If you’re not ready for week seven, you need to get ready. We’re officially beyond the halfway point of the season and there are a handful of matchups this week which will shape the upper tier of the league for weeks to come. Here are some quick breakdowns of every matchup of NBA 2K League action this week, capping it all off with a Game of the Week and a Player to Watch. Games are sorted in chronological order, with the Game of the Week bringing up the rear.
Wizards District Gaming (2-4) vs. Grizz Gaming (3-4)
Wednesday, 6 p.m. EST
The Wizards enter week six with a whole new outlook on the year after picking up
two season-saving (?) victories in their last outing. They’ll get the chance to continue
their rise from the basement with a week six opener against Grizz Gaming, whom
the Wizards felled on a game-winning layup back in the Tipoff Tournament.
The Grizz are also coming off a week-six bye, but theirs was a newsworthy one, as
the team acquired KelMav in a trade with Magic Gaming. Whether or not he slots
into the lineup immediately remains to be seen, since the Grizz have looked sharp as
Jayrod has played more efficiently at the three and as DDouble has cemented
himself at lock.
Magic Gaming (3-4) vs. Raptors Uprising GC (3-4)
Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST
Magic Gaming’s acquisition in that trade mentioned above, ToXsiK, may well start this week, but Magic Gaming is one of the most versatile outfits in the business. That versatility will help against Raptors Uprising, as the performance of the Magic’s frontcourt against the new-look Raptors big men will determine the team’s performance in this game.
The Raptors are back after another week of integrating Sick into the team. Perhaps
more importantly for their postseason prospects, Raptors Uprising got a career
performance from point guard Doza last week. If he can carry that performance into
this game against a strong defensive squad, the Raptors will continue to replicate
last year’s late-season charge.
Wizards District Gaming (2-4) vs. Celtics Crossover Gaming (2-5)
Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST
The Wizards get the tough one-hour turnaround game against an unfavorable
opponent, red-hot Celtics Crossover. At this point, they’ll either be on the brink of
.500 or fighting to stay in the playoff race. Containing Fab—or at least holding him
somewhat in check—will be imperative to winning this game.
Tournament Celtics are creeping into the regular season. They’re 2-1 in their most
recent regular-season games, with the sole loss coming at the hands of Blazer5
Gaming, and there’s a sense of optimism creeping in. Fab is one of the best players in
the world right now, but the supporting players have found their roles.
Grizz Gaming (3-4) vs. Raptors Uprising GC (3-4)
Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST
The Raptors get the second end of a one-hour turnaround. New man Sick will have
to contend with Grizz Gaming star AuthenticAfrican, who will be looking to prove
himself against his hometown team. It’s also a homecoming for Raptors Uprising
scorer Kenny, a Memphis native, who scored 25 points when the Raptors topped the
Grizz 72-69 in season one.
Pacers Gaming (5-1) vs. Warriors Gaming Squad (6-3)
Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST
The Pacers saw their perfect record snapped with a 1-1 split after the Turn, and they
know the Warriors are a dangerous team. WoLF remains one of the best lockdown
defenders in the league, but it’s the Pacers’ frontcourt that will be tasked with
seizing the advantage as the Pacers’ backcourt looks to contain the Warriors’ high-
powered offense.
Warriors Gaming bounced back from a loss to the Bucks with a high-profile win over
76ers GC last week. At 6-3, WGS is still a Turn champion and very much in the
playoff race, but a game against the Pacers will prove another excellent marker of
their performance against one of the top teams in the league. BSmoove against
WoLF promises to be an incredible matchup.
Warriors Gaming Squad (6-3) vs Hawks Talon GC (3-3)
Thursday, 6 p.m. EST
Warriors Gaming Squad has sparked another meta change throughout the league since winning the Turn tournament. The Warriors have deployed a lineup that many considered dead after the Ticket tournament, using the small forward lockdown to guard ball. Rightfully so, with the build being so much more slower, many teams opted to use the shooting guard lockdown. To counter that hindrance, the Warriors added a small twist by opting for the slashing defender, a build that provides a bit more offensive upside as well.
Hawks Talon, on the other hand, has stuck to its guns as of late, regardless of the addition of a new point guard, with DatBoyShotz at the post scorer. The Hawks have found the most success while Shotz uses the post scorer, and although the Hawks lost their first game with MrStylez in the lineup, they’re coming off an entire week of preparation to get it right. This will prove to be a pivotal week for Atlanta’s playoff chances.
Magic Gaming (3-4) vs. 76ers GC (4-3)
Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
We have yet to see the new-look Magic team so there are numerous questions looming as to how they will look this week. With the addition of ToXsiK, a player who has only played lockdown this year, it brings up speculation as to what he will play, as opposed to UCManny, the current lockdown defender for Magic Gaming. One thing is for sure: coach Jonah Edwards will find the best-suited lineup one way or another—whether he finds it this week or not.
76ers GC is sort of assuming the role of a tournament team. With one tournament win and two tournament finals appearances on the year, it makes you wonder how the Sixers aren’t currently top-five in this year’s standings.
The question that looms with the Sixers is who will pick up the slack when Radiant isn’t able to dominate offensively, as we’re accustomed to seeing. That’s been the biggest issue. If Newdini doesn’t hit a crazy layup at the buzzer to beat Heat Check Gaming, we’re talking about this Sixers team in a completely different light: sitting under .500 and outside of the top-10 in the regular season standings.
The Sixers have made it apparent they want the league championship this year. For that to happen, some adjustments will need to be made.
Knicks Gaming (1-6) vs. Celtics Crossover Gaming (2-5)
Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
One thing is for certain, Knicks Gaming never ceases to entertain. In a thrilling loss to Cavs Legion GC last week, it just goes to show that the Knicks are still amusing to watch — regardless of the disappointing season to date. HazzaUK has provided the Knicks with some much needed production on both ends and it’s not too far fetched to believe the Knicks could figure it out as soon as iamadamthe1st does.
Celtics Crossover finally seems to be trending in the right direction. Although the Celtics saw themselves lose to Blazer5 (rightfully so, as Blazer5 is arguably the best team in the league) they followed up the loss with a blowout win over Heat Check Gaming. As we pointed out last week, the Celtics need to stop creating issues that aren’t there. Put your best players at their best positions and go from there.
This matchup should be viewed as a must-win scenario for a team trying to get back into playoff contention.
Hawks Talon GC (3-3) vs. Cavs Legion GC (5-5)
Friday, 6 p.m. EST
Two teams with recent additions via the trade window, this matchup will be an interesting glimpse as to how both are adjusting to their new lineups.
The All Hail Trey era hasn’t done much to fix the consistency issues that have plagued Cleveland since before the trade. The Cavs are 2-2 since his acquisition with two week-five losses to Heat Check Gaming and Jazz Gaming and two week-six wins against the struggling Knicks and Lakers. The fit of Trey makes a lot of sense on paper, but the Legion will soon need to find a winning formula with the sharpshooter on their roster if they want to make the playoffs with only six games to go on the team’s schedule.
Ditto the above sentiment for Hawks Talon GC. MrStylez almost seems like the perfect fit for this roster as currently constructed, but that fit must translate to the court. Atlanta isn’t running out of time as quickly as the Cavs with only six games played so far this season, but sitting at .500 is far from a guarantee of a playoff spot.
Mavs Gaming (9-0) vs. Kings Guard Gaming (7-2)
Friday, 7 p.m. EST
This is what the masses have been clamoring for: a chance to see just how legit Mavs Gaming is. Week seven is a brutal one for Dallas. The historic Mavs must take on the surprise team of the season in 7-2 Kings Guard Gaming before facing off against 76ers GC for the Friday nightcap, meaning Sherm will have a busy night guarding two of the best—if not the best—dribblers in the league.
Speaking of brutal schedules, Kings Guard Gaming actually has an even tougher task ahead of it in week seven. Sacramento will face the Mavs and then Blazer5 Gaming just an hour later. That’s a combined record of 17-1 the Kings will take on in the span of a few hours. Have fun, y’all!
T-Wolves Gaming (3-5) vs. Cavs Legion GC (5-5)
Friday, 8 p.m. EST
In a weird coincidence, this will be the third team that Cavs Legion has faced in three weeks that has made a trade during the in-season window. The jury is still out on how good T-Wolves Gaming is with the addition of JMoney. They’ve elected to slot him in at point guard with the charismatic BearDaBeast taking over sharpshooting duties, but that lineup, it seems, is far from set in stone.
Bear himself has looked more than fine in his new role with 15 points per game on 66% shooting—albeit on a small sample size with only two games played. But the bigger question, should Minnesota stick with the current iteration of this lineup, is if the team can get an uptick in JMoney’s production. The rookie point guard has had a season like all other rookie point guards outside of BP have had: up-and-down, with flashes of brilliance shown off one week and inconsistent shooting and high turnovers the next. He will be the key to whether the squad from the Land of 10,000 Lakes will sink or swim before the playoffs.
Blazer5 Gaming (8-1) vs. Kings Guard Gaming (7-2)
Friday, 9 p.m. EST
Hey, more brutal schedules. Portland has a matchup with Pacers Gaming on Thursday before Friday’s date with Sacramento. This week is going to be FUN.
Unlike last year’s iteration of this same matchup, where Kings Guard famously upset Blazer5 in the first round of the Ticket, Mama, Walnut and co. won’t be caught off-guard this time around. The Kings have had a surprising season, but at this point no team can overlook them on the schedule.
The biggest question will be how Kings Guard handles the Mama-Walnut pick and roll duo. They got a good warmup when they took on Radiant and Steez in week three, a 64-60 win for the Kings, who held the former to 16 points on just 7-for-17 shooting and the latter to 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting, with Worthingcolt turning in an 18-point, 16-rebound shift. They’ll need a similar effort all around on defense if they want to recreate last year’s Ticket magic.
Mavs Gaming (9-0) vs. 76ers GC (4-3)
Friday, 10 p.m. EST
If Mavs-Kings and Blazer5-Kings on the same day can’t sate your appetite, the week-ending matchup between Mavs Gaming and 76ers GC will surely leave you satisfied.
While a loss here—and even a loss to the Kings as well—won’t impact much as far as the Mavs’ playoff chances go, 76ers GC is very much not out of the woods yet halfway through the season, a surprising thought had you heard it two months ago.
Week seven is a pivotal one for Philly, and it won’t be easy. Magic Gaming gave this team a tough time in the semifinals of the Tipoff, and a primetime Friday night matchup against arguably the best team in the league in Mavs Gaming won’t do much to assuage any uneasy feelings about the team’s current record.
But if you had to define the 76ers by one characteristic it would be composure. Two tournament wins is enough proof of that. It’s time for that composure to shine through, and a good week here will give this team some cushion heading into a relatively comfortable remaining regular season schedule.
Game of the Week: Blazer5 Gaming (8-1) vs. Pacers Gaming (5-1)
Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
Coming off yet another 2-0 week, Blazer5 continues to solidify itself as the premier standard for regular season teams. Mama Im Dat Man was our Player to Watch last week—not surprising as an MVP candidate—and showed exactly why he was such in both matchups.
Pacers Gaming has been at the top of the standings throughout the duration of the regular season, but the last time we saw them is when they got annihilated by Kings Guard Gaming, though they followed up that performance with a shellacking of their own against Heat Check Gaming. If those results tell us anything, it is that Pacers Gaming has the grit of an elite team that can make the necessary adjustments when the going gets tough.
A head-to-head matchup between arguably the best point guard in the league and arguably the best lockdown in the league is a must-see clash. Another thing to keep your eye on throughout this game is reigning MVP OneWildWalnut banging down low against season one MVP finalist Ramo.
Player to Watch: Dimez, Mavs Gaming
The Mavs are 9-0, a mark unparalleled by no other team in NBA 2K League history.
Dimez, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, has been at the forefront of the charge,
marshaling the team’s offense as its lone holdover from 2018.
Their record is imperilled this week by games against Kings Guard Gaming (7-2) and
76ers GC (4-3), two of the top teams in the league. The common thread? Each boasts
a top point guard in BP and Radiant, respectively, who have carried their teams
offensively to a spot in the thick of the playoff race.
While Dimez won’t go head-to-head with those guards, his team will certainly need
to contend with them, and Dimez himself will face the responsibility of exceeding
their offensive performance. He’s certainly capable of doing so. But with the Mavs’
momentum riding on their perfect record, will he be able to do it enough?
