Steelman wrote:

Awesome presentation! Love seeing all the uniforms together along with the top players.

One that caught my eye: Is the Hogs' Yazzie a Native American? (Yazzie is a Navajo surname)

He sure is! The name caught my eye too when it first showed up. There are a couple Native Americans on NDL rosters, but Yazzie is really the only notable one and the only one who will be in an opening day lineup in 2030.

Wow, Philly might become the new Texas. Them winning is still preferable to another Redbacks championship, however.

Yowza, forget the Row going undefeated, that standing from Boston is seriously dreadful. Certainly not an auspicious day for the Commodores. That leaves a 4-win Magma team flying under the radar by comparison.

I have a feeling we’ll end up against Chicago and go seven games against the Frosted Flakes before they become soggy and we sop them up for the win.

Nashville Fugitives vs Philadelphia Row
From the outset of Game 1, it was clear that a beat-up Nashville squad simply couldn’t hang with a Row team this good. Philly got out to a 25-4 lead after most of a quarter and never really looked back. Their defense seemed to snuff out just about every opportunity the Fugues thought they had, propelling them to an 89-point win. Even with F/K Ray Thomas reaggravating his groin injury in Game 2, not much changed, and Philly went up 2-0 with another big W. In Game 3, Thomas was back, and he and B/ZB Kenton Snowberger put on a show on the O-squad, with Snowy assisting on 36 of Thomas’s 46 on his way to 58 points contributed and another dominant win, this time by more than 100. By the time Game 4 rolled around, this series was more than over, and the Row only had to steamroll the Fugues one more time to advance to round 2.



Atlanta Records vs Chicago Frost
Unlike Nashville, Atlanta actually got out to a decent start against Chicago, trailing by just 13 going into the half. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t account for much in the final score, as Chicago would end up pulling away and winning by 49, but it also wouldn’t account for much in Game 2, which the Frost dominated from start to finish and ultimately won by 72. Things would only continue to get worse for the Records, as Game 3 saw another big win for the Flakes, headlined by F/C Greg Bauer, who finished the game with 37 points and 9 points assisted on offense to go along with 6 blocks and 5 passes deflected on defense. Game 4 was more of the same, at least until both teams’ stars went to the bench toward the end of the game, giving Chicago a ticket to the semifinals for the fourth straight year.



Toronto Hogs vs Texas Redbacks
In one sense, a lot has changed in the nine years since these two teams last met in the playoffs, but in another sense, very little has changed. The Redbacks proved that in Game 1, cruising to a pretty boring win. Game 2 would get a little spicier, though. Toronto started applying more defensive pressure, leading to fewer opportunities for Texas and turning into more fast break opportunities for the Hogs. Toronto would actually lead at halftime, 74-71, and while the Redbacks would make some second half adjustments and ultimately come away with the win, the momentum looked like it was shifting pinkwards.

It wasn’t. The ‘Backs came out in Game 3 with an even better plan to combat the new defensive scheme, with a more passing-focused offense. It sped up the pace of play, leading to a very high-scoring game, especially for W/ZB Larry Whitt (37 points, 22 assisted), B/K Semarias Garcia (24 points, 30 assisted), and W/C Elide Amigazzi (29 points, 21 assisted), and Texas very nearly reached 200 to go up 3-0. Out of answers, the Hogs seemed deflated in Game 4, and it was the most lopsided one yet, as the Redbacks would advance yet again.



Orlando Orbits vs New York Chargers
The 4-5 series have typically been the most exciting of the first round, and this one immediately was by default when 5-seeded Orlando won Game 1, their first playoff win in franchise history. B/ZB Frank St. Peter led the way for the Orbits with 37 points contributed, which doesn’t seem that high, but is particularly impressive when considering that his squad only scored 68 and his team scored 123. Orlando very nearly stole both games on the road, too, as St. Peter would score to tie Game 2 with just a few seconds left, but a five-point buzzer-beating bucket from Chargers W/ZB J.K. Hardin gave New York the split. They would steal home-court advantage right back, too, as their defense would step up to hold the Orbs under the century mark in Game 3, but once again, the home team would respond and earn the split, as a comeback attempt by the Chargers was cut short by a huge 5-point toss from St. Peter to F/C Mike Mill with a minute remaining.

With the series tied at 2 apiece entering Game 5, both teams knew how big a win would be, and both played like it. It was a grueling, defensive battle all game, with neither team leading by double digits at any point. Naturally, it would come down to the wire. With the game tied at 86, Orlando would have a chance to take the lead, but a W/ZB Brian Roe turnover would surrender that opportunity to New York. The ball would once again find its way to J.K. Hardin as the clock ticked down, and with the fans at MSG in an eerie sense of déjà vu, Hardin would knock down another five-point bucket as time expired, giving the Chargers a 3-2 series lead. The Orbits would put up another valiant fight in Game 6, but couldn’t extend the series, and the New York Chargers would take home their first playoff series since 2022.

Three boring series, but at least New York gave us something interesting. Now let's go Frost!