FRIDLEY, MN: Can the Last Undefeated Survive the Turtles?

I went 4-2 last week. I fear that this week maybe a similar result as there are some teams that will be playing much harder as the playoffs are getting closer and there are multiple chances for some upsets this week.

Ninja Turtles vs. Noisy Withdrawal

And we start off with the game of the night. The Ninja Turtles are fresh off a win that ended the undefeated season for the Avengers and get another chance to do the same against Noisy Withdrawal. The idea is going to be the same, defense first, but the method is going to be different. It seemed that against the Avengers the Turtles weren't going to let Zhao Lee beat them and it would have to be someone else having a huge night if they were going to lose. Against Noisy they will have to stop a few players. They are a good shooting team and have multiple players that can do so, stopping one player won't get the job done in this game.

Noisy has a good mix of great offense (1st) and great defense (1st). They are going to be tested in both categories Thursday when they face the Turtles. Much like their game against Cobra Kai they are going to have to find a way to get their shooters open and get them going. The difference in this game is that the Turtles are much better on defense overall. They have bigger defenders that can move and get up and contest shots and I feel like their team defense is better overall.

So how does Noisy win this game? I think they are going to need there role players to step up big on Thursday. Not necessarily score a bunch of points but they are going to need to set screens and get offensive boards to get their scorers second chance opportunities. If they can do that and continue their great defense they can win this game.

But After watching how good the Turtles defense is I am smelling upset and I think that if Peter Mortenson gets the ball in the post he should have a huge game against the big men from Noisy.

Ninja Turtles by 4

Fob Five vs. Greenhorns

This game should be a close grind it out game. As Junius Ho told me last week Fob Five plays defense first and wants to be patient on offense. Well against the Greenhorns who try to do the same this game could be one of the slower ones this year.

So who wins in these really slow games? It is usually the team that can stay patient and not feel like they have to get something going. Junius is great at keep his team on the pace that he wants them to play at. I feel like that Fob Five has a much better chance at staying with the game plan and gets their second win of the season.

Fob Five by 3

Celtics vs. Cobra Kai

I heard a rumor that this game and the Bandits Vs. Avengers game has been rescheduled, I have no confirmation though. So I will make this one short.

The Celtics are back to there winning ways but are facing a desperate Cobra Kai team. Cobra Kai needs a win against a quality team to help their playoff chances. The Celtics might just be the team they are looking for.

So how can Cobra Kai get this victory? They will have to have learned from their game against Noisy Withdrawal. They were dominating that game for the first 10 minutes or so. Then they let Noisy's shooters get loose and got behind very quickly. The Celtics can do the same if you aren't careful. Between Webb, Marshall and R. Samuelson they can knock down the long ball and do it well.

I look for the Celtics to get hot and not let Cobra Kai get there much needed victory.

Celtics by 8

Hand Down... Man Down vs. Rip'n

Two of the biggest men in rec. ball face off in this one. Montrell Yancey and Ahmed Helmy have very similar game styles as well. They are both very big, have a soft touch and can be a liability on defense at times. But it will be fun to see them battle it in this one.

Another fun thing to watch, that might be connected to the earlier paragraph, will be seeing who's defense shows up (HDMD 10th and Rip'n 11th). HDMD has the better chance of this happening as for the most part Rip'n plays four on five on defense most of the time. This is why I want to pick them as the winner for this game but I know that Rip'n is the more talented team and should win this game.

Rip'n by 7

Bandits vs. Avengers

Last week Zhao Lee was made as much of a non-factor as any team in Fridley could make him. Between Ryan Jansen and the rest of the Turtles they did a great job denying him the ball and when he got the ball he was going to have to make a great shot if he was going to make one. Against the Bandits they have no one like Ryan Jansen on their team and Zhao should look like is normal amazing self again.

Avenger by 18

Secret Agents vs. Bulls

Well the Secret Agents don't have that huge bench anymore and that may have been the reason that they increased their already huge average point differential. At 38 point differential for the average loss I sense that in this game it will only grow larger.

Bulls by 44