Just like that we are already to the month of October, which will feature five action-packed Sundays of basketball. Week 7 alone features several blockbuster matchups, including a battle of first and second place teams in both divisions, starting with the Lakers and Spurs at 3:30 pm followed by the Heat and Bucks at 4:30 pm. With five weeks of basketball still to be played, anything is on the table, as six inter-divisional matchups take place this Sunday. Read up on all of the action here!
12:30 pm - Bulls @ Celtics
Sunday's action begins with the Bulls and Celtics, as both teams look to bounce back from double-digit losses in Week 6. We'll start with the Bulls, who currently sit at 3-3, but have played a very challenging schedule thus far. With the exception of the Warriors, the Bulls have faced four of the five teams that are ahead of them in the standings. The Bulls will be confident heading into this one, thanks to the play of big man Seth Johnson (19.7 ppg and 12.0 rpg), and guard Benito Munoz (21.6 ppg). These two have singlehandedly proved to the rest of the league that the Bulls are a tough out, as well as placing themselves in the first-team all-league discussion. On the other side of the aisle, the Celtics currently sit at 2-6, and will need to win some matchups in the East Division if they hope to get themselves out of last place in the division. They have struggled to make shots from the outside, which has plagued them against some of the top teams in the league. Mendi Naylor played a solid doubleheader on Sunday, but he is going to need some additional help. The Celtics will welcome back Donald Ellis, and will ask their trio of big men - Jonathan Townsend, Jay Slone, and Isaiah Dean - to score the ball a little bit more. With the way the Celtics have been playing, the Bulls will be the favorites in this one. The Bulls open as 12.5 point favorites as they look to get back above the .500 mark.
1:30 pm - Warriors @ Mavericks
The Warriors (5-2) will look to rebound from a devastating loss from this past Sunday, where they let a 12-point lead in the final four minutes of the game slip away against the Lakers in an 80-69 overtime loss. In a much different way, the Mavericks also lost a tough game on Sunday, one in which they were leading the Nets for the first 35 minutes of the game, before falling 83-79. The last time that these two teams squared off, the Warriors scored at will, as they ran away from the Mavericks, 104-58. Sammie Hines took home player of the week honors with his performance in that one, scoring 27 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out six assists. The Mavericks have continued to show improvement in recent weeks, led by the play of Braijon Thomas, who is averaging 18.7 ppg. As the Warriors look to put last week's loss behind them, they will likely be thinking ahead to their Week 8 showdown against the Spurs (5-2) at 3:30 pm, and will want to be ready for it. Expect the Warriors to come out with a vengeance, as they are 16.5 point favorites against the Mavericks.
2:30 pm - Suns @ Mavericks
The Week 7 game of the week matchup, features the last two winless teams in the K1 League going at it. What we do know, is that at least one of these teams will leave the gym on Sunday with their first win of the season. Despite coming into Sunday with an 0-7 record, the Mavericks have shown the ability to play with several teams in the league. What has continually plagued them is poor shot selection, and a lack of chemistry on the offensive end of the court. Things seemed to click for the Mavericks in the first half of Sunday's loss to the Nets, but then the wheels feel off in the second half as the Nets outscored the Mavericks by 12 points. For the Suns, who enter this contest with an 0-6 record, they will look to draw some confidence from their Week 3 loss to the Lakers, when they fell 54-53 in the final ten seconds of the game. Although the Suns have struggled to score the ball - as they are averaging only 50 points per game - they do have two players averaging double figures. Devonte Barnes (13.8 ppg) has been a huge pickup for the Suns, while Michael Lonergan Jr. (12.3 ppg) continues to lead the K1 League in assists at 5.3 per game. To completely contrast the Suns, the Mavericks have not had many issues scoring the ball, rather in giving up points. By a decent margin, the Mavericks give up the most points per game in tbr K1 League at 82 points per game. This should make for a fun matchup, as the worst offense takes on the worst defense in the Week 7 game of the week. In their first of two matchups with the Suns this season, the Mavericks open up as 4.5 point favorites, as both teams look to get off the schneid.
3:30 pm - Lakers @ Spurs
Well here we are again, with another blockbuster matchup scheduled for the K1 League, as the Lakers (6-2) and Spurs (5-2) lock horns one final time this season. Back in Week 1, the Lakers showed off their depth in an impressive 60-57 win against the Spurs. In that contest, only two players scored in double figures for the Lakers, as they dished out 14 assists and passed the ball extremely well around the perimeter. Although the Spurs were not happy to start off their title defense with a loss, they can find solace in the fact that leading scorer Dennis Koger (17.0 pgg) and leading rebounder Ryan Kvasnicka (8.5) were not in attendance for the game. The Spurs should have their starting five in attendance for Sunday's game, as well as Austin Halcomb, who has been battling a back injury in recent weeks. If there is a key to this game, it probably rests on the shoulders of the Lakers and their ability to score the ball. Despite being just one of two teams in the K1 League with six wins, the Lakers rank fourth in scoring differential, and have struggled to find offensive contributions at times this season. This can certainly be said of the Lakers' performance last week, as only LJ Harris would be able to get anything going offensively in the game's first 35 minutes. In addition to Harris (17.0 ppg), reigning player-of-the-week Tone Brooks (20.0 ppg), and Quon Shaw (16.5 ppg), someone is going to have to step up for the Lakers if they want to pull off another upset in the K1 League. The Spurs still have a whopping six players averaging double figures, and they lead the K1 League in rebounding by a wide margin. Look out for the Spurs to try and get their revenge on the Lakers, as this purple and gold team must quickly move past its thrilling Week 6 win in OT against the Warriors to focus on the defending champions. The Spurs are 3.5 point favorites in this epic matchup on Sunday.
4:30 pm - Heat @ Bucks
Two of the hottest teams in the K1 League will meet on Sunday in what is the biggest game of the East Division so far this season. The Bucks enter the game with a 6-1 record, having rattled off four straight wins, following an ugly Week 3 loss to the Spurs. Meanwhile for the Heat, they are coming off of three straight wins, including a convincing victory against the Spurs in Week 5, as the Heat now sit in second place in the East Division at 5-2. Despite being without Kale Maupin for the past four games, the Bucks have continued to hold their own, grinding out wins and distributing the ball in impressive fashion. Coming into this contest, the Bucks have four players scoring in double figures, including Maupin (11.3 ppg) and Jordan Logan (13.2 ppg). Other important pieces to this Bucks team are guards Jaquan Boxley (9.6 ppg), Darien Bosby (9.0 ppg), Christian Straw (8.8 ppg), and Caleb Johnson (7.2 ppg). Perhaps the key for the Bucks will be their ability to handle the pressure that the Heat guards like to apply on opposing teams, both in transition, and with their extended 2-3 zone. For this Heat team, they have created an average of 13 steals per game in their past three wins, and have ridden the hot hands of Terrell Hendrix (21.3 ppg) and Alonzo King (10.3 ppg), who have each scored in double figures in the team's past three games. This figures to be a fun one, as the more methodical, fundamental Bucks will clash with the upstart, high-flying Heat in Week 7. The Bucks open as 1.5 point favorites in this one.
5:30 pm - Heat @ Nets
While the Heat are likely focused on the first-place Bucks heading into Week 7, they have a tough assignment, facing the Nets in the second game of a daunting doubleheader. When these two teams matched up back in Week 1, the Heat got out to a big lead in the first-half, thanks to Blake Graham, who had 23 points and took home Week 1 player of the week honors. Despite a slow start, the Nets battled back to force OT, despite having just five players. Although the Heat would eventually take home a 68-59 win, the Nets should be full of confidence coming into this one, especially knowing that they took the Heat to OT in Week 1 without Red Binion and TJ Wicks on the court. Since returning from a minor ear procedure, Binion has taken the Fall League by storm, averaging 25 points per game, and shooting above 50% from the field. Meanwhile Wicks has played a couple of impressive basketball games, averaging 11.5 ppg, five rpg, and leading the League in blocks (3.5 bpg). Despite the Nets' record being 3-4, expect them to be a much different team with their whole roster, one that still has a chance to make a run at the East Division. While the Heat took their matchup against the Nets in Week 1, expect the new-look Nets to bounce back, and be extremely tough for a Heat team on the second game of a doubleheader. The Nets open this one as 2.5 point favorites as the Heat will be on upset alert in the final game of Week 7.