Game 1 (CBS): 3’s Company (2-1) vs Ghost Ballers (2-1)
Heading into the halfway point of the season, both of these teams have a chance to create
some separation in the standings with a win. 3’s Company looks like the most complete
team through the early part of the season while Ghost Ballers isn’t far behind them. Michael
Beasley continues to show why he’s the best scorer in the league but rookies Nasir Core
and Sean Williams have rounded this team out well with their shot creating and shot
blocking, respectively.
Ryan “Hezi God” Carter had his best game of the 2024 season dropping a season-high 14
points and Chris Johnson is having an All-Star caliber summer up to this point. Meanwhile,
the rest of the team is contributing to plays that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet
to shoulder some of the load from Mike Taylor.
If there’s one thing Michael Cooper’s team has struggled with its’ their team defense and foul
trouble. Look for them to emphasize that side of the ball and play more as a unit. For George
Gervin’s team, they were able to create turnovers and limit their own last week. If they can
continue that trend and have a big game from Mike Taylor (21 points, 10 rebounds in Week
1, 19 points, 10 rebounds past two weeks) they should have no problem knocking off 3’s
Company for a second straight year.
Game 2 (CBS): Tri-State (2-1) vs Enemies (3-0)
A candidate to be game of the year in the early part of the season, Tri-State looks to take
down an Enemies team that has lost once in their last 10 games. After losing in Week 1,
Tri-State has managed to find their stride beating their last two opponents by double digits.
Jason Richardson and Kevin Murphy have been on a tear following a slow season opener
and are currently the highest scoring duo in the league. They’ve found their chemistry as a
group and not one team has found an answer to slow them down offensively the past two
weeks.
The same can be said for the defending champions though. Jordan Crawford and Elijah
Stewart rank right behind Tri-State’s tandem in the scoring department and they showed last
week they can win without big games from either of them. Isaiah Austin has given other bigs
in this league problems with his size and length while Chris Allen is starting to get adjusted
to the play in the BIG3. It’ll be a shootout and ultimately, it will come down to which squad
can slow down the other from making more shots.
Game 3 (X): 3 Headed Monsters (1-2) vs Trilogy (0-3)
When the season started, there probably weren’t too many people expecting either of these
teams to be below the .500 mark. While one team needs to string a few wins together, the
other is looking at their last chance to even have a shot at the playoffs.
After winning their Week 1 matchup, 3 Headed Monsters have dropped two straight games.
For the most part, this has been a solid group especially when Jeff Teague has played
(missed Week 2 for personal reasons). However, in their two losses we’ve seen their
defense collapse for stretches that ultimately have led to their downfall. A 21-4 run given up
in Week 2 and a 23-2 run given up early in Week 3 have essentially given them a low
percentage chance to comeback. On top of that, they’ve missed some key free throws while
in the bonus that have been critical. If they can stay locked in defensively for the entirety of
the game and make their free throws, they should be able to do enough offensively to pick
up another win.
Trilogy on the other hand is basically on life support. They need a win desperately and
probably some help from around the league to stay afloat. It’s the same story every game;
solid defensively, struggle offensively. On the defensive side they lead the league in blocks
and are tied for second in steals. However, offensively they’ve scored the second least
amount of points in the BIG3 and the combination of Isaiah Briscoe and Earl Clark have
accounted for 69 percent of their points. Cady Lalanne was the lone bright spot last week
scoring a season-high 15 points off the bench. If he can continue his play and get big games
from their two stars they may have a chance to come away with their first victory.
Game 4 (X): Triplets (2-1) vs Aliens (1-2)
Aliens have shown they can still compete even without the loss of their captain Paul Millsap,
but they’re running into a buzzsaw in the Triplets for their Week 4 matchup. Triplets just
came off the highest scoring margin in a win this season and they did it without the 3x MVP
Joe Johnson. Jeremy and Jannero Pargo dropped 40 points combined and put on a
shooting clinic from beyond the 3-point line. In fact, this squad has shot the ball better from
3-point and 4-point land than any other team so far through three weeks. They’ve been able
to break games wide open in a matter of minutes and this week we should expect the return
of Johnson, who gives them another threat.
For Aliens, they come off a week in which they gave Enemies a run for their money for the
first time all season. Devin Ebanks was a big reason behind that after dropping a BIG3
career-high 22 points. Their biggest challenge has been getting enough stops, especially
towards the end of games.
In order for Aliens to stay in the thick of things, they’ll need to slow down Triplets’ ability to
shoot from long range while managing to make enough of their own (shot just 16 percent in
Week 3). Triplets on the other hand will look to stay in form while getting a huge boost from
Johnson’s return.
Game 5 (X): Power (1-2) vs Ball Hogs (1-2)
Arguably the most crucial game of the week for either squad, both Power and Ball Hogs
need a win to make a playoff run more manageable. Nancy Lieberman more than likely
threw away last week’s game tape after a complete dud. Glen Rice Jr. was the only glimmer
of hope offensively while defensively they struggled to get stops (opponents shot 54 percent
from the field). Ball Hogs played better on offensive but gave away the ball on a handful of
occasions in their loss. Additionally, Jodie Meeks is averaging just 11 PPG so far after
scoring 17.6 PPG last season.
If Power wants to get back to .500 they need to contest shots at a higher clip while making
sure they communicate on switches in the pick-and-roll. On the other side, they’ve got to get
on the same page offensively as they looked out of sorts during stretches throughout their
game last week. If Ball Hogs plan to get back to an even record, they’ve got to play a cleaner
game while getting Jodie Meeks going, especially from behind the 3-point line where he’s
shooting just 21 percent. Power won the matchup in overtime (past 50 points) last year in a
nail-biter so expect a tight contest for two teams looking to rebound in Week 4.
Game 6 (X): Bivouac (3-0) vs Killer 3’s (0-3)
Final game of the day features a tale of two seasons. Bivouac is off to their best start in
franchise history while Killer 3’s are off to one of their worst. The Ants have outrebounded,
out hustled, and defended every team they’ve encountered at a high rate. And despite some
offensive struggles, they’ve maintained leads because of their impact in other aspects of the
game. Not to mention Corey Brewer has played like an MVP, ranking in the top-5 in points,
rebounds, and steals through the first three weeks.
Defense and 3-point shooting have been Killer 3’s Achilles’ heel in the early going. Offenses
are having their way against them and as a team they can’t get a complete game from the
entirety of their team. Franklin Session has yet to play up to his caliber and Donte Greene
had his worst game of the 2024 season in Week 3. Maybe we see their new addition
Dazeran “Duke Skywalka” Jones make his BIG3 debut this week to help spark their
perimeter shooting.
It’s basically the last stand for the Bees so they need a complete game offensively, stops
defensively, and a continued effort on the boards (best rebounding team in the BIG3
currently). Because if Bivouac continues to play like they have and finds their shot from
deep, the Killer 3’s may need to start thinking about next season. It’s going to take a huge
upset to have a small chance to continue to be in the mix of things.
