- WEEK 4 RECAP -
WRITTEN BY: STEPHEN A. KELLERMAN & PROFESSOR X
Okay for the first time ever...I will be teaming up with Professor X to give you guys a breakdown of what happened on Sunday. So much juicy stuff that the Commish decided to bring our powers together and use it to save the ETBL world. Professor X's powers are all about using his mind while mine is using my mouth (pause). I will let him deal with all the number crunching and stuff but I am here to talk my truth. All the rumblings I am hearing has been incredible. The commish has confirmed a few new additions to the league and what I was asking for is coming to light. Recruit players that can level up your team and make the 2nd half of the season something to talk about. I can't wait to see how everything shakes up. Let's get down to business.
GRIZZLIES vs KINGS: The Grizzlies came to this one hungry looking for their first win of the season. They put on the pressure immediately going on a 10-2 run to open the game. Big Ben hasn't been his dominant self and looks like he is battling an injury which explains his slow start. Cusean and Jesse will have to contribute more until the reigning MVP can get back to form but they both struggled on offence in this one. Damion Davis of the Kings was the main driver of offense in the early parts of this contest and a switch to Zone Defense for the Kings got them back to a 12-12 tie midway through the 1st. The first half would concluded with the Grizzlies up 9 points largely in part to 11 team fouls being called on the Kings. Grizz put the pressure on and they were rewarded (15/22 from the line making in the game). But miraculously, not a single player on the King's squad had more than 2 fouls keeping them far away from foul trouble. The second half didn’t give much in the way of scoring as each team finished with FG% of less than 30% and it seemed most of those rebounds ended up in Jesse Smith’s hands pulling down an outstanding 16 boards this game. The Grizz needed a spark on offence though and Hasan Chaudhary had no problems answering the bell. He stepped up and hit 3 big triples in the game and showed the same confidence he played with last season. He had the bench fired up and it was ultimately the difference in this one.
Final Score: Grizzlies 52 - 43 Kings Player of the Game: HASAN CHAUDHARY 12pts/1reb/1stl/0to - 50% Shooting - 3 Triples
LAKERS vs THUNDER: If you like scoring and flair, this was a game to watch and it sure was a treat. Two very competitive squads went toe to toe here and the energy filled the court. It was a scoring onslaught on both sides with each team rarely coming out with stops on either end and this wasn't for poor defense either. Each team scored with high shot efficiency and good ball movement. In fact the Thunder and Lakers recorded the two highest three point percentage of the day at absurd rates of 58% and 44% respectively. Oh and flashy? Lakers Shawn Blackwood and his bloody lip nearly recorded a triple double (9pts/9reb/8ast) dishing out dimes to the likes of Tristan Quarry who dropped 21 points with five triples made and Shavaughn Reid who got up to the rim for an alley-oop that filled the court with “ooo''s and “ahh”s. Shawn putting up the Draymond Green type lines and bringing it on the defensive end as well with 3 steals and a block. He will have to be huge for this team to have any sort of chance at the title. Normally these types of performances will get you the win but the Thunder are a different animal. Janath Kumar and Nabil Ibrahim each dropped double digits and each recorded some nasty denials against the Lakers as they combined for 5 blocks. They didn't have Hashi but that is how stacked this team is that they were still able to dispose of the Lakers by almost double digits. Lakers were missing Jovan and he is also an integral part to the squad. Let's see if they can bounce back in the next one. By the way, the uniforms were looking incredible for both teams!!
Final Score: Thunder 63 - 54 Lakers Player of the Game: JANATH KUMAR 18pts/8reb/3ast/1stl/2blks
WARRIORS vs SIXERS: So this game came down to the wire with the Warriors having a chance to win it at the buzzer. Don't think anyone had that in the plans but the Warriors played tough and acted like it was a playoff game. They looked prepared and ready while the Sixers came late and looked like they were at a scrimmage. They almost let it slip but Ryan hit a big 3 late which ended up being the game winner. Mayo did a little bit of everything and the rest of the guys chipped in just enuff to squeek by. They have a talented roster and the commish confirmed they have made a huge addition which will shake up the league. Looks like they will officially enter the Thunder tier and give them a run for their money! Kapi and company were led by Shak once again as he dropped 24 points but could not get the game winner to drop. They might look back at this one and regret not getting the job done as they fall to 1-2. Adrian and Sugee were amazing defensively and they will have to continue that going forward. Would love to see them make a splash and get somebody to try and make a run at the playoffs.
Final Score: Sixers 50 - 49 Warriors Player of the Game: MAYO SPENCER 19pts/9reb/2asts/2stls/2blks
HEAT vs NETS: Coming onto the court, the undefeated Heat came on to face the winless Nets. Pre-game looked interesting with a very apparent absence of Heat’s big man Abdi Omar who was lights out last week. Not only that but they were missing Zaid as well so this was the Nets chance to take advantage. However, they didnt have much chance as the Nets could muster only 5 to the hardwood for Sunday’s bout. The team was already struggling to start the season but to play with no bench was going to be almost impossible. The hole left by Abdi was filled seamlessly among the rest of the guys. They never let go of the lead after taking off in the first going on a 21-6 run. I will give kudos to those Nets for their pace and cardio as bursts of speed and energy were displayed throughout the game. Net’s Dustin Kuypers and Nasim Ameri mirrored each other's lines picking up 15 points and 6 rebounds each in this one as they played very hard but the Heat were expectedly too much to handle. Heat’s Kailash Subramanian and Mathusan Shan each led the scoring with 19 points!! Big game for both of them while Aakgash Nathan chipped in with 13 to take this one. The only negative was when the Heat players started jawing with Khalid on the Nets. Heat seemed to be easily on edge and talking a lot the first few weeks of the season. You guys are destroying a depleted team...show some sportsmanship for god's sake. Things are going well for them so far (albeit a favorable schedule with teams missing players) and they sit atop the standings but they are about the get hit with a reality check next week as the Thunder come into town.
Final Score: Heat 64 - 46 Nets Player of the Game: KAILASH SUBRAMANIAN 19pts/3reb/4ast/3stl
ROCKETS vs PACERS: Finally, the Pacers graced us with their presence. The all Tamil team had some hype coming in with Duzan and Nidun teaming up but to say they flopped would be an understatement. The Rockets did not even have their full complement of players but still played with a lot of heart and took it to the Pacers. If it wasn't for Ainkaran hitting bomb after bomb (finishing with 18 points)...the Rockets would have easily took it. Roshane and Malik were tough and really carried the offensive load. Malik showing us more versatility this year and having more responsibility has really allowed him to develop and be impactful. Tobi and Nash held it down inside while Anand made the biggest pass of the game to Gopal with a second left to steal this game in overtime. Gopal had to step up and drill 2 clutch freethrows and considering these were the first of the season for him...he made it look easyyyyy. Money in the bank! The Rockets get a big win over familiar foes and that must of felt super nice. Pacers need to regroup and their big guns need to step up in the next one.
Final Score: Rockets 53 - 52 Pacers Player of the Game: MALIK TANTAWI 16pts/5rebs/1ast/1blk/1to - 54% Shooting
CLIPPERS vs CAVALIERS: I was told before this one that the Cavs had made a change or two bringing my attention close to the newcomers and excited to see their impact and oh what an impact it was. Immediately you could see a different game develop on the court as the passes were fluid and everyone knew where to be. That is what adding a baller like Abeku can do for your team. I am excited for the rest of the season as teams have heard me yelling about adding more talent and boy that is beginning to come to fruition. Abeku had an easy 27 pts 8 rebs 6 asts and 2 stls! Hit a couple triples and shot 50% as he led the comeback attempt in the 2nd half. Cavs cut it down to 2 with about a minute to go which was hella impressive. They fell just a bit short but man they put a scare into the Clippers. So much so that I hear they are adding another player to the squad. Good job Cavs...let's all close the gap on the Thunder and make this season incredible. But Ajahmo Clarke and his Clippers did what you’d expect and showed the new young faces what grown man basketball is all about. Mr.Clarke is absolutely filthy in the midrange and he was unstoppable all game. Dropped an easy 30 piece and not sure he even broke a sweat. The Cavs kept pace as best they could but ran into foul trouble late in the first half and ended the first half down 16. The second half played a different story as the Cavs actually outscored the Clippers as the offense ran through Abeku and Rose but credit the rest of the roster too. Mazhar Hosseiny might be my new favorite player as he was everywhere in this one. Just really high IQ plays and knew who to get the ball to and where to be on defence to disrupt passes and secure rebounds. Cav’s Abbeshan and Abhiram really helped out on defence and they were not scared of the moment. This is big for the young guys and hopefully they can build on upon it.
Final Score: Clippers 76 - 72 Cavaliers Player of the Game: AJAHMO CLARKE 30pts/3rebs/2asts/4stls/2blks/1to - 70% Shooting