Playoff time is getting closer and closer, as we have just one more week of regular season play left. There are 2 teams who have already punched their way into the field. Those 2 specific teams are the Lunar Owls who boast an 11-1 record and the Rose Basketball Club who are currently sitting at 7-5. The Lunar Owls have been commanding the league since the start of regular season play, as they opened up their Unrivaled campaign with 7 straight wins. Napheesa Collier has been the most dominant player in the competition by leading the league in scoring with over 25 points per game. She showcased her dominance even further by winning the 1on1 competition and it seems like she’s going to continue to carry this spectacular play to the playoffs. The Lunar Owls have also gotten key consistent contributions from other members of their roster, especially the vet Skylar Diggins-Smith who has distributed and scored at a high level. The Rose Basketball Club were late bloomers in the league due to their shaky 1-4 start to the season. Since that rough start, they’ve picked it up and look like a team that can actually win it all. They would probably have to go through the “unbeatable” Lunar Owls, whom they’ve already defeated, so they have a legitimate shot at the Unrivaled title. Rose is so hard to matchup against because of how they control the boards on both ends of the floor. Angel Reese is a menace on the glass and if teams want to handle Rose, they gotta keep her off the boards.
Who Will Get the Final Two Playoff Spots
Now that we know the first two teams to make the playoffs, the next question is who else will round out the 4-team playoffs. In my humble estimation I believe The Vinyl and Laces will be the next 2 teams to make the field. I believe in Vinyl for two reasons, Rhyne Howard and Arike Ogunbowale. I’ve stressed this all season long because this backcourt can get buckets in bunches and you topple that with the tremendous growth of Dearica Hamby, who currently ranks 3rd in scoring, this team could be a tough out if they are able to make it in. As a team they’re 2nd in points and steals per game. They can score at an even higher clip since they take the ball away and gain extra possessions for their outstanding scoring backcourt. The Laces were my 2nd pick to make the playoffs since they started out the year hot just like the Lunar Owls. Before injuries to Kate Martin, Jackie Young, and Tiffany Hayes decimated their lineup in the middle of the season, they had a 4-0 record, which makes me believe in them as they’re just now starting to get healthy. In their last outing, they lost by 5 to an ascending Rose team, but Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes played in that game and the previous contest before against vinyl. Now that those two are back in the lineup along with the 2nd leading scorer in the league, Kayla McBride, I still think that they have enough fire power to overcome the absence of Kate Martin to squeak back into the playoff picture. They have a favorable schedule to round out the regular season schedule. They will get the Phantom Basketball Club, who is the worst team by record in Unrivaled, then they’ll play the Mist who are currently sitting in that 3 way tie for 3rd place with Vinyl and the Laces. The Laces and Mist last met on February 24th and in this matchup the Mist won convincingly 65-49. This matchup coming this Saturday will be a different story because Tiffany Hayes and Jackie Young will be suiting up and on the floor for the Laces.
Queen Phee’s MVP To Lose
The race for league MVP is also coming to a close as the regular season winds down. It looks like this award is “Queen Phee’s” to lose. She’s led the league in scoring since Week 1 and is now currently averaging a double with 26.3 points and 11 rebounds per game on an 11-1 team, however I want to take this time to acknowledge some other players in the league who’ve been balling and should claim some notoriety. Let’s start with another bucket getter who’s been at the heels of Napheesa Collier and that would be none other than Kayla “McBuckets” McBride. She’s averaging 22.5 points per game and has been a consistent perimeter threat. She showed me a lot when she dueled it out with Collier earlier in the year and I love how aggressive she is at finding her shot against any type of defender or overall defense. I mentioned her a bit earlier, but Dearica Hamby has really impressed me thus far. She fills up every ounce of her stat sheet from points to rebounds to steals and even assists. What’s really impressed me with her game is how assertive she’s been on the offensive glass for Vinyl. She gets on average around 2-offensive rebounds per game and it seems like they all come at critical junctures in the game. Like I said, this award has an obvious frontrunner in Napheesa Collier due to her consistency from the start of the season up until this point and her winning the 1 on 1 contest shouldn’t go unnoticed when it comes to this award because she proved that she can win in any format against team or any individual player.