SDL F23 Week 1 Lines
by Jason on
BY DAMIAN RUFF
WEEK 1 LINES
Ok guys as promised here are the lines for week 1. Depending on how many likes I get I may do this every week but no promises either
At 9:15 AM we have Washed and Folded (WAF) vs Ball Mitzvah (BM). With WAF I expect the trio of Gettings, Ball and Wood to all play well. On the opposite side, I expect DTO and DP to play well which means the rookie Ivanic will be key for this game especially since he will most likely be matched up with Rob Wood. Wood had a stellar rookie season himself but once he got injured he wasn’t the same (no fault of his own). My guy Blaikie is in a very similar situation this season as last so I’m sure he will play well. Buttersworth is a great bench guy that will play his role and help his team win. Sully I mean Hameid has no pressure just has to come in and be productive. Depending on how productive he is he could end up being a 4th man. For BM, Lunder had some great games last season however he was on a team that lost every week so I wanna see if those sweatpants and Giannis sneakers keep him playing well. Both Reilly and Stull have familiarity with DP which is good and will help them as the season progresses. For this particular game I like WAF to win 66-56. (edited)
At 10:05 AM Old School Ballers (OSB) plays Mamba Forever (MF). With OSB they have no rookies and Lynch arguably the best player in the league to combine with Ghost arguably the best jump shooter in the league. AO has improved his game on the offensive end, EJ has become somewhat of a knockdown three point shooter that will give you everything he has and Mitchell is the ultimate hustle guy. On the opposite side, Emmanuel is the best on the ball defender in the league, Djordje is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder, the Jewish Jordan is a rookie, Higgins is another rookie that apparently will pass first hit threes and is a good perimeter defender, Darby is a pass first slasher per his own description, last but not least Hicks whose definitely played in his fair share of SDL games. I’d say he’s a hustle guy that drives to the basket and will rebound. Half of MF is rookies so I think it’ll take some time for them to adjust. The good thing is every team makes the playoffs so they’ll have time to do that, I like OSB to win this game. Since I’m on OSB, I’m not going to give the exact details as to why but in general I’m picking a team with less rookies to win. OSB wins 73-65.
At 10:55 AM we have Hungover Hoopers (HH) going up against COSTA (is your team name officially Red Storm?). On the HH side, I’m pretty sure their captain Nair will be out due to injury (I’m hoping I’m wrong). They also have the big guy Robel who will rebound and protect the rim, his best friend Musse a PG that can shoot threes, Guliano a guy who does a little bit of everything, Cummins a rookie who describes himself as do it all and Marra a great 6th man that will hit some threes and play some defense. COSTA (Red Storm) has the captain Dylan who does everything well, Kevin Ross a small forward that can shoot from what I’ve heard, Joshua Brown a D3 PG that can shoot and wants to fight Keith, Charles another shooter, Starr a forward that will make threes defend rebound but has no handle, last but not least Waldman the guy who owns the Crime-Stopper. Even though Nair isn’t playing I’m still picking his team Hungover Hoopers to win. While I think the Robel/Musse chemistry will be great, Ross/Brown will probably match it. Dylan will play his role just like Guiliano. So then it comes down to Cummins and Marra versus Starr and Waldman. While I think Waldman has a light edge over Marra, something is telling me that Cummins will have the edge over Starr, because of this a 68-67 HH win will occur.
Last game of the day at 11:45 AM Forgot About Dre (FAD) and Turbo match-up. On the FAD side we have their captain Cam who can do it all, Civale a left handed shooter but will also post-up and has height for defense, Jorge a solid all around guy that essentials does everything too, Lyman a rookie who will most likely serve as their big man, Dre who is the ultimate team player glue guy that does a lot of different things on both sides of the ball, balancing out this team there’s Cam who proved last season that he’s probably the best 6th man of the year doing all the little things to help his team win games. For Turbo they have Rakusin a big guy that can rebound well and finish at the rim, Keith all motor all the time, Breda is actually a mini version of Keith when I think about it, Sheffield a great facilitator and great guy too, Galle who describes himself as Jaylen Brown but only 5’8 and last but not least Neil the guy who loves to know how much time is left in games. Just kidding Neil is a great role player that does a lot of good things out there. I like FAD to win this one. Cam/Civale vs Keith/Joe will essentially cancel each other out. Jorge should have his way in this game. I also think Dre and the other Cam will keep the foot on the pedal resulting in a 77-70 victory.
Franchise League Week 3 Preview
by Jason on
BY KAP
WEEK 3 PREVIEW
Two weeks are in the books and the league is starting to take form. I am pretty confident that we have 4 legit contenders at this point, but that could very well change. Don’t forget the Corp started last season 0-2 and ended up winning it all. Will a team emerge from the shadows this season? Time will tell. Two teams that come to mind are Joel’s and Keith’s. The jury is still out on them. Week 3 should shed some more light on those guys.
But first… Week 2 Player of the Week – Your week 2 PoW is Tyler Masone. Young fella went OFF this past week, scoring a league high 37 points to go with 9 boards, 7 dimes and 0 TOs. Masone feasted on HOLLAND’s lack of defense and led Keith to his first win ages. Keith owes this guy a fruit basket at the minimum.
Week 2 Role Player of the Week – Your week 2 RPoW is the ageless Tommy Kahana. Tommy didn’t look a day older than 25 in his week 2 shooting clinic, dropping a team high 19 points on 5/8 shooting from deep. His performance was well timed as the Bens had off nights offensively.
Week 3 Matchups
6:15 – Super Hoopers vs. Poor House
This is a sneaky trap game for SH. The first thing that comes to mind is Ini’s defense on Rosi last season when these two squared off. Ini did a fantastic job limiting Rosi and making him work hard for buckets. If the matchup remains the same, SH will need to get more offense from the supporting cast, especially from yours truly and Frongi after last week’s trash. In fact, I am dubbing myself as a big x-factor in this game. I have no excuse this week as I will not be sitting behind the table prior to playing, so I will be locked and loaded. Vegas has SH as a big favorite here, but if Masone and Keith shoot the long ball like they did last week, watch out.
SH -7.5
Player to watch: Frongi – I think Frongi is going to have some favorable matchups in this one. He has a quick first step to the rim and should be able to use that to his advantage with either Keith, Matty J, Ghost or Stull covering him. FOOD!
7:05 – Mulholland Drive vs. FTR
Oh baby, this is a fun one, a lot of fecal matter on the court. Two of the league’s best square off in JDM and Harding in what figures to be an all out war. Let’s not forget that we also have Chas vs. Harry as well as LeBlanc vs Vladi. Wooooweeeee! Man, I don’t even know what to make of this game. Both teams have been all over the place in the early season. Each team has 1 win, both defeating Joel’s team, so this is a big test for both squads. My gut feeling says that FTR is the team to pick here. MD just hasn’t looked right, especially on offense. JMul hasn’t been great, Chas looks like a lost puppy and LeBlanc’s shot has abandoned him. Give me FTR behind the 3-headed monster of Harding, DP, Vladi.
FTR -3.5.
Players to watch: JMul – We need a JMul game here. Rebounds, threes, blocks. Make it happen you bum.
7:55 – Kawhi Me A River vs. All Length, No Girth
This is a big game for ALNG. Through two weeks they have competed, with a skeleton roster, ultimately coming up short in both games. Will they finally break through and get a dub? It’s going to be tough. KMAR has the personnel to match up nicely with ALNG. Ben Mac can make life difficult for Ruiz, Cavano can handle Joel and Koller can basically cover anyone. ALNG is going to struggle to score so their path to victory has to be to muck this game up. Stay close and make some key plays late. I expect a big Koller game though as he attends the Djordje buffet and leads his boys to a win.
KMAR -5.5.
Player to watch: Ruiz – Round 2 of the Ruiz watch. I think he will shoot better this week after having a game under his belt. His team is gonna need it!
8:45 – HOLLAND vs. The Corporation
Potential blowout in the late game, as HOLLAND has proven they cannot cover ANYONE. Woof their defense is bad, and against Mazz, Cawley and company you better D up. I’m sorry but I just can’t see a win here for HOLLAND. Maybe Bonvie goes nuts from deep? Maybe Syd has a meltdown and gets ejected? Maybe DQ outplays Mazz? Even if all of these things happen it will still be an uphill battle for HOLLAND. I am going to have to see a real defensive effort from them until I pick them to win a game.
Corp -15.5.
Player to watch: STAT – We need a grown mans game from STAT here. He has it in him. He can draw fouls on Syd and take him out of the game, mentally and literally! I think we will learn a lot about the landscape of the league this week. Looking forward to it. - KAP