You guys have the talent to be a top 5 team but worrying about things out of your control is not going to help you. The lack of shooting is the real culprit here and unless some of their guys turn into Steph and Klay...it will be a problem the rest of the way. The Thunder are the heavy favorites and they will look to make a statement in this one. Ther. There are levels to this and the Thunder are going to continue their dominance. The battle of Janath and Hashi vs Duzan and Nidun will be great but let's see which of the other guys step up and help the duo's.
4PM CLIPPERS vs GRIZZLIES – (CLIPPERS + 15)
An important game for the Grizzlies but a task that maybe too much for the reigning MVP Ben to take on. Someone on the Grizzlies will need to step up offensively! Will it be Cusean? Will it be Hasan? or will it be Jamshed and Jesse? These guys can get a bucket but we need more than a few to have a shot at taking down the Clippers. We know Jesse will be a rebounding machine but against the Clippers big three of Ajahmo, Kris and Javed...he will have to look for his shot a bit more on the inside. The Clippers are stacked with offensive talent from top down but their defence has been questionable and lack of size could ultimately be their achillies heel. The Clippers will look to bolster their stats while moving up the rankings to try and solidify a top 4 seed to get a bye in the first round. This has the potential to be a good one but can also be a filler game. It's on the Grizz to prove me wrong.
4PM BOBCATS vs LAKERS – (BOBCATS + 8)
BOBCATS are focused and looking for straight W’s. The defending World Champions are looking to make some noise and they will get a gritty tough opponent in the Lakers. The only thing making this close will be the fact that the Bobcats are generally shorthanded but otherwise I believe it would be a blowout. Sorry Laker nation...you guys are just missing something and I am not sure you will find it this season.
5PM CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS – (CAVALIERS + 11)
You heard it here first from your boy, Stephen A. Kellerman, that the Season 7 front runner for the MVP is Michael Mines. Yes, I have an official ballot to cast for the MVP award and if the season were to end today...my vote would go to M&M. He just has to keep up a decent pace in the last 3 games and I think it might be a lock. In an ultra competitive league, no one is doing what Mr. Mines is doing. Numbers are rediculous and he along with the help of Abeku and Rose have turned this team from a fringe playoff team to a legit contender. He has the Cavaliers sitting at 3rd in the league which is totally unexpected. Warriors need Shakeil Pinder to carry the load once again and hope he gets some help to steal this game and give them a chance at making the playoffs.
5PM NETS vs SIXERS – (SIXERS + 21)
The Sixers are going to officially end the Nets season. Nets just treat these runs as a pickup run and it’s not like any of the other runs have been special. You have nothing else to look forward to but the next Season of ETBL. The Commish is doing a Tier 2 right after this one and I think this team can be a legit contender in that. As far as the current Elite tier...you gotta have experience and more talent to surround the main players. Practicing with the team and running a system/plays will help close the gap but ultimately this team will fall short of being a contender. The Sixers will look to boost their stats and solidify their playoff seeding. I expect Mayo to put on an offensive clinic and build upon his lead to ensure he is the scoring champion of ETBL Elite. Sixers please make quick work of the Nets so I can catch the start of the Superbowl. Actually, I will just watch this game on ETBL2k youtube page and save myself from watching this massacre.