Texas Redbacks vs California Sea Lions
The Sea Lions came out strong in Game 1, putting the Redbacks on their heels right out of the gate. The game got out of hand quickly, with California going up 24 after just two innings and ultimately winning by 36. The Redbacks did cause a bit of a stir in Game 2, ultimately keeping it to a ten point game, but what little momentum they may have had was lost quickly. While they were able to keep it close again in Game 3, Texas just couldn’t seem to figure out the Lions’ offense, and they couldn’t keep up with the pace they had to run. By Game 4, it was clear the ‘Backs were out of juice while California refused to take their foot off the gas. The Redbacks were blown out of their own building, falling behind by 38 by the end of the fifth inning. Before long, both teams had pulled their top players, and the Sea Lions coasted to an easy 30-point win to become the first team to advance to the NDL Championship Series.


Los Angeles Sabertooths vs Chicago Frost
This series was expected to be very close, and there was no real consensus pick as to who would win. However, this didn’t stop many in the media from putting the series on “upset alert” after the visiting Sabertooths won by 22 to steal home-court advantage in a convincing fashion and then went up by 12 at halftime of Game 2. Chicago was determined not to lose both of their first two home games, and went on a 21-8 run to start the half, including 11 points from regular season MVP F/C Michel Blanchard. The game stayed close until the game’s final minutes, when the Frost pulled away to win by 8. Still, the Tooths looked to be in control of the series headed back to LA, and they added to that perception with a 15-point win in Game 3 to take back the lead in the series. Chicago looked to respond once more in Game 4, and once again, it was a close one, as the Flakes just managed to stave off a comeback thanks to a hot B/ZB Ed Maxwell and a clutch goal by little known W/ZB Rhys Mather with only 6 seconds left. Game 5 would be pivotal, and both teams’ defenses stole the show, as neither team was able to score 100 points. LA would pull away late, winning 98-87 to take a crucial 3-2 lead. The Tooths were confident with the Frost against the wall going back to Chicago for Game 6. The game was over almost as soon as it began; the Tooths were in control from the get-go, winning by 23 on the road to join their in-state rivals in the Finals.

Steelman wrote:

Gross, a 4 game sweep. Better luck next time for the Redbacks. Who is the top player for Texas?

Right now, their best player is F/C Tim Edwards, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this year. Edwards has been an above-average offensive player for the 'Backs but has really shone on defense, swallowing up all sorts of opportunities at the center position. B/ZB Carl Goldstein could make a pretty good case too, and at 22 years old, has already become one of the best offensive backs in the game, finishing in the top 5 in points assisted.

No uniforms or coaches changed this offseason, although Toronto’s Nicolas Stroke is squarely on the hot seat. 

Roster Changes:

Free Agents -
PHX B/ZB Silvestro Sole to TEX - Having started and completed nearly every game for the Palms in 2017, Sole moves to Texas, where he looks to have the same role but on a younger, more competitive team.

CHI B/ZB Freddie Hayley to CAL - The Sea Lions might be stretching a bit for the 36-year-old, but he proved last year he could make an impact down the stretch for the Frost.

Trades - 
PHI receives F/ZB Alexander Burkhardt, B/ZB Hank Union, TEX 2018 4th round pick
TEX receives F/C Ben Bowman, F/ZB Walt Duncan, PHI 2018 1st round pick
In what looks like the most lopsided trade of the offseason, the Redbacks give up a 37-year-old Union and their (albeit very talented) backup forward in exchange for two 20-year-olds and moving up 3 rounds in the draft.

TOR receives B/C Román Ortiz
CAL receives B/C Jasper Jansen, B/C Roosevelt Hall, TOR 2019 2nd round pick
California trades the 21-year-old Ortiz to a Toronto team that struggled at center for two Hogs centers and a pick.

Draft - 
1. SEA (from TOR) - F/ZB Ray Terrell - Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2. TOR (from SEA) - B/ZB Anthony Bennett - Cincinnati
3. PHX - B/K Will Baker - Lipscomb
4. TEX (from PHI) - W/ZB Wil Perez - Loyola (IL)
5. SEA (from TEX via TOR) - B/C Andi Effendi - Indonesia
6. CHI - F/ZB Orville O’Connor - Central Connecticut
7. LA - F/ZB Vit Kraina - Czechia
8. CAL - B/C Howard Dixon - Long Beach State

As you can see, quite a few picks changed hands here. Seattle gave up two picks in addition to their second in order to trade up and take Ray Terrell, who is projected to be one of the best offensive talents in the league almost immediately. Toronto met more of their needs with Bennett anyway, who was the clear #2 behind Terrell. Offense continued to be a theme throughout the rest of the first round, with Baker, Perez, and Dixon all rated much higher offensively than defensively.

News - 
Two days after game 7 of the NDLCS, Commissioner Justin Ross announced that a deal had been reached for a team in New York City to start in the 2019 season. After the debacle that took place before the season, Ross expressed what to many seemed like a sense of relief that things were back on track. New York will join the East Division, with Chicago, Texas, and Phoenix moving from their respective divisions to create the Central Division. In terms of scheduling, not much will change: each team will still play 8 games against their division rivals and 4 games against every other team, which will still result in a 40-game regular season.

Steelman wrote:

Little bit of 'we got swept' syndrome by Texas with so much wheeling and dealing?

Looking forward to the NYC identity.

Yeah, that's certainly in the back of their minds right now. They felt like they'd be able to contend with just a couple more pieces, and from their perspective, they've done that. Whether it'll pay off will be the next question.

Chicago Frost vs California Sea Lions
Once again, the Sea Lions would be facing a mediocre East Division opponent in the first round. Unlike the Redbacks last year, however, Chicago would not go down without a fight. The Frost defense showed early on that they could hang with California, and they would take a 58-54 lead into halftime of Game 1. California would take control of the game soon after, winning by a relatively pedestrian 13 points. The Lions would look to silence the haters in Game 2, and would do just that, leading from start to finish and taking a 38-point win as the series moved east.

Back on their home court for Game 3, the Frost offense would find their stride. They never trailed by more than 6, and ultimately won by 10. Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got. Chicago looked exhausted in Game 4, and the Sea Lions kept piling on points, ultimately winning by 54. Game 5 wasn’t much better, and for the third time in four games, California would never trail, coasting to a 142-119 win for their second straight trip to the Finals.



Los Angeles Sabertooths vs Philadelphia Row
With a relatively boring semifinal on the other side of the bracket, this series was supposed to be the entertaining one, and Game 1 certainly lived up to the hype. Ultimately, the game would come down to the final seconds. F/ZB Omaro Rubio scored a clutch 3-point goal to put the Tooths up 5 with just 8 seconds left, and W/ZB Gregorio Gentile’s pass to F/ZB Zoilo Estrada was broken up, giving LA the win to steal home-court advantage in the series. The Row would look to answer in Game 2, and their defense would pick up the slack in a 33-point win. Philly carried that momentum with them to LA, and would also take Games 3 and 4 in comfortable fashion.

The Sabertooths had some experience with 3-1 leads, but they now found themselves down by that margin instead of ahead by it. Furthermore, they would have to win two games in Philly after already having dropped two at home. Game 5 would start out looking awful for the LA faithful, as the Row pulled ahead by 19 at the start of the sixth inning. However, W/ZB Dwight McCann put the offense on his back during that inning, almost singlehandedly cutting the lead to seven, and would pick up right where he left off during the eighth. As the final seconds ticked down, the Tooths were down by one. With time ticking down, McCann found W/K Cedric Tola as he crossed the goal line. NDL rules state that in order for a touchdown to count, “the ball must cross the plane of the goal line after the passer has released the ball and before the receiver has received the ball.” Tola himself didn’t think he had scored, and threw up a floater toward the basket that went well wide as time expired, but the play was ruled a touchdown and was upheld after review, giving the Sabertooths a 2-point win and keeping them alive in the series.

The controversy in this series was far from over, though. Game 6 also brought a Sabertooths comeback, and they would go up 7 with 2 minutes to go, only to see that lead wither away, and the game was tied with ten seconds to go. The Tooths moved down the court, and Rubio scored what looked like a game-winning goal, but officials ruled that it touched B/C Jimmy Taylor after time expired, which by rule, nullified the goal. Taylor was adamant, saying it never touched him, but once again, the replay review was not able to overturn the call, and the game would go to overtime for the first time in NDL playoff history. LA came into inning number nine looking deflated, and the Row would run away with the game, sealing the second spot in the NDLCS. The Row also became the third team in history to score 200 points in a game (Seattle scored 221 in a double-OT game this season, and California put up 206 in regulation less than a week later; interestingly, both of those games were in Toronto).