FRIDLEY, MN: Can anyone stop Montrell Yancey?

Went a perfect 6-0 last week. Going to try and go for it again. Also as someone asked me how I think that teams are ranked look for a shorter article on the power rankings later this week, unless someone beats me to it.

Cobra Kai vs. Noisy Withdrawal

Cobra Kai is coming of their first win of the season this year, getting it against the Bandits. They did it with defense that turned into easy transition buckets. My sources, twitter, say that Dustin Dupont might not be here for Thursday's game against Noisy Withdrawal. This would be a pretty big blow to Cobra Kai as Noisy has some talented guards and having one of the top defenders in this league out for this game means Noisy will have more open shots and Cobra Kai will have less fast break opportunities.

Last week Noisy Withdrawal crushed Hand Down...Man Down. We all know that Noisy has some very good shooters on their team and can score in bunches but last week they force HDMD to turn the ball over 18 times. If you remember the Noisy teams from before they always played pesky defense, but now there defense is just good. They are 2nd in steals (9.7 spg), 3rd in blocks (3.0 bpg) and 3rd in scoring defense (65.0 ppg). With numbers like these it is likely that we will see Noisy as an auto-bid into this season's playoffs.

Even though the records don't show it, these two teams are close talent wise. If Dupont was here this game would be even closer and might be in Cobra Kai's favor. As he might not be and Noisy is playing very well right now I have to give them the edge.

Noisy Withdrawal by 7

Greenhorns vs. Secret Agents

Last week was interesting to look across the gym and see five guys on the bench for the Secret Agents. I felt like they need to put up some boards and do line changes hockey style. Unfortunately we may have missed our chance to do this as I have heard some rumors that some of the free agents have joined other teams. This will be good for the remaining free agents as they will get some more playing time. But as it is going to be some of their better players it may mean bigger blowouts.

Greenhorns by 25

Ninja Turtles vs. Fob Five

Fob Five seemed to have figured out some things while playing against the Secret Agents last week. They found a way to score and shot a much better percentage from the floor doing it. Jordan Jensen dropped 20 points in an effort to show that he isn't just a defensive specialist. Hopefully this carries over to the rest of the games this season.

The Ninja Turtles seems to back to there old form. Getting Patrick Magnuson has helped immensely. Now they are able to sub better and they have another player that is good on both ends of the court. More importantly he has become their go to guy on offense, averaging 18.5 ppg. If this team ever gets James Pinkett, one of the better defenders in this league, back the Turtles will be very tough to beat.

Even though Fob Five has found their identity last week and a solid scorer in Jensen I don't think they have the fire power to keep up with the Turtles.

Ninja Turtles by 10

Bandits vs. Hand Down... Man Down

The Bandits are coming off a loss against Cobra Kai. Two things became apparent while playing/watching the game, the Bandits need to take better shots and get back on defense. Luke Sontowski had most of his 20 points on fast break lay-ups. This needs to stop happening for the Bandits to get back on track and make a push for the playoffs.

Hand Down...Man Down lost to a very good Noisy Withdrawal team last week. While they are first in assists in the league 31 of those came in the blow out against the Secret Agents. In there two losses they combined for 21 assists and have shot poorly because of it. If they can find easier shots this team will get the ball rolling in the right direction, but to do that they need to find either a point guard or a guy to run the offense through.

Both of these teams are struggling right now. Both have similar problems. The team that steps up and plays more sound basketball will win this game. I have faith in the Bandits to start listening to each other and start play as a team.

Bandits by 4

Celtics vs. Bulls

The Celtics got some other their swagger back last week when they beat the Greenhorns by 15. Now they come up against a very good Bulls team. This give the Celtics a chance to prove that they are still one of the top dogs in Fridley.

Meanwhile the Bulls have suffered their first loss of the season to the Avengers. It seemed that while the Bulls looked great at some points of the game the Avengers just never slowed down and eventually over came the Bulls. These bursts that the Bulls get need to either show up more often or even out so they play good all game. I know that basketball is a game of runs but the Bulls seems to be more streaky then most.

The Celtics are going to need their entire 10 man roster at the this weeks game ready to go to win this one. The Bulls have scores at every position on the floor. I believe if the Celtics line up looks more like the ones of old they should win this game but then again this is a better Bulls team than the one that beat them last year. Just for the reason that J. Moore will be looking for some revenge I don't see the Celtics loosing this game.

Celtics by 3

Rip'n vs. Avengers

I finally got to watch a full Rip'n game. Montrell Yancey is a big man and very hard to stop on offense. But I have found out why the rest of Rip'n has been struggling on offense they are too tired from playing defense four on five. This is not going to be good enough against a team like the Avengers. The Avenger can play very well on the break and everyone on the team can knock down a shot so if you leave someone open you will pay.

If the Avengers just keep playing like they play and let Montrell get his 30 points that he most likely will get they should be able to out score the rest of Rip'n. Like I stated in the the first paragraph if they play you four on five you are too good to not find the open guy and knock down that shot.

Avengers by 15