As the 2019 Big 3 season winds down with just two weeks remaining in the regular season, teams are now jockeying for playoff position.
Going into Week 8 this Saturday in Miami, what we know for certain is that the first place 6-1 Triplets and second place 5-1 Power are locks for the postseason. The remaining two playoff sports - currently held by Trilogy (4-2) and Bivouac (4-3) - are still up in the air. The 3-3 Enemies - who play in Miami against the 2-4 3 Headed Monsters - will tie the Killer 3s and Bivouac in the win column with a victory, with Trilogy and the Ghost Ballers potentially joining them if the Ghost Ballers are to emerge victorious over Trilogy. Those outcomes would put five teams at 4-3 with one week remaining in the season as the battle for seeds 3 and 4 would spill into the final week.
Opening the action on Saturday (8pm, American Airlines Arena), is the aforementioned Enemies/3 Headed Monsters match up. The Monsters are reeling, having dropped 4 straight games coming off a 50-48 loss last week in which Triplet Joe Johnson hit yet another four point shot game winner.
The Enemies, meanwhile, won 3 straight games after starting the season 0-1, but have dropped the last two to fall back to .500. They will get Gilbert Arenas - who missed last week's contest - back this week, which will be a big time coup for a team that without him lacks a play making guard. Arenas hasn't been what many expected this season (6.2 points in 8.2 minutes, missed Week 1 with a foot injury) but you do wonder - with two games remaining and the Enemies controlling their own destiny - if the three time NBA All-Star will raise his level of play for the stretch run. Remember, this was a guy who in his prime NBA years averaged 28-29 points per game and put up numerous 40 and 50 point games, including the 60 point masterpiece in Los Angeles against the Lakers in 2006. While people have raved about the play of Joe Johnson (and rightfully so), Arenas can get to that level as well, but having not played in 6 years, it is tougher for him than it is for Johnson, who was just in the NBA two seasons ago.
Reggie Evans' activity on the boards has been an issue for almost all teams in the Big 3, and he will be countered in this match up by Royce White and Craig Smith. Evans is averaging a league high 11.8 rebounds per game, so it will need to be a collective effort from Smith and White to keep him off of the glass. The advantage that the Enemies will have in that area is that both Smith and White can pull Evans away from the basket and take him off the dribble, which could get him in foul trouble.
Rashard Lewis - averaging 13.7 points per game on the season - could exploit the Enemies' lack of perimeter athleticism with his outside shooting ability and length. It is in a match up like this where the Enemies could use the services of Lamar Odom, who was deactivated by the Big 3 early in the season.
The Enemies will certainly have a guard advantage with Arenas going up against Mario Chalmers and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and - although Lewis and Evans present their issues - the Enemies will probably be able, between Smith and White, to have enough supporting scoring punch.
The second game of the night features a team in desperation mode (Tri-State) against the defending champion Power. At 2-4, Tri-State needs to win out to give themselves an outside shot, as they'll also need help along the way getting in. They got off an 0-2 start, and have never recovered. On paper, they have a main three - Amare Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson - of former All-Stars and solid NBA talent, but Robinson's eye injury has kept them from having a consistent ball handler. The deactivations of Jermaine O'Neal and Bonzi Wells certainly affected their overall chemistry, moves that put Yakhouba Diawara in a more prominent role and led to the addition of Corsely Edwards, who spent last year with the Ball Hogs.
Contrast that with Power, a team that brings the same nucleus back from last year's championship run, and you have two teams that are in completely different places, despite equal talent level. Cuttino Mobley and Corey Maggette - former Los Angeles Clipper teammates - have been great again this season (Mobley 17ppg/Maggette 19.7). They lead a Power team that, although behind one in the win column to the first place Triplets, defeated the Triplets 50-47 in Week 5 and look once again like the team to beat.
Big games will be needed from Tri-State's big guns - Stoudemire (18.0 points/7.3 rebounds), Richardson, and Robinson - if they are to get the upset and keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The talent is there, and now is the time to put it all together. Stoudemire, at 6'11, will have a big height advantage over Power's Carlos Boozer, which I am sure Tri-State will look to exploit in order to get the victory.
The night cap in Miami sees a pivotal match up between the Ghost Ballers (3-3) and Trilogy (4-2). Trilogy is the hottest team in the league, having won four straight. Their leading scorer David Hawkins (15.8 points per game) is averaging 19.8 points per contest over the course of their win streak, and - at 6'5 225 - is build more like an NFL player than an NBA guard, which makes him a tough cover for most perimeter guys in the Big 3.
That task this week will likely fall on the Ballers' Ricky Davis, who is having a solid season himself at 12.7 points per game. Guard Mike Taylor's quickness and energy will be difficult for Trilogy to handle, but Trilogy will counter that with interior size that the Ballers lack. Samardo Samuels - who had 17 points and 7 rebounds in his Big 3 debut last week - has a big time size and strength advantage over the athletic, but slender, Chris Johnson. Look for that to be a match up that Trilogy goes to as well.
As previously mentioned, the stakes league wide are now higher with the playoffs just two weeks away. This week provides three intriguing match ups all with playoff seeding on the line. In the case of one team, Tri-State, they are in desperation mode, and it is the right time for their talented roster to click on all cylinders.
Week 8 Picks
Enemies, Tri-State, Trilogy
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