The Chambers Review- WBA Finals
by Ron Chambers
This has not been my best year for predictions. I was pretty close on the Rage v. Fighting Cocks series. I predicted the Rage would win 4-3 and they won 4-2. Not bad. However, The Honey Bees made me look like an idiot. I thought that would be a close series with the Burning Hell finally winning. I predicted 4-3 in favor of Albacete. Of course, Paris completely dominated the series and swept it 4-0. Further, they won by an average win margin of 15 with only game two being closer than 10 points. Considering I predicted Paris to have a poor year and they are in the WBA finals, readers should take everything I have to say about Paris with a grain of salt.
I’m not sure that looking at how these two matched up during the regular season will be much help. They split the series 1-1. In both games the home team handily one. It may be worth noting that the Paris on April 15th, was the only loss the Rage had in the last month of the season. Some may argue that there was a little bit of an emotional let down for that game since Brooklyn had secured 70 wins in their previous victory in Salt Lake City, but I’ve never known Brooklyn not to be up for a game against another top team. So, I can only conclude that Paris outmatched Brooklyn that day.
During the playoffs, both Brooklyn and Paris are 12-2. Ironically, Paris’ losses both came in what should have been their easiest match, the first-round series again the Mayhem. So, they have clearly found a stride and are playing at a very high level. Brooklyn, on the other hand, swept their first two rounds and lost twice in the Conference Finals. But, you can’t blame Brooklyn for that. This was the first time in WBA history that two 70 win teams faced each other in the playoffs.
The one thing that I am certain of is that this will be a high scoring affair. Paris and Brooklyn have the two fasted paces in the WBA and are two of the most efficient offenses. They are also the two teams with the most assists and the second and third top scoring teams in the league. This all adds up to a lot of scoring. But, don’t think this will be sloppy all-star gameplay. Brooklyn has the most efficient defense in the league and Paris while well behind was still only #6 in defensive efficiency. These are also the two best steals teams so there is that wrinkle. Still, I can’t imagine this not being a high scoring series. The one HUGE advantage that Paris has is they were #29 in personal fouls while Brooklyn #5 averaging a full 10 fouls more a game. If Paris can keep Brooklyn in foul trouble that might be their key to victory.
Mario Bailey and Jarius Miles are two of the biggest names in the WBA and are probably the best duo in the league. During the playoffs, they are averaging 53.0 points, 19.5 rebounds, 10.4 assists, 4.8 steals, and 3.3 blocks. That is pretty hard to beat. But, Timmons is the GOAT averaging 15.6 points and assists during the playoffs and a whopping 5.1 steals. Bisset has also found his rhythm during the playoffs averaging 25.2 points with a very strong 1.40 PPS.
The hidden advantage of Paris is their efficiency on offense during the playoffs. In the regular season, Brooklyn had a PPS of 1.30 and Paris had a PPS of 1.29. Both solid- #5 and #7 respectively. Those numbers normally go down during the playoffs. It has for Brooklyn to a PPS of 1.17. Paris, on the other hand, has stayed consistent at 1.29. This is certainly part of why Paris is averaging 12.7 points during the postseason and Brooklyn is averaging 115.6. The quest will be if Paris can keep up this efficiency when facing a crushing Brooklyn defense. The league average for defensive efficiency during the regular season was 107.6. Paris had a solid defense with an efficiency of 103.6. Brooklyn led the league with only 94.1. That is the key to this series. Can the Brooklyn defense control this very efficient Paris offense… that is a head line I never would have imagined.
Prediction:
Brooklyn wins the series 4-3