Playoff Preview
Fun and games are over tonight. It’s playoff time where true competition comes out. All the numbers are reset back to zero and the only numbers that matter now are wins. It’s one and done time, there is no next week and no more chances to get the chemistry right, fix your offense\defense. While the regular season was fun and exciting the road to the chip begins now!
(1)ISO vs (8)SMP
Previous Matchup:
- ISO won regular season matchup 71-35
- ISO lead by James Choi, Dan Kim, Chris Youn
- SMP lead by Andrew Park
A David and Goliath matchup with ISO being the top seed and SMP being the last seed. SMP was beat badly in a somewhat recent matchup as they just looked overmatched. If they want to win this game they need to use that loss as motivation and try to will themselves to an upset over ISO. If ISO can stay focused and not take SMP lightly we might see the same result as the previous matchup.
(3)NYCE vs (6)UN
Previous Matchup:
- NYCE won regular season matchup 53-52
- NYCE lead by Eddie Wang, Mike Kim, and Elitar Kim
- UN lead by Mike Song and Kenny Jang
On paper NYCE should take care of UN easily, however in their previous matchup it took a buzzer beater from Eddie Wang to put UN away. This could be an upset special as Vick Manocha was not there for the previous matchup if he is there he will make a difference for UN on both ends of the floor. UN will have to maintain their composure and try to limit NYCEs’ runs. If NYCE can get their full roster there and on the same page then UN could be in trouble.
(2)EL8 vs (7)HTB
Previous Matchup:
- EL8 won regular season matchup 56-47
- EL8 lead by Jake Choi and Jack Ma
- HTB lead by Dave Ri and Peter Song
HTB if not due to a poor start to the season could’ve been a higher seed so EL8 shouldn’t view them as a 7 seed. EL8 has been good for most of the season but haven’t been dominant, they have plenty of talent. If they can get their bigs involved along with their guard play, they will dominate. HTB after a rough first half of the season seem to be making progress and are playing better as of late. They need to gang rebound and shoot a little better from the 3pt line and FT line than they did in their regular season matchup to have a chance at upsetting EL8.
(4)RF vs (5)HLO
Previous Matchup:
- RF won regular season matchup 45-43
- RF lead by Mark Lee
- HLO lead by George Chan
Possibly the most even matchup of the first round. Both teams have contrasting styles. RF is a guard oriented fastbreak team and tend to play outside in while HLO tends to play inside out with their strength and size inside. Both teams have key losses due to injuries and will need players to step up. If it’s a fast paced game the advantage goes to RF, if HLO is able to use their size they have the advantage. It comes down to which team is able to control the game.
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