One surprise result stood out among the week seven finale on Friday night. Magic Gaming took its third win of the season, Heat Check Gaming helped to get itself back on track, Mavs Gaming rolled Celtics Crossover Gaming in a rivalry matchup and Jazz Gaming continued its season three dominance.
Magic Gaming def. Warriors Gaming Squad, 2-1
Game 1: MCG 60-52
Game 2: WGS 84-52
Game 3: MCG 58-55
Magic Gaming pulled off an upset not many people saw coming. To cap off its week seven, Orlando went on an 18-6 run in the final frame of game three to stun CB13 and his fellow Warrior Gaming Squad teammates. Reizey, who averaged 29 points and 7 assists last night, outdueled the opposing Warriors point guard for a three-game series win that gave the Magic its third win of the season. A pair of fourth-quarter runs sealed both of the Magic’s victories: 10-0 in game one and the 18-6 run in game three.
Warriors Gaming Squad just couldn’t shake off a couple of slow starts yesterday evening. In both losses, the offense started slowly and struggled to put together solid possessions when the team needed them most, allowing game-deciding runs. In their lone win—game two—CB13 erupted for 51 points and showcased a variety of creative ways to get buckets: from range, with an array of post moves, or simply taking the layup. It was an impressive scoring performance, but CB13 and the Warriors fell short of winning the series.
Difference Maker: Turnovers
The team who won the turnover battle in each contest won the game as well. The Warriors limited themselves to just 6 turnovers compared to Orlando’s 15 in their game two rout. The other games were decided by a few late Orlando runs that were sparked by Golden State turnovers.
Heat Check Gaming def. 76ers GC, 2-1
Game 1: SGC 92-63
Game 2: HCG 74-71
Game 3: HCG 69-63
After a bumpy start to the series, Heat Check Gaming was able to defeat 76ers GC and improve to 2-6. Philadelphia got off to its best start of season three with a 24-12 first quarter. The 76ers made life difficult for Miami in the half-court, pressuring the Heat into numerous turnovers which led to easy fastbreak points. Radiant turned back the clock and finished with 49 points and 9 assists, including shooting 70% from outside.
In game two, Miami got off to a quicker start, with Glenn making it a point of emphasis to put up more shots early on. Finishing with just 16 attempts the prior game, the rookie point guard took seven shots by the end of the first quarter. After earning a triple-double in game one, 76ers big man Steez was dominant late in game two, securing multiple offensive rebounds and finding his favorite target in Scretty. However, despite Delusion missing a fadeaway at the end of regulation, the Heat would go on to outplay the 76ers in overtime and force a game three.
In game three, Miami did a fantastic job of containing Radiant, but the Philly frontcourt continued its strong play—with each player scoring in double digits in all three games of the series—and kept the 76ers within striking distance. The Heat would ultimately close things out down the stretch behind the play of Hotshot.
Difference Maker: Hotshot
While Glenratty was brilliant on the night, Miami’s center Hotshot made big plays when he was called upon. He negated Steez’s impact after that first game and came up with huge defensive plays in both overtime and the fourth quarter of game two. The big man finished the night averaging four blocks.
Mavs Gaming def. Celtics Crossover Gaming, 2-0
Game 1: MGG 81-54
Game 2: MGG 66-60
Despite Celtics Crossover Gaming making further changes to its lineup, it was once again swept and fell to 0-9. The Celtics welcomed Mel East back into the lineup—who was in the lineup when the team split their home and away with Mavs Gaming in the Tipoff tournament—but still found themselves on the losing side of things. Game one was a complete blowout in favor of Dallas, with each player finishing with double-digit scoring. The entire Mavericks team missed a total of only eight shots.
Game two was more interesting, with the Celtics turning to their full-court press to claw their way back. The extended pressure alongside vastly improved outside shooting from Mel East (80%), Bulley (60%) and TooxCool (50%) would draw Boston within 6 points with under two minutes left. But ultimately, Dallas would put them away after Dimez hit a heavily contested fadeaway deep into the shot clock.
Difference Maker: Dallas backcourt
While PeteBeBallin is a strong nominee for tonight’s difference-maker, let’s instead look at what the backcourt of Sherm and Dimez provided. Collectively, the pair averaged 37 points, 9.5 assists and 5 steals. More importantly, for as often as they handle the ball, the two only combined for 6 turnovers a game.
Jazz Gaming def. Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, 2-0
Game 1: UJG 82-51
Game 2: UJG 87-64
What a disappointing end to the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai’s recent run of success. After knocking off Blazer5, making its run in the Tipoff, competing with Raptors Uprising GC and completing the crazy comeback against Grizz Gaming earlier this week, Gen.G was man-handled last night. Two games, two blowout losses and other than for a brief few moments in game two, the series was never particularly close. It’s not often we don’t have good things to say about ShiftyKaii, but he was rough last night, struggling with his shot, while not taking care of the ball consistently. I don’t see any reason for this team to switch things up, it just seemed like it wasn’t their night. Gen.G hopes to regain traction in week eight, where the team is slated to face Heat Check Gaming and the Raptors once again.
Man, Jazz Gaming just keeps on rolling, enjoying and deserving all of the success that’s coming its way. Splashy was incredible in game one, shooting 14-for-19 while pouring in 35 points and 8 assists on just 2 turnovers. Efficiency. For a player who was supposedly overdrafted, Ria doesn’t listen to the Twitter trolls, he just fires up the sticks and performs game in and game out. Last night, the former No. 1 overall pick averaged 9 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists per contest while matched up with Deadeye down low. As the Jazz continue to build momentum, we’re potentially seeing an elite, contending team come together midway through the 2020 season.
Difference Maker: Efficiency
We hinted at it earlier, but ShiftyKaii shot 13-for-31 from the field, including 1-for-8 from range, while recording 5+ turnovers in each contest. Gen.G lost the series turnover battle 15 to 27 and shot under 50% as a team in game one. Losing the turnover battle by double digits while shooting the ball poorly is a recipe for disaster.