News

BLAZERS (7-2)

SPURS (0-8)

• Blazers with another win last week and over the Raptors this time. They took shots by Harrison but eventually pulled away, still alone in 1st.
• Suren has been the glue guy for this Blazers team averaging 5ppg and 5 rebounds this season; he has been doing the little along with Annojh
• Blazers will out run this Spurs team and maybe will see Koby time during the end of the game. Etbl deserves it!

• Spurs are the 1st team to be eliminated. There were many missed opportunities this season and they will have to play out the season for pride
• Roy can be shut down for the season with his injury and let the others get some burn even though he wanted to save the Spurs from the Pistons.
• Dylan with another strong game but couldn’t hit a 3. He will need to work on that for the rest of the season. Hopefully the Spurs show up!

BULLS (3-5)

BULLETS (4-4)

• The Bulls are on the outside looking in after a tough controversial loss to the Timberwolves.
• Nishan did everything he could with a 35, 10 and 7 line.
• Look for the Bulls to expose the paint as Nishan, Jeron and Fasel can finish around the bucket against a porous interior defense
• Bulls need a W to get back in a playoff position, a slip up makes it difficult.

• Bullets with another tough loss and have been in a funk since that 3-0 start but a win could cement their playoff positioning.
• Lack of scoring is an issue as scoring 35 won’t cut it. Javan was the only person in double digits.
• Bullets will need to play defense and learn how to beat the zone that Bulls normally employ.  Look for Sam and James Arakill to get good looks but the problem is who will initiate the offense?

WARRIORS (6-2)

JAZZ (4-4)

• Another dub for the Warriors. For the 3rd straight time they were down in the 1st half and pull out a come from behind win.
• Rematch of ETBL Season 2 Finals. Asok, Gopal, and Gautham will be looking to exercise some demons against the Jazz and send them into the Wild Card game.
• Jeffrey has been a steal this year, he had 7 pts and 5 rebounds and has been a menace in the passing lanes.

• GM Sayon with a tough loss against the Grizzlies and now are in the bubble for a top 6 seed.
• The Jazz need a full team to compete, missing Demone puts more pressure on the others and will yield shaky performances such as Zaid's 1 for 15 shooting.
• Look for the Jazz to play a slow pace and bully the ball down low as they are bigger and more physical team than the Warriors.

NUGGETS (6-2)

PISTONS (2-6)

• Nuggets coming off another team win against the Bullets and are still chasing the top seeded Blazers which might come down to point differential as they have a game in hand. 
• The Nugget bigs get it done with 34 out of the 42 points; pound the paint and look for it to continue against the Pistons.
• Nuggets will look to capitalize on the Pistons iso ball and weak defensive rebounding. Sen, Evan, Glen have to take Usamah and Suhi as their defensive assignments.

• When its win or be eliminated , you better beat the worst team in the league. GM Sugee gets the job done to live another day.
• Sugee with 20, Usamah with 16 and Suhi with 15 but can they do it against a good team (well the 2nd best team)
• In order for the Piston to win, they have to get to a good start led by Usamah who is a capable of taking over. The Pistons need him to have an efficient game while getting others involved.

GRIZZLIES (4-5)

TIMBERWOLVES (6-2)

• GM Vimal has his team in a nice spot. A win this sunday can put them on pace for a top 6 finish. They look like a team you don’t want to face in the 1st round whether it be wild card or normal playoffs.
• Nisan with another stellar outing with 18 and 16 against the defending champions as he is rounding into form.
• Grizzlies are playing confident, Anthony vs Thuva will be fun to watch and Nisan will make the Timberwolves earn everything they get. Suthan be careful with your glasses in this game.

• 6-6-6! 3’s for Timberwolves triumvirate and they all had matching 20 points for Team Suthan.
• Timberwolves escaped with a controversial win over the Bulls and keep a hold on 3rd spot in the standings.
• Thuva is making his case for MVP averaging 20 and 9 in Season 3 and a winning duel against Anthony can make his case even better.
• Look for Timberwolves to beat the Grizzlies from the outside as their perimeter defense is shaky as Anthony likes to be a rover and cheat to get steals. Open looks will be had , will the twolves duplicate its shooting performance?

LAKERS (4-4)

CELTICS (4-5)

• Coming off a bye week, Rahul is holding on to a top 6 playoff spot after securing a huge win against the Blazers.
• Ara has emerged as the go to scorer recently after dropping 21 points on the best team in the league.
• The Lakers will need to contain Abdul and Umaraj as Rahul could employ Brendan on Abdul while putting LiShin on Umaraj. Lakers have matchups to compete in this game and put themselves in the driver seat for a top 6 seed.

• Celtics with a gutsy effort last week without Umaraj and Randy but came up short. They need everyone to secure a playoff spot.
• Celtics have the advantage on the boards with Jey, Jasinthan and Abdul so look for that in this week’s game.
• Where will be the 3rd scorer come from with Randy out. Can they channel the NBA Celtics? Who will be Scary Terry? Lakers do not have a primary ball handler and Umaraj may be the deciding factor in this one.