BuzzerBeater Forums

Week 7 (2/15-2-18)
#2 B.I.GBallers vs. #2 IXLOS Sabers

This game is huge for both teams. the loser of this game will most likely lose any chance of keeping up with the #1 team and claiming the #1 seed for the playoffs. BIG has a particularly difficult ending to inter-conference play, facing IXL and Bull Knights this week, but if they can get somehow win both of those games, then they will be in an excellent position to claim the #1 seed when they play Georgia PowerRiders in about 4 weeks. IXL on the other hand looks to be building for the future, and since they siphoned of their two best players, they have been a slightly better than average team. But they are still only one game back and have already proven that they can beat the Bull Knights, so a win against BIG will keep them close until that deciding game at the end of the season. This game will feature two different philosophies, as well as some All-star names, and it will be interesting to see if the highest scoring offense can overcome the stingiest defense. Lets dissect this game and determine the outcome.
KTV for BIG: Stick to the gameplan that has worked all season. BIG has scored more points from the C and PF position this season than any other team, and it is because of the two beast All-stars inside, Temel Öndüç and Urmas Nael. Between the two of them, they are shooting 70% from inside the paint, and have only allowed a combined average of 23 points from the PF and C positions on 18% shooting, third in the league. At the beginning of the season, IXL would have had the advantage inside, but now, only a young Wendell Windham, another All-Star, is adept enough to play inside with BIG's big men, but he cant do it by himself. A patient offense that takes advantage of the mismatches inside will result in a win for BIG.
KTV: Rely on the defense and take advantage of poor perimeter defense. The key advantage IXL has over BIG is a stifling defense with the best ratings in the league. IXL only played one game this season with an inside focused defense, and they acheived the best combined defensive ratings of their season, not to mention their best rebounding ratings. I suggest they try it again to counter BIG's heavily focused inside game. As far as offense is concerned, BIG has some players in their backcourt, including assist leader Marek Łętowski, but when it comes to defense, they have some holes. Jean-François Cabral will have to guard IXL's new SG Martin Štefanák, who has put 23.7 points per game since his transfer, and with a medicore game shape, it will be a difficult task. IXL also has Wu Shuoxiang, who has only allowed 38 points per 100 possessions, and with another advantage at game shape, Shuoxiang should make Łętowski's day quite difficult as well.

Final Score: BIG- 104, IXL- 109
The mismatches outside will make it difficult for Łętowski to dish the ball inside, which will lead to BIG having to play a more balanced attack, which unfortunately for them, does not bode well. Look for IXL's backcourt to outduel BIG's.

Wow, you were only a point off the actual spread. Great job.

Updated Power Rankings: (Last Power Rank)

#1 Georgia PowerRiders (1)
#2 Big Big Gulps (4)
#3 B.I.GBallers (5)
#4 Bull Knights (3)
#5 IXLOS Sabers (5)
#6 Darlington Falcons (6)
#7 Arkansas Kings (9)
#8 The Blood Suckers (7)
#9 DreamTeam3 (11)
#10 Sheboygan Red Skins (8)
#11 Rat Brigade (13)
#12 Ten Jaguars (10)
#13 Texas Demon Slayers (12)
#14 Giant Hobos (14)
#15 Dreadnought (not ranked)
#16 Billahs24 (not ranked)

Updated Projected MVP voting:
1. Donát Gubán
2. Mustapha Hajri
3. Rastislav Budzinák
4. Zhao Xiuguang
5. Stefan Antonsson
6. Miguel José Cordero
7. Wu Shuoxiang
8. Vsevolod Averchenkov
9. Görkem Ferzan

Man I totally messed up my no wins record i was shooting for. Came in halfway through to an 0-13 team thinking hey may as well cut msot the roster and make as much as i can the rest of the season. Instead somehow I won a game? My team is STILL running laps for that. Just call me the Philly 76'rs of this season.

Ok so now that the playoffs are starting, lets evaluate the top two teams:l

#1 Georgia PowerRiders
GEO is heading into the playoffs as the undisputed favorites, winning all but one game. Whats even scarier is that 7 out of GEO's 10 starters have proficient game shape, meaning that their best basketball could be yet to come. Donát Gubán's scoring has diminished over the second half of the season, but his rating has improved drastically since GEO was ousted from the National Tourney, seeing his rating rise above 13.0 8 times since then, compared to only twice before that. GEO is a much better rounded team now, evidenced by their superior points per 100 possessions (117), but they also have the toughest division. GEO wiil have to first get by The Blood Suckers, who despite their mediocre record, still has a very talented team, with a 9.0 average team rating, which is 5th best in the league. After that they will have to get by either the highest scoring team in the league, B.I.GBallers, or the one team that beat them this season, Big Big Gulps. But if any team can do it, it is GEO.

#2 Bull Knights
After terrible inter conference play, BUL has gotten back on the track of destroying teams, having the highest point differential by 67 points despite having 4 losses. BUL has the ability to outscore their opponents or suffocate them with outstanding defense, indicated by their 2nd best offense and defense. Led by two possible MVP candidates, Mustapha Hajri and Stefan Antonsson, BUL is now finally healthy and poised to head to the championship game. To get there, they will have to get by Arkansas Kings first, which has bought its was into contention in their first year, having talented players all over the floor. After that they will have to defeat either a rebuilding IXLOS Sabers team, or a dangerous but tired Darlington Falcons ( 24% proficient game shape). The road to the championship game should be easy, but from there, they will be the underdogs.

Also i would like to do another MVP race update. I base my predictions off of 3 things: stats, minutes and team success.
The most important stat is points scored and ppg, but other stats such as rpg and apg are also important, as well as rating. Minutes played is also extremely important, as it is an indication of the impact on the team. A player who plays 21 games and averages 30 min pg will have a better chance than a better player who only played in 17 games. Finally the teams success is important because the true meaning of an MVP is winning, and a player that cant help his team win isn't very valuable. Also, the race includes playoff play, and I will take into consideration the respective team's chances of going deep into the playoffs for each player.

1) Donát Gubán- GEO is the best team and he is the best player on the team, leading the league in scoring and ranking 7th in rating.
22 games played, 34.8 min, 29.0 ppg, 12.2 rating, 2.9 3's, 48.0% shooting, 1.1 steals, 108 PP100

2) Rastislav Budzinák- even though DRE isnt in the playoffs, Budzinák easily had the most spectacular season, ranking 5th in highest rating, 4th in ppg, 2nd in apg, 3rd in steals pg, and 3rd in AST/TO.
22 games played, 39.4 min, 25.4 ppg, 12.5 rating, 7.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 46.0% shooting, 78.1% free throw, 104 PP100

3) Mustapha Hajri- Has played only 11 games at his best position this year due to the teams training regiment, but still has posted one of the best years of his career, ranking 3rd in rating, 7th in ppg, 3rd in steal pg, 5th in apg, 9th in AST/TO, and 16th in blocks pg.
21 games played, 35.1 min, 22.2 ppg, 12.9 rating, 6.0 assist, 2.0 steals, 48.3% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 104 PP100

4) Stefan Antonsson- He has led the league in rebounding most of the season, plus ranking 6th in rating, 3rd in block pg, and 1st in OR.
21 games played, 34.2 min, 14.4 ppg, 12.3 rating, 14.7 Reb, 3.8 OR, 2.3 blocks, 52.7% shooting, 109 PP100

5) Zhao Xiuguang- while not leading the league in any category, Xiuguang has played a very rounded and effective game, ranking 11th in ppg, 8th in rating, 9th in apg, and 2nd in steal pg.
22 games played, 36.0 min, 21.0 ppg, 12.0 rating, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals, 49.3% shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 112 PP100

6) Miguel José Cordero- Been the best player on a surprising good team, backed up by a decent secondary stats and lots of minutes. Ranked 13th in ppg, 17th in rating, 4th in apg, and 22nd in steals.
22 games played, 37.2 min, 20.5 ppg, 10.6 rating, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 41.5% shooting, 4.7 rebounds, 97 PP100

7) Wu Shuoxiang- He been the floor general for a rebuilding team and is solely responsible for the teams #2 seed. He is ranked 2nd in rating, 19th in ppg, 11th in apg, and 22nd in steals.
20 games played, 32.0 min, 17.0 ppg, 13.0 rating, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 45.4% shooting, 3.6 rebounds, 101 PP100

8) Vsevolod Averchenkov- he has been a great scorer in every game he has played, but the lack of games played hurts his chances. still he is ranked 3rd in ppg, 17th in rating, 18th in apg, and 16th in steals.
19 games played, 41.4 min, 25.8 ppg, 10.6 rating, 4.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 52.8% shooting, 4.6 rebounds, 113 PP100

9) Renaldas Šukšinas- Although an extremely potent offensive threat, he is a defensive liability and his rating will hurt his chances. He is ranked 2nd in ppg, 16th in steals, and 25th in blocks
22 games played, 34.3 min, 26.3 ppg, 7.8 rating, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 45.6% shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 98 PP100


Tell me what you guys think!

When is the draft done? I think I've just about finalized my selection :-p

i do not know

The draft takes place after offseason processing is done. So after the Sunday where the 3rd game of the finals is played offseason processing (promotions/relegations/salary adjustments) will begin and usually the next Monday or Tuesday they show up.

Man what a game to open up the finals. GEO slowly increases its lead throughout the game, only to lose the lead due to a mid-4th quarter rally by BUL, and then BUL watches the game slip away with each free throw made by GEO. A couple things to take away from this game:

1) Both teams are really good and really deep - Both teams had all of their players rated at a 10.0 or higher for the game, with GEO having 5 players rated at 12.0 or higher. These games stay intense even when the starters are sitting.

2) Hajri and Guban are phenomenal - It is always a great game when these two superstars go head-to-head, and this game was the best ever between the two. Hajri put up 45 points in this game and went 8-16 form downtown, including back to back 3's that gave BUL the lead with about 6 minutes to go. He also dished out 6 assists and came down with a decent number or rebounds. Guban on the other hand was hot during the 1st half, making 9 shots in a row and giving GEO an 8 point lead at the half. He shot a very high percentage (60.9%) and also sealed the game, making two key buckets in the last minutes of the game that forced BUL into fouling. I believe that both of the two players are the front runners for the MVP race.

3) GEO won because of their superior rebounding - GEO recorded 26 more rebounds in this game, including 8 more offensive rebounds. Kuristik was a rebounding monster, and him and Venard basically eliminated the rebounding leader Antonsson to only 8 rebounds. BUL cannot give up that many second chance points if it wants to win this series.