Are the Ankle Bullies For Real?
METROWEST REC: Week 2 Predictions
By Taylor Pettiford | Metrowest League Coordinator
Heading into Week 2 of our very first rec league in Boston, there’s still a lot we’re learning about our players and teams. We know the #1 Wildcats are the real deal; but on their heels in rankings is Ankle Bullies. Is this team, who actually stands as the shortest in the league, for real? Or was Week 1 beginner’s luck? We’ll find out in tonight’s 7 p.m., but let’s preview tonight’s matchups and predict who will be walking away a winner:
7 p.m. – Ankle Bullies (1-0) vs. Uncle Drew All Stars (0-1)
We’re on the fence as to whether Ankle Bullies are pretenders or contenders. Their guard play is phenomenal. Jorge Fernandez is top-notch, Clinkscale is a Draft League transplant, Bonilla brings loads of energy and Irving Azor, though forced to play big this season, is a lockdown defender and hustleman. But can a team with only one player over 6’0 (Michael Biddlecom) be a championship contender?
Week 2 may go a long way in answering that question for us. Their opponents, UDAS, boast one of the best defensive units in the league with captain, Ben Lee, athletic Warren Lane and scrappy Oriosto “Otto” Medrano. Additionally, with Tedi George entering the fold to assume PG responsibilities and freeing up Michael Morris to focus on scoring, UDAS is suddenly a much more well-rounded unit. George’s confidence precedes him as he made some lofty predictions regarding how many points he’d score in his debut. And, though we’re not sold on a 50-point outburst from George, we do think his addition will put UDAS over the top in a much-improved Week 2 performance.
PREDICTION: Uncle Drew All Stars
7 p.m. – Wildcats (1-0) vs. Old Game Changers (1-0)
Championship preview? It certain could be as the Wildcats and OGC, two of the top three teams in both our standing and power rankings, square off. Stopping the Wildcats will boil down to limiting Stephen Dion and Jonathan Waters who each went off for 21 points in Week 1.
Brendan Connolly is as scrappy as they come and Riley Traveller is an above-average athlete, so they may have the pieces to slow them down. But with the backcourts a wash – OGC is deeper with Andrew Christopherson and Adam Rosario added to the aforementioned, while Wildcats have the best 1-2 punch in Dion and Waters – this game may ultimately be decided in the paint. Tommy Rogers is tough, but can he contain both Lou Hinckley and Mark Albright? We’re not banking on it. Expect Wildcats to pull this one out in a close game.
PREDICTION: Wildcats
8 p.m. – Tapped Out (0-1) vs. Hustle (0-1)
Both teams are fighting to put a “1” in the win column, but only one of them can. Each struggled with chemistry and turnovers in Week 1; but Tapped Out had the fight necessary to make their game a close contest. Hustle, on the other hand, rolled over and played dead once their opponents started heating up.
Scott Lubarsky won’t turn it over seven times again and Steven Gum and John Finnerty should get more looks and better looks. Despite the long-term outlook for Hustle ending the season as a contender due to their core of Brendan Andersen, Elzey James and Jeff Raymond, their chemistry woes are so severe we expect Tapped Out to pull this game out in the final minutes.
PREDICTION: Tapped Out