The 2021 Fall K1 League regular season has concluded, and we couldn't be more excited for the playoff tournament. Here are each of the matchups, as we head into the tournament on Sunday, November 7th beginning at 12:30 pm.
12:30 pm - Suns @ Nets
The Suns (0-13) finished fifth in the West Division and will take on the Nets (6-7) who finished fourth in the East Division. The winner will then take on the Warriors (11-2) who won the West Division at 3:00 pm. During the regular season, the Nets defeated the Suns by a score of 115-40 on October 17th. In that game, Red Binion had 36 points, and six different players scored in double figures for the Nets. The Nets don't have a ton of depth on their bench, but their starting five has been very good for them this year. Four players average in double figures, including Binion who led the K1 League in scoring this year at 24.6 ppg. Ronnie Jackson has also been incredible this season for the Nets, as he is averaging 17.3 ppg and scored 26 points and 19 points respectively on Sunday to close out the regular season. For the Suns, they failed to win a game during the regular season, but had three single digit losses and showed improvement as the season went on. Although this matchup is going to be very tough for them, they do have a trio of players that have consistently scored the basketball, led by Ferra Johnson who is averaging 11.5 points per game. One of league's assists leader in Michael Lonergan Jr. has been a really good facilitator of this offense, and he will need to do the same on Sunday if the Suns want to keep pace with the Nets. Also look for Devonte Barnes (15.1 ppg and 9.3 rpg) to make an impact in this one. Although the Nets are big time favorites, anything can happen in the playoffs, and we expect the Suns to play hard for 40 minutes as they look to pick up their first win of the year.
1:45 pm - Celtics @ Mavericks
The Celtics (3-10) finished fifth in the East Division and will take on the Mavericks (2-11) who finished fourth in the West Division. The winner will then take on the Bucks (8-5) who won the East Division at 4:15 pm. These two teams matched up on October 10th in a really good basketball game, with the Celtics coming out on top 66-63. The story in that one was the Mavericks' Braijon Thomas, who had to leave the game towards the end of the first half with a calf injury. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Thomas missed several games since then, and he didn't look to be 100% himself in Sunday's loss to the Heat. Jonathan Townsend led the Celtics against the Mavericks earlier this year with 16 points, and was the Celtics' best player in the month of October, as he is averaging 13.0 ppg on the season. Other key players for the Celtics are Mendi Naylor (12.8 ppg), Donald Ellis (10.4 ppg), and Walter Hudson (10.3 ppg). In a game that doesn't have a ton of interior players, these four players will be huge for the Celtics on Sunday. Big man Jay Slone will presumably be matched up with the Mavericks' Antwan Peterson in another key matchup. Slone is the team's leader in rebounding and will need to be at his best on Sunday. For the Mavericks, we have already mentioned Braijon Thomas, who really makes the Mavericks a different team when he is in the lineup. Other important pieces are Jamari Washington (14.4 ppg), Jamir Hinds (11.9 ppg), Patrick Allen (9.9 ppg), and the aforementioned Peterson (7.4 ppg) who is leading the team in rebounding with 8.5 rpg. This figures to be a great basketball game between two teams that are young, but play hard and have some individual scoring talent. Whoever plays more as a team comes out on top in this one, as we expect a back and forth affair in the second Round of 16 matchup of the day.
3:00 pm - Nets/Suns @ Warriors
The winner of the Nets/Suns game at 12:30 pm will take on the Warriors (11-2) who finished first in the West Division. The Nets have been plagued by some bad luck this year, which has led to a very difficult quarterfinal matchup. Despite being a game under .500 and finishing fourth in the East Division, they went 3-1 against the top two teams in the East. They dropped a pair of OT games to the Heat, who finished third in the East Division, and they also had two forfeits against teams that they were victorious against in their other matchup this year. So while our sympathy doesn't give the Nets a better draw in the playoffs, it's worth noting that the Nets are a top five team in the K1 League, and will have a chance in this game on Sunday. These two teams actually just matched up last week to close out the regular season, with the Warriors winning 83-76. In that game, Martavius Laster led the Warriors with 33 points. As dangerous as the Nets are, the Warriors deserve all the credit in the world, as they went a league-best 11-2 in their first season in the K1 League. They were the only team in the league to beat every other team, going 5-0 against the East Division and splitting matchups with the Spurs (10-3) and Lakers (9-4) along the way to going 6-2 against the West Division. The Warriors have an extremely balanced offensive attack, as they have had six different players lead them in scoring this year during a game. The Warriors will be focused on stopping on the Nets' star guard Red Binion, who led the K1 League in scoring at 24.6 points per game. Ronnie Jackson (17.3 ppg) and Mook Lawrence (14.6 ppg) also averaged in double figures, as did TJ Wicks (12.8 ppg) who led the league in blocks at 3.8 per game. The Warriors have five players that average double figures, with their core four players being Martavius Laster (17.2 ppg), Sammie Hines (15.2 ppg), Tyree Mosley (15.0 ppg), and Latrell Tidwell (10.7 ppg). This is one of those matchups that you won't want to miss, as the first quarterfinal matchup of the playoff tournament takes place.
4:15 pm - Mavericks/Celtics @ Bucks
The winner of the Mavericks/Celtics game at 1:45 pm will take on the Bucks (9-4) who finished first in the East Division. The Bucks have had a very up and down season, as they took the league by storm starting out a league-best 7-1, before dropping three straight single digit matchups to fall to second place in the East. The Bucks then responded with two big wins to close out the season, including an upset win of the Lakers in Week 11 with just five players present. Despite being without reigning player of the year Kale Maupin for nine of the team's 13 games this year, the Bucks have been one of the most consistent rosters, playing together as a team and lighting it up from three point land. Entering the playoff tournament, the Bucks have a whopping seven of the top 25 players in terms of three-point shooting percentage. Their leader in this category is Darien Bosby, who is fresh off Week 11 player of the week honors, as he dropped 34 points in a win against the Lakers. Bosby is shooting 44% from three this year and is the Bucks leading scorer at 16.2 ppg. Their other key guards include Jaquan Boxley (12.2 ppg) and Christian Straw (11.0 ppg), as well as Caleb Johnson (9.0 ppg). Forward Jordan Logan has been a pleasant surprise for the Bucks this year, especially with their lack of size on the interior. Logan is averaging 12.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg. The key for the Bucks comes on the glass, as they only have one player on their roster above six feet when Maupin is not in the building. Although his status for the playoffs is unknown, the Bucks have made it known that they can play against the top teams in the league, even without him. The Bucks defeated the Celtics in both of their matchups this year, by scores of 59-48 and 73-54. They also defeated the Mavericks by a score of 71-51 in their only matchup of the season. In all three of those contests, the Bucks played gritty defense, did what they could on the boards, and ultimately wore down a pair of younger teams. The Bucks should be favorites against either team on Sunday, but certainly will hope to have Maupin for the rest of the way if they want to make a deep playoff run.
5:30 pm - Heat @ Spurs
The Heat (7-6) finished third in the East Division and will take on the Spurs (10-3) who finished second in the West Division. This is the first of two matchups where one of the West's Big 3 was upset during the regular season by a team from the East Division. In one of the more shocking upsets of the regular season, the Heat turned an early first-half deficit into a convincing 65-48 win against the Spurs on September 19th. In that game, the Heat ran their patented 2-3 extended zone, and the Spurs just were never able to get anything going. The Spurs connected on just 4/22 attempts from three point range, and had a season-high 23 turnovers. Terrell Hendrix and Alonzo King were both awesome for the Heat, as they finished with 20 points apiece and a combined nine steals. Hendrix is fifth in the K1 League in scoring at 20.4 ppg, but the Heat only have one other player in double figures - Octavius Jefferson at 11.4 ppg. While we can expect the Heat to run their zone again, it's quite hard to expect big man Trey Johnson being held to just four points again, especially when the Heat don't have a true center on their roster. Johnson is one of five Spurs players that averages double figures, which makes their 48-point performance against the Heat even more surprising. The Spurs average nearly 80 points per game in the K1 League, and failed to break the half-century mark on just the one occasion. Dennis Koger averages 16.3 ppg, Johnson averages 15.5 ppg, and Ryan Kvasnicka averages 13.5 ppg. Other double-digit scorers include Chris Green (12.7 ppg) and Ray Lawrence (11.8 ppg), reigning All-League players. So as we look towards this rematch, it's hard to imagine the Spurs being held to so few points again, with all the offensive firepower that they have. So the question will be asked of the Heat, who else besides Terrell Hendrix can score the basketball in a big game? Despite upsetting the Spurs back in September, the Heat will be pretty big underdogs in this one, but they might just be okay with that, as they will look to run with the Spurs for 40 minutes and force enough pressure to make life difficult for the defending champion Spurs.
6:45 pm - Lakers @ Bulls
The Lakers (9-4) finished third in the West Division and will take on the Bulls (8-5) who finished second in the East Division. In another intriguing rematch, the Lakers will look for revenge in this one after being surprised by the Bulls back on September 19th in a game that was never really in doubt. Although the Lakers are one missed free throw away (against the Spurs on 10/3) from being the number two seed in the West Division, they are forced to take a difficult path along the way to what they hope is a K1 League Championship. The Bulls are in a similar boat, as they were one game away from winning the East Division and having a much more favorable matchup in the quarterfinals, but couldn't close out their game with the Nets last week. When these two teams met back on September 19th, the Bulls jumped out to a 43-27 lead at halftime, as the Lakers struggled to score the basketball. Seth Johnson dominated Rob Anderson on the inside, scoring 27 points and holding Anderson to just four of his own. Benito Munoz was the best guard on the court, as he had 26 points and nine rebounds. Johnson (22.0 ppg) and Munoz (21.4 ppg) come into this game as the third and fourth ranked scorers in the entire league, a remarkable feat for teammates. Perhaps the biggest storyline from this game, besides the Lakers' inability to defend on the interior, was the absence of LJ Harris. The Lakers have just two, single-digit losses this season with Harris in the lineup, and one of those was the OT loss that we previously mentioned to the defending champion Spurs. So while the Bulls have been playing a good brand of basketball, and already have a win against the Lakers under the belt, it wasn't against the same Lakers team that they will be facing on Sunday, as Harris will be back, and the perimeter of the Bulls will have their hands full. Look for Harris (18.7 ppg), Tone Brooks (18.3 ppg), and Quon Shaw (15.2 ppg) to give the Bulls all they can handle in this one, as the Lakers boast three of the top fifteen scorers in the league. Although both teams were inches away from winning their respective divisions, we are fortunate to get to see them square off in the marquee matchup of the week in the quarterfinals. It's win or go home for the Lakers and the Bulls, to close out quarterfinal action in the Fall 2021 Playoff Tournament.