(3) THE LIZARDS

VS

(6) UNITED NATIONS

The Lizards started out the season looking like the consensus #1, but a couple of short handed losses mid-season dropped them to #3, which is probably where they prefer to be. This is D1’s tallest team in terms of their overall team height, but their offense comes predominantly from their back court (G) Joe Zenz and (G) Gianni Maratea. (F) Nat Schacht will also bring a versatile skill set, and there’s never any shortage of effort with (F) Colin Desmond on the floor.

After a tough summer, United Nations has been solid this fall. Posting impressive wins over HON & GA7. It’s a balanced offense, due to a very deep roster, but it’s worked okay so far. When they have kept games close, they have been able to collectively make the kind of clutch plays to close out games. They have also put up some duds as well, namely to the Lizards. They’ll have to get off to a better start this time around to have a chance.

The veteran point guard has long been the catalyst for this team. He can score off the bounce and with his jumper when needed, but his ability to orchestrate and set up his teammates is what puts him up there as one of the league’s top floor leaders. If both he and Maratea are available, watch out.

Latta has been a more efficient scorer this season, but should United expect more out of him? He’s a great position defender, and is a lot stronger in the paint than he looks. So he’ll be an impact whether he scores or not, but maybe he needs to take more than 8 FGAs per game.

(2) NY DYNASTY

VS

(7) SKY

This version of the Dynasty no longer has a dominant scorer, but this is the best defense the team has ever had. With a number of long versatile defenders, DYN can cover a lot of court, and they get balanced scoring on the other end, mostly from the perimeter. Which is what makes them somewhat tricky to match up with. Nobody dominates the ball, every player has guard skills from to bottom and you never know which player is going to step up offensively on a given night.

When SKY played DYN in their opener, they took a little while to get acclimated. But when they did, they looked very good. This is a team that lives and dies by the 3. At 35.5 attempts per game, no team puts up more 3FGs. They’re not the tallest team in league, but they have a number of players with versatile skills, who are crafty around the basket, and two knockdown shooters in (G) Garrison Carr and capt (G) Ben Do. If they start out hot in this one, they can win it.

The veteran Reding is their best and most willing shooter. He can get hot quickly, but he doesn’t really create his own shot. Luckily, his teammates do a great job of finding him. His legs can tire late, however, as he puts in just as much effort on defense as he does on offense. 

Carr is one of the best scorers in Premier this season, his 26.4 ppg is good for 3rd in the league, in a very high scoring fall. He attempted 16.6 3FGs per game during the regular season, and he will hit them in flurries. His range will test the length and speed of the DYN defense. 

(1) SHOWCASE NYC

VS

(8) GAME 7

Showcase NYC has a pretty interesting approach. Whether they play man or zone, the guards are there to scrap on defense, and force their opponents challenge (F) Joe Vines in the paint. Vines has been masterful as the back line of the defense, looking quicker on his feet than he has in awhile. He’s a shoe-in for Defensive MVP this season. Then on the offensive end, they rely on arguably the toughest 1-on-1 match-up in Premier, (F) Mike Liander, who’s an easy 30 ppg.

Game 7 is late season move up from D1, so you can’t blame them for needing time to get acclimated. But they definitely have the size and talent to compete. And if SHO is caught sleeping, they’re more than capable of pulling out a win here with a front-line that is big and versatile enough to give SHO some match up issues. If (C) Dan Solomito and (F) Noah Levine are both available and hitting their shots, they can force SHO’s defense to get out of their comfort zone.

Liander is good for 30 ppg on a very efficient 54% FGs. Which means he could go for more if SHO should need it. He’s also not a bad defender when he needs to be, responsible for 2.3 bpg. At about 6-6, he’s a touch match-up, quicker than the bigs, bigger than the guards.

GA7 needs Solomito, Levine and (G) Elliott Curtis to make 3s no matter what, but what could give them the advantage is who’s left to guard Braithwaite. Outside of Vines and Liander, SHO is undersized, so Braithwaite could be match-up nightmare. He is a strong finisher in the paint.