- FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF RECAP -
WRITTEN BY: PROFESSOR X
Man, the best part of ETBL is always the playoffs and we are going to get into the first round that occurred on July 30th. Sadly we have to say good-bye to 4 teams but we still have the elite 8 left to play for the chip. Let's see what went down in the opening round.
LAKERS vs NETS: The Lakers advance with ease, in our first no doubter of the night. The Lakeshow focused early on applying pressure on defense and they were rewarded! With a lot of steals that led to fastbreak layups. Which led to the Nets giving up half way through the game. Credit to the Nets for turning a dramatic season into a playoff birth. More importantly, let's look out for these young Lakers on the rise looking to upset the Nuggets in the Quarter-Finals. Christian will have to carry the load on offence but the rest of the guys will need to step up as well if they want to take down one of the best teams in the league. We shall see what Lewmar and company do in the offseason.
Final Score: Lakers 73 - 36 Nets Player of the Game: CHRISTIAN OVERHOLT 26pts/12rebs/4asts/5stls/1blk
RAPTORS vs SUNS: The battle of the add ons! This game went back and forth for quite some time. With both Kapi and Jason answering each others points. Then it took a turn after Adrian took an elbow to the head and had to leave the game. Sobi then took advantage and forced a whole bunch turnovers back to back to back! Sobi was incredible on the defensive end in this one and deserves a ton of credit for this win. Suns closed the gap in the dying minutes but just could not get that clutch shot to take the lead. Adrian tried coming back to help his squad but it was too late. Adrian is another huge part of the team and not having that reliable floor general definitely hurt. This was a great game and Mithun and friends did enough to get the job done. Mithun and Jason combined for 35 and they showed up when it mattered. Tough loss for the Suns but they definitely have a solid squad and should run it back.
Final Score: Raptors 48 - 40 Suns Player of the Game: JASON HELWIG 22pts/12rebs/3asts/1stl
GRIZZLIES vs CLIPPERS: This was a pretty easy win for the Grizz as they dominated most of the game. Ryan Ramoutar was hot early and put up one of his best games of the season at the right time for GM Gohulan. Three guys in double figures and Sabit was also big on the glass. Clippers got a big time performance from Avery whod dropped a game high 25 but it was not enough in this one. Dissapointing season for Clip City to say the least but they battled tough all year. Hopefully, they come back with revenge on their minds. Grizz get the Warriors in what should bea great Quarter-Final game.
Final Score: Grizzlies 62 - 48 Clippers Player of the Game: RYAN RAMOUTAR 21pts/3rebs/4asts/2stls/1blk - 53% shooting
CAVS vs BULLS: The Cavs dominate the short handed Bulls. An awful time to not have your squad healthy and available. Incredible games by both Janath (triple double) and Abbeshan (double double). These two would not let off the gas and punished the Bulls all game! Janath with a rediculous stat line even if it was against a depleted Bulls team. They will have their hands full with the Magic though.
Final Score: Cavs 88 - 45 Bulls Player of the Game: JANATH KUMAR 32pts/24rebs/10asts/3stls/1blk - 64% shooting