Trilogy v. Triplets: Week 1 Game Preview

It’s that time of the year again – the BIG3 is back for its fifth season.

The BIG3’s first game of the year won’t be one to miss, as Trilogy will be taking on Triplets.

Trilogy:

2021 Record: 5-3

2021 Playoff Result: League Champions

Captain: James “Flight” White

Coach: Stephen Jackson

Triplets:

2021 Record: 6-2

2021 Playoff Result: Lost to 3-Headed Monsters in Semifinals

Captain: Joe Johnson

Coach: Lisa Leslie

This is a heck of a way to kick off what should be a fantastic season. Joe Johnson has established himself as the consensus GOAT of FIREBALL3 in his two years in the league, having won MVP in both of his BIG3 seasons.

When Trilogy and the Triplets met in Week 3 of the 2021 season, the Triplets came away with a 51-44 victory as Joe Johnson (26 points, 12 rebounds) was able to outduel former Trilogy Captain Jarrett Jack, who finished with 18 points and four rebounds.

Trilogy is coming off their second championship, and they are the only team in BIG3 history to have won multiple titles. (For that matter, team Captain James “Flight” White is the only player to have won two BIG3 titles.) They lost Jarrett Jack during the offseason, but added hyper-athletic big man Earl Clark as a Co-Captain. Guard Isaiah Briscoe, who at 26 is a part of the BIG3’s budding youth movement, will be returning to the team, so there will be some continuity there. Time will tell if another year of experience for Briscoe and the addition of Clark will be able to mitigate the loss of Jack.

Last but not least, Triplets won the Championship in 2019 and Trilogy took the title home in 2021, meaning this is a matchup of the last two BIG3 champions. (As a reminder, the BIG3 canceled its 2020 season to protect its players from COVID-19). Which former championship will come out on top after getting tested right off the bat?

There are tons of questions surrounding this game. Jarrett Jack, the Captain of Trilogy last season, has gone from the BIG3 to an assistant coach role with the Phoenix Suns. Will new Captain James White be able to step into his shoes and keep the team in championship contention?

White has established himself as one of the best all-around players in the league, and is arguably the best perimeter defender to ever play FIREBALL3. Will he be able to contain Joe Johnson, the best offensive player in the league’s history?

On the Triplets’ side of the equation, Johnson’s co-captains will be Jannero and Jeremy Pargo, who are quite familiar with each other’s games – they are brothers, after all. Will the Triplets’ family connection be able to get them back to the promised land? They also added some size and athleticism in the off-season when they added Ryan Hollins through the draft, so look for Johnson’s squad to spend more time above the rim than they did last season. (N.B.: Trilogy has Amir Johnson, who is plenty big himself, as one of their Co-Captains, so don’t expect Hollins to have too easy of a time of things around the rim.)

Tune into CBS at 2:30 EST on Saturday, June 18th to get the answer to these questions, and to welcome in another season of the fastest-growing professional sports league on the planet.