Albert Chin & Sammy Moy are keys to Shogunz's Playoff Run
The first round of playoff begins next Tuesday, Feb 27th 2007. Shogunz will play the first match at 8PM and Demolition plays the second game at 9PM.
#5 Shogunz vs #4 Giants (8PM) -- This will be the 5th time that Shogunz is matched up against the Giants. Although Giants has the biggest team in the league, it has trouble with the faster and scrappier Shogunz because it cannot slow down Johnson Lam, who has averaged 29.5 points in the four games against the Giants. In fact, Shogunz has already beaten Giants twice this season, with the most recent victory came just 2 nights ago. Shogunz, however, will be foolish to take Giants lightly. In the last season, it was the Giants who knocked Shogunz out of the playoff. Giants can beat any team in this league and has three main scoring threats. It's 6-3 big man (#10) gets away with murder and is an absolute beast on the board. He is complemented by his 6-2 countryman, who has a great stroke and has averaged 30 points per game last season. The team is ultimately led by its 6-0 scoring combo guard (#12), who can shoot, penetrate, and dish.
The bottom line is Shogunz has proven that it can shut down Giants, but in most of its losses this year, Shogunz had trouble scoring. In order for Shogunz to beat Giants, it must be ready to knock down outside jumpers against Giant's 2-3 zone and get its offense rolling to have a chance in this game.
Past Matchup 10/10/06 - 61 to 46 Shogunz (Lam, 42pts) 11/28/06 - 61 to 53 Giants (Lam, 36pts) 1/2/07 - 63 to 47 Shogunz (Lam, 26pts) 2/20/07 - 49 to 44 Shogunz (Lam, 14pts)
X Factor Offseason acquisitions, Shi Mei and Albert Chin, have paid off. Can they provide much needed defense and scoring to help Shogunz advance?
#3 Demolition vs #6 The Grove (9PM) -- Demolition started this season in a huge hole, losing its first three games. Since then, it has been on a tear, winning 6 of its last 8 games and losing only to the top 2 seeds, Year Up and MJ Remodel. The secret to the turnaround is that the team has started to gel after incorporating 6 new players this season. This remarkable turnaround began on Jan 2nd, 2007 as it beat The Grove by 5 points behind Borwei Tsay's 20 points. Two nights ago, behind Kevin Woo's 33 points, Demolition finished the regular season with another 5 point victory against The Grove. So is it a forgone conclusion that Demolition will beat The Grove for the third time and advance to the Final Four? Not so fast!!! Behind its top scorer, Morin (#3), The Grove has 5 guys who can shoot from the outside and crash the board at the same time. It essentially plays like an Asian basketball team. Judging from the last game, if Demolition doesn't take care of the rebound, it can easily lose to The Grove, especially if Morin catches fire.
Past Matchup 1/2/07 - 57 to 52 Demolition (Tsay, 20pts) 2/20/07 - 69 to 64 Demolition (Woo, 33pts)
X- Factor Kevin Woo will be the first person to admit that he has struggled this season. However, he has shown signs of life over the past four games, as he has averaged 25.5 ppg in that stretch. Is this a mirage or does he really have his shooting back?
So Where is 2K4??? Their season concluded two night ago. It has been a tough season to say the least. Short-handed for most of the games, 2K4 has the smallest lineup in the league and is penalized for it. Nevertheless, many players still demonstrate tremendous heart and desire to win, starting with the backcourt duo of Chanan Saelim and Ricky Kim. Time and time again, this backcourt duo tried to carry the team to victory. Unfortunately, they didn't receive much help, as 2K4 constantly fell victim to poor rebounding and bad turnovers. Still, don't dismiss them entirely, setback is only a prelude to success. Check out the multimedia page for 2K4 and you might see the potential! Click
