Posted by sportsfan7  11/11/2020 4:55 pm | #51 |
ABL Playoff Preview
The #1 seeded Atlanta Phoenix enter the playoffs with high expectations, but face league MVP Larry Bird and the Columbus Explorers in the first round. In the other semifinal, the Milwaukee Robins are heavy favorites over the Charlotte Hornets despite being the lower seed, due to their more difficult schedule. A high-powered finals matchup between the Phoenix and Robins would be a great way for the new league to attract fans
|
Posted by sportsfan7 11/16/2020 2:00 pm | #52 |
PBL Playoffs
Semifinals
The New York Gothams handily defeated the San Francisco Sea Lions, as expected. The 4 game sweep was never close, with Gothams winning every game by at least 20 points and the Sea Lions never having the lead in the second half. The other semifinal series got off to a more evenly matched start, with the teams splitting the first 2 games in LA. However, in Game 3, Los Angeles Jets center David Greenwood blocked Boston Shamrocks rookie William Bedford in the closing seconds to seal the 2 point victory. Jets star Michael Jordan then put up matching 40 point games to seal the series.
Finals
The New York Gothams picked up right where they left off against San Francisco winning a pair of blowouts at home despite many predicting a closer series. The series tightened up when it moved out West with the Gothams requiring overtime to win game 3. However, a dominant performance by league MVP Michael Jordan in game 4 ended the Gothams hopes of a sweep. Game 5 was also close, but the Gothams pulled away at the end to become the inaugural PBL Champions.
Semifinals
E1 New York 4 W2 San Francisco 0
W1 Los Angeles 4 E2 Boston 1
Finals
E1 New York 4 W1 Los Angeles 1
Last edited by sportsfan7 (11/17/2020 4:13 pm)
|
Posted by sportsfan7 11/17/2020 4:13 pm | #53 |
ABL Playoffs
Semifinals
The #1 seeded Atlanta Phoenix were expecting to face a tough first-round matchup against the Columbus Explorers and league MVP Larry Bird, but didn’t receive one. All-ABL Guard Alvin Robertson struggled in the series, which ended in a four game sweep. In the other semifinal, the Milwaukee Robins were favored despite being the lower seed. The Charlotte Hornets did not take kindly to their opponents hype and blew them out in the first game. However, the Robins responded with a blowout of their own in game 2, followed by much closer wins in games 3 and 4. Facing elimination, the Charlotte Hornets won game 5 after Robins guard Sidney Moncreif missed a buzzer beating 3-pointer. Back in Charlotte, the Hornets struggled early and a late comeback came up short.
Finals
The stage was set for a showdown in the ABL Finals. The Atlanta Phoenix won game 1 at home by a healthy margin, but needed overtime to win in game 2. The series shifted to Milwaukee and so did the momentum, with Robins blowing out the Phoenix in games 3 & 4. Game 5 looked to be a continuation of the previous 2, but the Phoenix overcame a halftime deficit to win. Back in Atlanta, the Phoenix blew a 4 point lead in the last minute, with Robins guard Kevin McHale draining back to back threes. Their emotional win in game 6 seemed to have drained the Robins, as they never got going in game 7, making the Atlanta Phoenix the inaugural ABL Champions.
Semifinals
#3 Milwaukee 4 #2 Charlotte 2
#1 Atlanta 4 #4 Columbus 0
Finals
#1 Atlanta 4 #3 Milwaukee 3
Last edited by sportsfan7 (11/17/2020 4:13 pm)
|
Posted by sportsfan7 11/30/2020 5:48 pm | #54 |
CBA Season Preview
The CBA lost 9 teams that had played in the 1985-86 season, including 5 of the 8 playoff teams. The Tampa Bay Thrillers, Florida Stingers, Bay State Bombardiers, Toronto Tornados, Detroit Spirits, Wisconsin Flyers, La Crosse Catbirds, Wyoming Wildcatters, and Maine Windjammers all folded in between the end of last season and the beginning of this one. They have been replaced by 7 expansion franchises; the Jacksonville Jets, Pensacola Tornados, Fort Wayne Flyers, Quad Cities Catbirds, Houston Spirits, Dallas Wranglers, and San Antonio Wildcatters. This also means a new divisional alignment. The Baltimore Lightning and Albany Patroons will be joined in the East by Jacksonville and Pensacola. The Cincinnati Slammers and Evansville Thunder welcome Fort Wayne and Quad Cities to the newly formed Central Division. The defending Champion Kansas City Sizzlers are joined out West by Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
As defending Champs, the Sizzlers seem to be the favorite to take home the title this year. The only other returning playoff teams, Cincinnati and Evansville, also appear capable of making a run. After just missing out on the playoffs last year, the Baltimore Lightning look to finish the deal this time. The last returning team, Albany, seems likely to come up short again. Not a lot of conclusions can be drawn from the 7 expansion franchises, but of them the Jacksonville Jets seem to be in the best position to make a run.
Last edited by sportsfan7 (12/07/2020 7:44 pm)
|
Posted by sportsfan7 12/08/2020 4:14 pm | #55 |
CBA Season Recap and Playoff Preview
The expansion Jacksonville Jets won the East division and the #1 seed in the playoffs. Finishing in a distant second were the Albany Patroons, who edged out the Baltimore Lightning on the last night of the season. Finishing last in both the division and the league were the Pensacola Tornados.
In the strongest overall division, the Cincinnati Slammers finished first and got the #2 seed in the playoffs. In second place and 1 game out of the wild card spot were the Fort Wayne Flyers. With both finishing .500, the Quad Cities Catbirds finished ahead of the Evansville Thunder, and out of the cellar, on the strength of tiebreakers.
The defending champion Kansas City Sizzlers won their division, as expected. However, they were unable to capitalize on a divisional slate filled solely with expansion teams and got the #3 seed in the playoffs. In second came the San Antonio Wildcatters, who got the wild card spot. The Houston Spirits hovered around .500 all year before a late losing streak. Finishing last were the Dallas Wranglers, who beat the Sizzlers to open the year, but struggled greatly after that.
As expected, the most compelling first round matchup is between the #2 Slammers and the #3 Sizzlers. The only playoff teams with playoff experience will play a single elimination game with the defending champs forced to go on the road. In the other semifinal, a pair of upstarts meet, but the Jets are heavy favorites over the Wildcatters. The best-of-three final should be a good matchup, with the winner of the 2/3 game likely to be slight favorites over Jacksonville.
Last edited by sportsfan7 (12/08/2020 4:15 pm)
|
Posted by sportsfan7 12/10/2020 3:52 pm | #56 |
CBA Playoffs
Semifinals
Despite being billed as the worse of the two semis, the Jacksonville-San Antonio game was remarkably average. The Jets could never quite put the game away, but the Wildcatters could never quite take over, leading to a 108-99 victory for the #1 seeded Jets.
In the other semifinal, the Sizzlers showed why they were the defending champions, thrashing Cincinnati in their own house. The Slammers never led in the game, but managed to stick around for most of the first half, being down 52-41 at the half. However, Kansas City went on a 23-4 run to open the second half and kept their foot on the gas, winning 116-82.
Finals
The best-of-3 finals were to be played entirely in Jacksonville and the Jets were the #1 seed, but it was the Sizzlers who attracted most of the, limited, media attention. The defending champs had to deal with questions about the team’s future as rumors swirled about a potential ABL or PBL franchise in Kansas City. Once the teams stepped on the court, the Sizzlers made a compelling argument for why they should remain by blowing out the Jets in game 1. Game 2 was a much closer affair, but the Sizzlers pulled away late to win their second consecutive CBA championship.
|
Posted by sportsfan7 12/14/2020 3:48 pm | #57 |
USBL Season Preview
The USBL is back with more summer basketball, but with a fairly new lineup of teams. The defending champion Tampa Bay Flash return, but the other 3 playoff teams from last year (the Springfield Fame, Westchester Golden Apples, and Wildwood Aces) will not, and neither will the Gold Coast Stingrays. Instead 3 expansion franchises will fill their places; the West Palm Beach Stingrays, Rhode Island Gulls, and Atlantic City Aces. The defending champs and expansion franchises will be joined by two other returning teams, the Staten Island Stallions and the Jersey Jammers. Tampa Bay is likely to run away with the league title, with their only competition being 3 expansion franchises and the 2 worst teams from last season. Among the expansion teams, the Rhode Island Gulls look prime to make a run.
|
Posted by sportsfan7 1/14/2021 4:19 pm | #58 |
Yeah, so this is dead. I've been more focused on another project lately and combined with going back to work this weekend and going back to part time in-person school, I don't see a way forward for this. If I could do it over again, I would've written out the posts as I went through the seasons, instead of doing it after the fact.
However, I do have the completed results of the series done (standings, playoffs, leagues, etc.,) through the end of the 2019-20 season, as well as a full statistical compilation from the series that will be linked below. These links will use the original names for teams, some of which I changed when posting.
Part 1 (1985/86-1989/90)
Part 2 (1990/91-1994/95)
Part 3 (1995/96-1999/2000)
Part 4 (2000/01-2004/05)
Part 5 (2005/06-2009/10)
Part 6 (2010/11-2014/15)
Part 7 (2015/16-2019/20)
Stats
Last edited by sportsfan7 (1/14/2021 4:21 pm)
Page: