Mid-Week Spotlight: Week 1

We're going to check in with our WK 1 Spotlighted teams mid-week and see how our prognostications are going.

Sour Snails vs 100AcreWoodPoohBears
Right now, as it stands, the Snails will handily win in PTS, AST, and 3PT. That's to be expected. What's surprising is that they're not that far ahead in STL (despite Ron Artest's 9 STL) and losing FT%. They have the edge right now, but swing category is TO -- they've got five more TO, mainly due to having played an extra two games.

The Pooh Bears have to be pleased that they're doing so well on the %'s and will go home with a win by easily winning REB and BLK, with a slight lead in both FG% and FT%.

We highlighted the potential return of Jason Richardson has a key to this week for the Snails but he's actually been limited by minutes and not done all that much. The key here has been Steve Nash with 80 PTS, 47 AST and 10 3PT in four games.

That kind of output is matched by the Bear's Shawn Marion (87 PTS, 40 REB, 10 BLK, 8 3PT). You know who looks good on this team? Chris Wilcox (14 PTS and 9 REB avg) and Brevin Knight (14 PTS, 7 AST, 2 STL avg). And it looks like Mike Bibby is back (51 PTS, 20 AST, 6 STL, 6 3PT), although he's parked on the bench this week. If that's not an argument for a mid-week lineup switch, I'm not sure what is.

Watch those TO and % numbers to see who'll win this battle.


Buffy versus Squirtle Squad
Buffy is playing at a 6-game disadvantage right now, which could cost him the win. He should be winning PTS handily but he's behind (364-388) and is going to need a big game from somebody to secure the category. Their opponents, Squirtle Squad, have pretty solid leads in AST and both of the percentages, although the Squirtles seem destined to lose in STL and 3PT. However, they are holding slight leads in PTS, REB, and BLK so they are sitting in the winner's seat.

Originally, we had predicted that these two teams would have to fight it out over AST, REB, 3PT, FG% and BLK but it's looking like Shaq and Chandler don't want to play this week so everything is up in the air. It's looking like Joe Johnson and Rashard Lewis will have to continue their great weeks for Buffy to mount a comeback.

As for the Squirtle Squad, it's looking like the played the wrong "Earl" this week, as Boykins is sitting with 43 PTS, 14 AST, and 3 3PT. Then again, Watson does have 13 AST and 2 3PT himself. Damn those little guys are looking killer. While Boris Diaw has been somewhat of a disappointment (39 PTS, 14 REB, 6 AST, 11 TO), bench players like Nenad Krstic and Jamaal Tinsley are just itching to get in the game for Brian. And that Brandon Roy, looks like he was taken none too early in the draft. The Squad is gonna have quite the PG crew (all acquired for good value) if Deron, Damon, and the two Earls keep this up.

Keep an eye on PTS, STL, and TO as we head into Sunday.

Spotlight: Week 1

Here we'll take a quick glance at a few games of interest for the upcoming week.

Sour Snails vs 100AcreWoodPoohBears
A look at our most polarized team, the Sour Snails, versus our pre-season top ranked, and highly versatile, 100AcreWoodPoohBears. The Snails will be starting the seaon with Nash and Iverson leading a group of guards into the fray. The big question is if Jason Richardson will be ready to play. If not, Fred Jones (or another young Snail) might need to come in and pick up the slack.

The Pooh Bears are without the services of Mike Bibby and Pau Gasol, but their lineup still boasts AK47, the Matrix, Peja Stojakovic and Ben Gordon. It should be easy enough for Jose to win REB, BLK, and FG% but he's giving up the edge in PTS, 3PT, and FT% right off the bat.

The two teams will be fighting over AST and STL, with TO in doubt too. The Pooh Bears don't have any bench players capable of adding additional AST, STL and TO, so they'll have to ride this one out and hope for the victory. The Snails need to take two out of the three in order to win; maybe adding in a Rudy Gay or Rajon Rondo instead of Wally World might be a good move since they are dominant in PTS and 3PT already.

Buffy vs Squirtle Squad
Roger and Brian are in for a heated matchup this week, with quite a few categories up for grabs. Roger should take PTS and STL handily, while losing FT% and the TO battle to Brian. Aside from those four categories, AST, REB, 3PT, FG% and to a lesser extent, BLK will be up in the air. With a healthy Shaq and Tyson Chandler in the lineup, Buffy should be able to take BLK since Squirtle only has KG putting up any interior resistance (unless Alonzo gets in there).

The AST, 3PT and FG% will be particularly close so even one game could make the difference. Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, and Baron Davis better be ready to compete with Ray Allen, Boris Diaw and KG. It might behoove Brian to sub in another PG or two, just to secure those AST and 3PT numbers -- with Boykins, Watson, and Tinsley on the bench. But it's hard to decide to mess with success the first week, and not play your top ten players. Roger's bench is decidely unproven, so his substitution decisions won't be nearly as hard.

Good luck gentlemen.