News

BULLETS (3-1)

BLAZERS (4-1)

• Dealt their first loss of the season by the surging Warriors but it may have been what's considered a 'schedule loss' since they were coming off a bye week. The commissioner still not buying contender status as of yet.
• Javan and Tharu will have the advantage in the interior as they outrebounded the Warriors All-Star front court. Will keep the Blazers second chances to a minimum.
• Sam has to keep his composure. Bullets need your instant offense and sparkplug personality to be competitive.

• The Blazers are fun to watch as they dismantled the pistons early on and then allowed the pistons to get some empty points to make the score reasonable.
• NJ for MVP case is getting stronger as he is averaging 19 ppg and 8 rpg while dabbling with a 50/40/90 season which is truly amazing for ETBL.
• Look for Blazers to push the pace like the Warriors did especially against their transition defense. A lot of runouts are available on the Bullets squad.

JAZZ (2-2)

PISTONS (1-3)

• Jazz lose a tough one partially because they lacked some scoring and that was tough without Demone. They need a win to stay with top 6 teams.
• Yaga vs Usamah Part 2 – last season they had an altercation but hopefully this time cooler heads will prevail and we see these guys compete
• Joseph Le looked solid last week with a 9pts/11rpb/4asts with all the points coming at the free throw line. He continues to be the x factor for this team. Look for him to take advantage of the older Pistons.

• The Pistons made some maneuvers at the trade deadline but it ended in another L and a 1-3 start but a win here puts them tied with the Jazz!
• Sanam and PJ have to produce for this team to have a chance
• The Pistons play ISO ball a lot so there needs to be more movement in there half court sets. 
• Sugee has been the bright spot this season averaging 9.3 points per game, look for him to energize his team.

RAPTORS (2-3)

LAKERS (2-3)

• Somi said 'This is the year' but since that statement they have lost 2 straight. Raptors could not contain Umaraj last week.
• Thileeps conditioning has been questioned in last week's game. He is averaging 5 ppg and 10 rpg though and will have the height advantage against Laker bigs
• Harrison/Somi will have the quickness advantage over the Lakers guards; look for a lot pick and roll offense.

• GM Rahul with a 2nd straight win by his squad. They beat the Bulls last game and now trying to stay pace with top 6.
• The Lakers 'Big 3' of Ara, LiShin, and Sarwar have been formidable and the 3rd option of these three, whoever it is, will have an advantage against Raptors weak defense. They just have to find the advantageous matchups
• Brendan Ferguson contributing 9 rebounds last week against the Bulls front court. He will be the x factor this game

BULLS (2-2)

SPURS (0-5)

• Tough loss against the Lakers even tho they were undermanned they still had a chance to win. Without Nishan the Bulls looked a little bit off
• Fasel with a 15pt/20reb game last week and he is having a great season to date averaging 12 and 11.
• Micheal Mansala shooting 46.2% from 3pt range as a player to watch in this game.

• Struggles continue for the Spurs as they will have it tough against a solid Bulls squad.
• Full 44 minute game is in order for a W. If they can play like they did in 1st half last week and have subs; I think they will compete against this Bulls team.
• Backcourt of Roy and Dylan looked better last week and they will need to be better against their teacher from OTBL days (Nishan). It will be a pupil vs the wise elder in this matchup.

GRIZZLIES (2-3)

CELTICS (2-3)

• Grizzlies get a much needed win backed by their MVP Anthony who had a very efficient 32 points. He is the Russell Westbrook of ETBL and look for him to go head to head with Umaraj
• The supporting cast chipped in with 4 to 8 points each. It seems that will be the formula for the Grizzlies
• The bigs for the Grizz will be in tough guarding Abdul Wahedi. They will need to communicate/closeout and guards will have to gang rebound.

• Mr. Umaraj have yourself a game sir! Dropped 25 points against another top flight guard in Harrison. He will probably be tasked with guarding Anthony which should be a good one.
• Who is Randy Cho? He is the guy wetting 3’s in your face! He is looking to be the x-factor for Celtics and also has been a draft day steal.
• Celtics played a complete game for once and are now back up in the standings as they try to climb up even more. Can they be consistent?

NUGGETS (3-1)

TIMBERWOLVES (4-1)

• Game of the Night with 1st place implications as GM Ray is coming off a bye week. Can they stop the best team currently?
• Chris Searles will have to play big in this game and I’m sure he can against the Timberwolves bigs and will likely have to defend one of Manveer or Thuva.
• The other defender used against them could be Dwayne Lubin as he is the reigning defensive guard of the year.
• Matchup of 3pt threats (Sen vs Manish) is another side story to this game.

• No Manveer no problem because Thuva is there to also help with the scoring. The duo is causing chaos for team defenses as they have to pick their poison with these two.  
• Can Twolves contain Chris Searles? Aathavan and Thuva will be on him at some point during the game.
• Ragu will have to be disciplined here with no turnovers. Nuggets are great at perimeter defence and securing possessions.