Superstar Battles
GREEN VALLEY OPEN: Quarterfinals Predictions
By Michael Palmer | Green Valley Media Associate
No. 4 JYD (3-5) vs. No. 5 Ball 4 Life (3-5) - Winner Plays No. 1 Flight Vegas
This will be the first matchup of the season against these two teams as they were supposed to play last week, but JYD won via a forfeit. In fact, Ball 4 Life hasn't played a game since Week 6 as they won their game in Week 7 as they won via forfeit against the UnderDogs. It seems like we haven't seem Ball 4 Life is a while, but I expect them to compete hard and perform well. Milos Knezevic is a dynamic player and will be looked at closely by JYD. Zach Dean is a beast down low, runs well in transition and can take on anyone, however, he tends to foul a lot and early too, so he needs to be careful going up against a powerful JYD offense. The 3-point shooting duo of Angel Castro and Mark Trevino need to be on their 'A' game and have confidence in their shots.
Meanwhile, JYD has been without their GM in Jerome Williams, and we'll most likely not see him in this one. He has plenty of other weapons to fill in and contribute big time, especially Kodiak Yazzie. He's been an important player for JYD and the forward can compete against anyone in this league. I'm liking what I'm seeing out of the newcomers in Victor Senn and Eric Redeaux. They shoot for accuracy and make a lot of smart decisions. Watch out for Anthony Livingston to drive by Ball 4 Life and run like crazy in transition. If Cris Cockrell scores early and often, he'll carry JYD to the next round of the playoffs.
Prediction: JYD -4
No. 3 Villains (4-4) vs. No. 6 RudeDogs (2-6) - Winner Plays No. 2 UnderDogs
The Villains are 2-0 against the RudeDogs this season as they put up 158 and 150 points against them. So with that being said, how are the RudeDogs going to stop the Villains? It's going to take a whole lot for them to slow them down and it starts with having depth. The RudeDogs have had some players miss a lot of time this season and they will need to suit up and be ready to ball. If they don't suit up, well, they're in trouble. The duo of Matt Darcel and Carey will have to have some luck on their side as they shoot a lot of 3s, but not all of them go down. Lamond Murray will be another key player for the RudeDogs and he'll be a key guy for the Villains to slow down in the paint.
We will most likely not see Josh McCarver playing in this one as he welcomed a baby boy into the world (congrats Josh and the rest of the McCarver family). That's means that London Schneider will play more minutes and the Villains have faith in him to step up and deliver. Watch out for Andreu Johnson and Hollis Hale to score back and forth and it will be intriguing to see how many points they will put up. Jon-Ross Campeau made 11 treys last time the Villains played the RudeDogs and I expect him to be just as aggressive from beyond the arc. Enough said, Villains will advance to play the UnderDogs.
Prediction: Villains -18.5