South Conference match of the round
For the Monday conference, I have selected the Kraken vs Dragons game as the match of the round. Last week Kraken had a crossover game against the Bulls and they got up by 8 points, with 2 of their young guns having dominant games. Cooper Lanting had 21 points, 13 rebounds and 1 block, while Seth Horne had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. If you ask me ‘Dean Horne’s Day Care' - The Kraken are a team to watch as they have won their last 4 games and if you have to play them anytime soon, I would be worried. The Dragons played against the Blazers and they got up by 12 points, the Dragons Star ‘Dyl Pickle’ carried them in their win against the Blazers. He had 25 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, no one else on the Dragons had over double figures in any of the stats.
This game will not disappoint as we have 2 of the best players in the league at the moment going head-to-head in Pickle and Lanting. I think if the GM’s had their time again to do the draft I think Pickle would be the first overall pick and Lanting would be the second over all pick. Both players are having fantastic seasons so far in 6 games. Pickle is averaging 5 Assists, 1 Block, 21.8 Points, 13 Rebounds, and 2.7 Steals. Lanting is averaging 1.3 Assists, 0.7 Blocks, 20.7 Points, 10 Rebounds, 1.5 Steals.
I am hoping to see both players match up on one another and go at it for 40 minutes because whoever wins the one-on-one contest will play a big part for their team and getting their team over the line I believe.
Do the Kraken win this game with their pace and even number of stats shared between their young guns? If they are to win this game, they will need to get out and run the floor, as the Dragons have some very tall players and the best defensive player in the league over the past 2 seasons in Gav Trapnell.
Do the Dragons win this game due to their star player in Dyl Pickle, or do they show us that they can help him and put-up decent numbers this week? We all know that Callum Shave, Jonathan Lay and Scott Elliot AKA The Westbrickateers can put up big numbers on both ends of the floor.
My tip for this game is that the Kraken will be too fast for the bigger bodies of the Dragons and they will win the game between 1 – 10 points.
East Conference match of the round
For the Tuesday Conference, I have selected the ‘Battle of the Wooden Spoon’ - Ducks vs Hornets game as match of the round. Last week the Ducks played against the Penguins and for anyone watching this game they probably thought the Ducks were going to steal the win and get their 2nd win for the season. They kept up with the Penguins for 3 quarters, but blew it all away going into the last as the Penguins had a 28-point quarter to the Ducks 7 points, giving the Ducks a 25-point loss. The Hornets on the other hand got their 1st win for the season as they knocked off the Bloodhounds by 6 points and it was their GM Trav Blackney who had 17 points and 4 steals, with Daniel Carpenter having 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Ducks have shown that they can keep up with the top teams in the league, but they definitely need their big-time players firing. I was very surprised after last weeks games looking at the stats and I saw between the Ducks 2 first round picks they had 17 shots between them, in my eyes that is not enough when we all know how damaging Westy and Schnoz can be.
The Hornets have had a disappointing season on and off the court, especially after losing one of the best guys in SL - Adam Edgecombe due a career ending injury. To get their 1st win last week was exciting to see for them though, does this win start their season and allow them to notch up a few more wins before the season ends?
For the Ducks to win this game the ‘Bray Brothers’ and Westy all need to be firing and knocking down buckets, but that is easier said than down especially if Westy and Schnoz aren’t getting the ball as much as they could benefit from. If I am a Duck this week, I want to focus on getting these guys some quality looks, while working hard on both ends, chipping in where I can.
For the Hornets to win this game they need big games from Nick Spezza, Trav Blackney and Daniel Carpenter. They proved last week if at least two of these players have 15 points plus each they can win the game. I believe they will need all 3 players to have at least 15 points this week if they are to win this game.
For this game I am tipping the Ducks to win between 1 – 10 points.