Detroit Amps vs Boston Ball Hogs
If there were any question marks around Detroit being good enough to make the playoffs,
they answered them last week.
Despite losing Joe Johnson in Week 2 for the season, the Amps have adjusted to their new
style of play and proven it can be effective.
But can they do it two consecutive weeks?
That’ll be the new biggest question for the Motor City’s squad after a solidifying win last
week against the LA Riot. Jeremy Pargo had his best game of the season and different guys
have shown up over the past four weeks when called upon.
Darnell Jackson hit some critical shots in Cincinnati, Cameron “Beno” Smith can be a go-to
bucket getter when needed, and Shakur Juiston and Ray Nixon have been defensive studs
on the wings.
The only issue has been doing it back-to-back weeks. They’ve yet to win two in a row since
starting the year 2-0 and have had three different leading scorers the past four weeks.
Not to mention, they face off against a Gary Payton-led Ball Hogs team that’s looking to
rebound.
Boston fell back to .500 after dropping one to the Chicago Triplets a week ago. That was
mainly due to a rough second half where they were held to just 16 points.
Jonathan Simmons, who came into last week scoring at least 18 points in each game, was a
shell of himself and held in check posting just 11 points.
However, Payton has been known to get his guys going in crucial moments.
Expect the defensive intensity to be dialed up from the Ball Hogs side. After all, a loss this
week could put them in a position where they may no longer control their own destiny
heading into the final week of the regular season.
That being said, they’ll need Simmons to turn things back around. And if there was ever a
time for Kevin Murphy to get back to form, this wouldn’t be a bad week for it. The former MVP
is averaging just 7.7 PPG this season a year after being second in the league in scoring.
For the Amps, Pargo has been the offensive initiator all season as either a scorer or
facilitator, but they’ll need him to do both at a high level to outscore the Ball Hogs.
Offensively, Detroit can be stagnant evidenced by being the only four win team to have a
negative point differential this season.
If Detroit wins, they’ll have multiple ways of clinching a playoff spot in Week 9 in Los
Angeles. A loss means they’ll need a win and potentially some help to make the playoffs –
especially considering Boston would have both the point differential and head-to-head
advantage.
Houston Rig Hands vs Dallas Power
It’s not exactly the home coming they were planning on, but the Houston Rig Hands have a
chance to create some chaos as spoilers in front of their fans Saturday.
At 1-5, Calvin Murphy’s team has officially been eliminated from playoff contention. But that
doesn’t mean he won’t want his players to put on a show in a place where he once did the
same as a player for the Houston Rockets.
The Rig Hands have lost five in a row since their season opening win. They’ve had
challenges defensively slowing down opposing teams but the offensive side of the ball has
been a bigger issue.
They’re the only team that has scored less than 275 points total this year and one of two
teams without a 100-point scorer.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of pulling off an upset. After all, Corey Brewer and
Garlon Green are still two of the best two-way players in the BIG3. The duo has accounted
for 61 percent of the scoring load in 2025 so they’ll look towards the rest of the roster to get
involved to take some of the pressure off.
All that to be said, they’ll have their hands full.
Dallas has been one of the hottest teams in the league the past couple weeks as winners of
two straight. Greg Monroe has been on a tear averaging 21.5 PPG and 15.5 RPG the past
couple games while leading the league in rebounds. Add in the fact that Glen Rice Jr. leads
the league in scoring and it’s one of the toughest 1-2 punches to contain.
Mix in the fact that they have three of the top-10 rebounders in the league and you might be
looking at the favorites to win it all heading into Week 8.
So what does Houston need to do to pull off the upset?
Well, they’ll have to ensure they are finishing possessions on the glass and playing on a
string defensively. And if they can steal some extra possessions then it could come down to
the wire.
But if Dallas dominates the boards like they have all season then we could be looking at a
potent Power offense that takes the spotlight away from the home town squad.
DMV Trilogy vs Los Angeles Riot
Los Angeles came into Season 8 as one of the more heavily favored teams to win it all.
Instead, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster year.
Between inconsistent outcomes the past three weeks and making constant adjustments to
their roster, the Riot find themselves on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today.
That being said, this may be one of the most dangerous teams heading down the stretch.
Jordan Crawford has been one of the most efficient players in the league once again and
Dwight Howard continues to assert himself each week as he gets more comfortable. With
the mid-season acquisition of Mike Taylor, this has become one of the best trios in the
league.
But what kind of impact can they get outside of those guys? Elijah Stewart has regressed in
his fourth season to the point where he’s barely playing and the same can be said for
Wesley Johnson as the season has gone on. For two guys that can leave a heavy imprint on
the result every game, they’ve struggled to do so the past few weeks.
With the team facing off against a DMV team that has nothing to lose, that makes Trilogy
equally as scary.
After all, despite their 1-5 record, this is still a team that ranks in the top half of the league in
points for and has been a hard unit to score on. In fact, they have the top-3 shot blockers in
the league heading into Houston in Earl Clark, Isaiah Austin, and Franklin Session.
The problem for this DMV team has been what they do on the offensive end. They lean too
heavily on their jump shots at times and have been ineffective in closing out games. In their
last three losses they’ve lost by a total of eight points.
If Trilogy wants to shake up the standings, they need to share the rock and find ways to get
Howard out of the paint to score some easy baskets. New guys like Will Barton and Mike
Scott have shown promise during their rookie seasons alongside another solid year from
Clark.
On the other end, LA has found success with the two-man game between Crawford and
Howard so it’ll be interesting to see if they continue to lean on those sets. If the pick-and-roll
game is effective, that might open up more avenues for other guys to get open looks and win
a decisive game before they head home.
Chicago Triplets vs Miami 305
We round out Week 8 with two four-win teams facing off and potentially taking sole
possession of first. And we do so with a bit of a revenge arc in the process.
Miami came into the season with all of their players returning but one from their runner-up
squad a year ago.
That one – Nasir Core.
Now the reigning Rookie of the Year and 4th Man of the Year gets a chance to face off
against his old squad to put Chicago atop the standings. Quite possibly at their best, too.
The Triplets found their groove last week with their reshaped team following a tough
adjustment a week prior. Core has played at an All-Star caliber level averaging 15.3 PPG,
7.8 RPG, and 3 APG while sitting in the top-10 in the league of all three categories.
Couple in the fact that Montrezl Harrell is coming off a 22-point performance and Brandon
Moss looks to have found his role on this team following his strong outing and this might be
the most dangerous this Chicago squad has looked all summer.
Yet, even without Michael Beasley, who was out last week with a lingering knee injury, the
305 have been the league’s toughest matchup.
Lance Stephenson is the guy who replaced Core and he’s been terrorizing defenses since
joining the BIG3. Coming off a career-high 22 points, Born Ready has added a different
element to this Miami team and may be the eventual Rookie of the Year himself.
Not to mention, Sean Williams offensive outburst (career-high 16 points) last week adds
another threat to an already imposing roster.
The difference maker will obviously be the health of Beasley. If the MVP suits up, the Triplets
not only have to worry about stopping him but dealing with the size of Miami being an
undersized team themselves.
Whether or not he plays though, Chicago has to emphasize Harrell offensively and knock
down some shots outside the 3-point line to keep pace.
