Haters gonna hate. AHTR!

Hey y'all! Sorry it's taken so long to get the first round done, but I've been really swamped with homeworks and final project for the last couple weeks. Fortunately (?), my school's servers have been down for the last 24 hours or so, giving me more time than expected to get this finished up. Without further ado, let's just jump into it:

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Los Angeles Sabertooths vs Texas Redbacks
This series was billed as a division rivalry, and, well, it was, but given that the Redbacks had as many wins this season as the Tooths had had over the previous eight seasons, was it really a rivalry? LA had finally managed to beat Texas this year for the first time since 2022, but lost their other five matchups. All of this is to say that when the Sabertooths went to the locker room with a 3-point lead, it was a bit of a surprise. They weren’t able to hold the lead for long, as Texas tied it up on their first possession of the fifth, soon took the lead, and ended up winning by 17, but at the very least, the Tooths were able to hang with the Redbacks. Game 2 saw the Backs pulling away a little earlier, though LA kept it slightly closer in the end.

Game 3 saw Staples Center’s first NDL playoff game in nearly a decade, and boy, was it a game to see. The lead went back and forth all game, with no team really going on a run or leading by more than 6 or 7 points at any time. Naturally, it would come down to who had the ball last, and fortunately for the home crowd, it was LA, as Texas W/ZB Ricky Parron had just put his team up by two. Needing any score to tie and a 3 or a 5 to win it, W/ZB Jase Manley would take the final shot, and while it would beat B/K Rick Delaney, it wouldn’t beat the crossbar. Texas would hold on to take a 3-0 series lead, and a 34-point performance from W/ZB Larry Whitt would put a bow on the series, as the Redbacks would earn the sweep, albeit a closer one than they might have liked.



New York Chargers vs Orlando Orbits
A rematch of last year’s first round series, this was expected to be a close, hard-fought series, and Game 1 certainly lived up to the hype. The teams went at it for the full 64, exchanging narrow leads until the very last minute. The Chargers were holding onto a narrow 1-point lead, but on the game’s final possession, OPOTY B/ZB Frank St. Peter found F/C Erik Magana in the crease for a game-winning, two point goal. The crowd in Orlando was ecstatic, and eyes everywhere gravitated towards this series - surely this thrilling first game would lead to an exciting series, right?

Unfortunately for those fans, and New York fans in particular, they’d get some devastating news right before Game 2. Chargers W/ZB J.K. Hardin had broken his thumb while trying to turn on the hotel shower and would be out for the rest of the series. Without him, the Chargers couldn’t quite pull things together, and the Orbits came up with a decisive win to take a 2-0 series lead. The Bulls were a bit more composed on their home court, as DPOTY B/ZB Brandon Walter led them to play a more defensive style, and while it was a low-scoring game, it wouldn’t work out, leaving them in a 3-0 hole. Their efforts to avoid the sweep would prove fruitless, as Orlando would get revenge on New York and move onto the second round for the first time in franchise history.



Chicago Frost vs Philadelphia Row
In contrast to the previous series, this wasn’t expected to be particularly close, but Game 1 defied expectations. With two of the top 5 defensive teams in the league going at it, the series opener saw a tight, low-scoring game, with the former East Division rivals fighting tooth-and-nail for every point. Surprisingly, Chicago was staying in it, and were even beginning to smell an upset late in the game. B/ZB Tony Bennett put the Frost up by two with less than a minute to go, and the defense even managed to get a stop on the ensuing Row possession, but with a chance to ice the game (get it?), disaster struck. W/ZB Terry Rothgeb, who had just knocked down a pass in the end zone, went to retrieve the ball near the goal line, but so did F/ZB Jasper Davila. The two got tangled up, Rothgeb twisted his ankle, and the ball trickled back over the goal line, putting it back in play for the Philadelphia offense. W/ZB Benny Ochoa alertly found it with his feet and put a shot on goal from what should have been an impossible angle but which a 38-year-old W/K Nico Boyer couldn’t quite react to in time. The goal was worth three points and would prove to be the final score of the game, giving Philly a nail-biting Game 1 win.

The Row looked to re-establish themselves in Game 2, and did just that, cruising to a 30-point win on the backs of 40+ points contributed from Ochoa, B/ZB Kenton Snowberger, and F/K Chris Gray. Things would shift in Game 3, though, as Chicago’s offense decided it was their turn to go off. The Flakes scored 127 points, a figure that Philly had only allowed eight times over the course of the regular season. Tony Bennett showed everyone why he was the first player in NDL history to win three straight MVPs, finishing with 33 points assisted, many of which went to F/C Greg Bauer, who scored 39 on the night. With that, the Frost became the first 8 seed in NDL history to win a playoff game.

That high wouldn’t last long, though, as the teams would be thrust into another defensive battle in Game 4. This time, Philadelphia would get out ahead, and stay ahead for the vast majority of the game, but Chicago wouldn’t go away, and the game stayed consistently within 6-12 points. The Frost would turn up the pressure in the final minutes, but couldn’t consistently convert on opportunities, ultimately falling by seven. With the series back in the Keystone State, the Row wouldn’t miss an opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin. A lockdown defensive performance would hold Chicago to 87 points, as the NDL’s top team survived a closer-than-they’d-like first round.



Nashville Fugitives vs Miami Palms
A 4-5 series between two evenly matched divisional rivals? Folks, you’re not gonna see many series better than this one. Unlike the other three series, though, this one didn’t get out to a particularly exciting start. In fact, Miami led by 20 at halftime of Game 1, a result which would pretty much hold throughout half number two. The Palms would go on to win by 25, the largest margin of any Game 1. Game 2 started out similarly, but things would quickly sour for the Neon Trees as F/ZB Mack Lauder hyperextended his knee after landing awkwardly on a catch. F/ZB Rook McMillian subbed in, but neither he nor F/ZB Chuck Johnson is an especially prolific scorer, and Nashville was able to capitalize. W/K Will Orleans scored 36 to lead both teams, and the Fugitives earned the split, taking the series home tied at one game apiece.

Miami wasn’t about to give up hope, though. Head coach Patrick Sanders, Jr. unrolled a new strategy for Game 3. Johnson and McMillian would effectively camp out in the crease, making sure the center and keeper both had to keep an eye on them, and thus freeing up the other five guys on offense to move around more. Sanders would later jokingly refer to it as the “Sean Avery method,” and while it wasn’t as blatantly obtrusive as the former Ranger’s antics, it certainly paid off. Together with a greater focus on defense, the Palms slowly pulled away and grabbed a road win of their own. Not only that, they pulled it off again in Game 4; Nashville couldn’t quite seem to counter with their own adjustment, resulting in a disappointing result for the Trashville faithful as they’d lose two in a row at home and head back to Sunrise for an elimination game.

Fortunately, with an extra day of rest, the Fugues seemed to have it figured out. Will Orleans called it “mostly a mental problem,” saying they just had to keep them out of their heads. The result was the closest game of the series by far. Orleans would find F/ZB Eddie McDonald in the end zone to go up by 4 with just a few ticks left, and W/ZB Bruce Pointe’s long heave would fall well short, keeping Nashville alive. They’d use that opportunity to finally put on a show for their fans, as Orleans and McDonald combined for 52 points and young B/ZB Taylor Quick helped them out with a solid 33 points contributed. Nashville really should have saved some of that for Game 7, however, as defense once again returned to being the star of the show, and Miami’s put up a stellar performance. The Palms held the Fugitives to just 97 points, and survived a roller coaster of a series for a date with Philly in round 2.

Great series between the Palms and Bandits, It's a shame that it's the only one that went the distance. I'm gonna predict a finals match-up between Philly and Orlando.

Let's go Palms! Shake things up, upset the Row.

go row

Last edited by Sevsdast (6/03/2021 8:15 pm)