As is my custom, first, I have to congratulate the victors (DVG’s are the vanquished), AKA the Psychos! And, I also bow to the Maize and Blue Bloods (although that is no surprise)! This is an intriguing matchup between a team that is peaking, red-hot as in molten (Psychos) vs. the amazingly consistent usual suspects (MBB)…And, while if odds were being posted MBB would be listed as the favorites I truly believe that either team can hoist the trophy!
#2 Maize and Blue Bloods vs. #4 Psychos
Built pretty much from the ground up (original roster+draft picks) Maize and Blue Bloods have been old reliable all year long in what continues to be an amazing run of consistency. They have put up 189, 178 & 172.5 in their 3 playoff games (yes, I know that the numbers are trending down). That’s 179+ for you stat hounds.
Their potent guard duo of Smith (18.5) & Haggerty (17.0) were both under 19 fppg in the semi’s and they still won. That’s how much firepower they have. I haven’t checked the schedule but it’s doubtful that Smith & Haggerty will be significantly under their averages on back to back weeks. Kalkbrenner, Omier, Brooks and the freshman Newell, all show up on a weekly basis. Jefferson has been a workman-like 6th man but they will gamble on a guard, Blaise Threatt.
In other words, while anything could (and has happened in past playoffs) happen, MBB is not going to suddenly see a grip of guys sucking. No. The Psychos will have to beat them. The Psychos did just that in thrashing the DVG’s by more than 40 fantasy points in the semi’s. They put up 161.2, 155, and, 197.5 in their last game. When you tally a score of 197.5 it means you are capable of doing that again.
Unlike MBB, the Psychos are where they currently are due to some astute free agent moves by their GM, which regardless of the final result has my vote for MML GM of the year. The Psychos added super frosh Blake Harper on 12-6. They added Jacksen Moni on 12-13. I was critical of that move since Moni wasn’t much of a rebounder and had to hit a high percentage of shots to be an impact player. Well, he improved his rebounding, started getting more shots AND hit a fairly high percentage of them. They also made 2 other moves for players who were good starters and 3 good depth guys if needed. They also made a trade (thank you very much) and added Trey Kaufman-Renn, who can score. They had one stud in Clifford and a steady player in Reese. They totally revamped their lineup and that’s how they got here.
I think that with Clifford and almost anybody, the Psychos have a slight edge at the guard spots. Forward & center are surprisingly even with their consistency giving MBB a slight edge. MBB will go with Threatt as their 6th man vs. N’Guessan for the Psychos. The 6th man matchup along with the frosh matchup between Newell (MBB) & Harper (Psychos) could determine this one if, most of the players are “on” their “A” game.
Now, let’s revisit that 197.5 score. The planets definitely aligned for the Psychos as it’s unlikely that will happen again. But I do think it’s completely possible to see them north of 165/170-the area they will need to be in to have a real shot at MBB, barring the unforeseen.