Week 2 in the NLL, another 62 games into the season, we start to see the early season bolters rise to the top. As most teams made adjustments, some worked, and some didn’t. Then there are teams that have the standings up on their wall upside down, looking for a different reward, the prized lottery pick. Let’s delve in further:

Best Team

A team that struggled in the first week which was a huge surprise, have righted the ship in a big way. The Philadelphia 76ers had a tough schedule this week, so things weren’t getting easier, 4 games away in a 5 game week.  2 of those games were up against a team who came out of blocks fast in the Washington Wizard, both games were in the capital. Being able to walk away with wins in both of those, the boys would have been full on pride.

They were the top scoring team for the week with a 121.6 average, limiting opponents to 108.2. The front court dominate the paint with 62.8 points on 48.8 Field goals, while pulling down 51.6 rebounds which counted for 3rd most for the week.

The team had contributions from all avenues, Kawhi lead the team in scoring with 25.2 ppg. The big units down low both came up big with Aldridge 17.4 ppg / 12 rebounds and Pau 18.4 ppg / 9.2 rebounds. Lillard had no trouble finding his team mates with 11.6 assists while still scoring 16.0 a game. It was the starters must have taken last week personally and took the load on their shoulders, as the bench averaged only 32 points.

Honourable mention should go to the Miami Heat, what a turnaround from the Worst team last week with wins over some seriously good teams. 

Worst Team

Every team has now won a game this year, congratulations to all GMs. My decision came down to LA Clippers, Utah and Memphis. I had to go with the Utah, they had a very tough run, but losing 5 games including being a huge favourite to win over the Phoenix Suns cemented this spot.

They allowed 120.2 points which was way too high, still keeping games very competitive, scoring 112.8 themselves. The backcourt of the Jazz is very strong, and fun to watch. Rose (20.2), Gordon (19.2) and Wiggins (23.8) all scored well, but it was Roses FG% that hurt the most taking 117 shots at only 36%. 

Apart from Field Goal percentage, it was behind the arc that the Jazz need to concentrate on, allowing the opposition to take 34 more 3 point shots, while teams connecting on 17 of those. Expect the Jazz to fight back hard next week.

Best Game

I watched a few games this week, but have to go with the one I hosted in slow motion. Chicago vs Washington. Out of the block even, all scores were level at quarter time. Chicago slowly got the ascendancy getting the lead out to 10 points into the last quarter. 

The last quarter, the Wizards hit back hard early, getting within 1 point with 8 minutes to go. The Bulls were able to keep the minimal lead until the 4 minute mark where they at last hit the lead. Wizards were the team with momentum, they started building a lead, getting it out to 10 points with 2:26 to go. 

Allot of teams would have given up, but not the bulls, they hit 10 straight points to level up the game with only 6 seconds remaining, Buddy Hield and Steph Curry hitting massive shots. 

It was Jameer Nelson with the ice cold dagger, step back 3 as time expired to win the game. For what many thought Wizards had the clear advantage, it took the whole 48 minutes to get the Victory.

Worst Game

The biggest margin for the week was seen in the Portland vs Golden State game. A 23 point smashing, It started out even with teams level at quarter time, the Warriors then put there foot down, taking a 6 point lead into the half, 12 points into the 3rd quarter then it blew out to 23 points. It was 2 young players in Saric and Barnes that stood out in this one, Warriors have a bright future.

Biggest Upset

This was a hard choice between 2 games. Clippers getting smashed by Portland was big, as Portland won’t win many games this year but I think Indiana putting down Cleveland was a standout.

Indiana got out to an early lead, before the Cavs stepped up taking a lead into the half. It was the 3rd quarter where the game was won, Indiana got on a run getting back the margin and taking a 9 point lead into the last. The 2nd unit lead by Neto, Killpatrick and the crew put a stamp on the game. Lebron and his boys got it back level near the end but it was the Jeff Green with 2 massive steals from Lebron who clearly wanted the win more. 

Surprise

Sacramento has to be the surprise for the week, they are currently sitting 3rd in the west with another 3-1 record. The biggest surprise wasn’t just the record and the Kings sitting nicely at the moment in the standings, it was the way they put Lakers to the sword, dispatching the 2 time champs. This could be seen as bad game for the Lakers, or is this a sign of a change in power in the West? 

How good has Dwight Powell been, for week 2, he averaged 15.5 points, pulled down 8.5 rebounds, a block and even dished out 3 assists per game. He had a handy PER of 18.97 and sign of how well he is fitting in, is his +/- ranking of +3.5. I think the most important thing I want to state, is those last 2 numbers are much better than the guy he replaced.

This team will get its biggest test next week with Conley being out.

Team of the week

Centre

DeMarcus Cousins

24.8 Points, 11.5 Rebounds, 3.1 assists. 1.4 steals, only 1.3 turnover with a PER 23.98

Power Forward

Anthony Davis

33.0 Points, 13.6 Rebounds, 2.6 assists. 1.8 Blocks, 1.0 steals with a PER 30.59

Small Forward

Rudy Gay

38.0 Points, 5.8 Rebounds, 2.3 assists, only 1.5 turnovers with a PER 30.07

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan

30.6 Points, 5.6 Rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals and only 1.4 turnovers with a PER 26.26

Point Guard

Kyrie Irving

27.8 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, 11.8 assists, 1.0 steals and only 2.8 turnovers with a PER 22.38