NNJ FallBall 2025 Playoffs Round 1 Predictions

Final Regular Season Prediction Record: 40-24

Playoffs are here! The teams that slipped into the 5-8 range better be ready defensively because the lower seeded 9-12 teams have some of the best players in the league. Which teams and players will execute with their seasons on the line?

(1) Haifa vs (16) Yaffa

This will be a difficult matchup for Yaffa on the defensive end. While they’ve been pretty solid on that end all year, the bigs could have trouble guarding Haifa’s 5 out offense on the perimeter. Pick and rolls with Adam should open up lots of space for either guard of choice, Shahzaib or Amir. Defensively, Haifa has been pretty solid playing man to man which will be the easy option against Yaffa’s offense that has struggled to create shots all season. The more possessions there are, the more it will continue to tilt in Haifa’s favor. Yaffa will need to try and play a slow game and hope for some volatility on both ends of the floor.

Haifa by 10

(8) Nazareth vs (9) Jenin

This matchup will be a rematch of the Week 3 game, and you expect Nazareth will try and repeat their formula that resulted in a blowout win, especially if Wajdi is out again. They played a zone that aggressively doubled Akrum with the ball and the rest of the offense did not play decisively which made them look very unthreatening. Defensively, Jenin gave up a lot of offensive boards and let the guards run free in transition. Jenin has lots more chemistry now in beating zones and playing without Wajdi, so the game should be closer. Ultimately, Akrum will look to push the pace to avoid bad spacing but Nazareth will again have the athletic advantage on boards and in transition over the course of the game.

Nazareth by 6

(5) Al-Khalil vs (12) Al-Bireh

While they played in Week 1, Al-Khalil’s roster has been completely retooled so this is a new matchup. Al-Bireh’s offense functions better when Adeeb can get downhill, but Al-Khalil has a good answer in Swish to match up. Omar should also be able to prevent Khalid from taking over. Al-Bireh might need to look to Towfeek who will have a size advantage over Al-Khalil guards. On the other end, some of the Al-Bireh core have had difficulty containing Mahdy with past teams, but they’ll look to Adeeb to give them a better shot at slowing him down. Mahdy’s faster playstyle will need an ultrafocused defensive effort which I don’t foresee from Al-Bireh. When the defense collapses, Swish, Elhindi and Moatze will have to hit some big shots.

Al-Khalil by 2

(4) Areeha vs (13) Gaza

Based on regular season trends, it seems like Areeha’s offense will have its way with Gaza this week. They can attack with many different options and are comfortable in space and in transition if Gaza continues to be a step slow on the perimeter and recovering back on defense. Areeha is a deep team and it’s unlikely Gaza will be able to play lockdown defense across all 5 positions. If they want to win, they’ll need a big game from Ian Felix. However, Areeha has different options between Singer, Jay and Mahrooz who can all take a shot at the matchup if needed. It feels like it should be a comfortable win for Areeha.

Areeha by 10

(6) Rafah vs (11) Jerusalem

The offense for Rafah will continue to run through the backcourt of Anas Najib and Anas Zubi and it does not look like a good matchup for the Jerusalem guards who will be at a size disadvantage. If they choose to play zone, like they have many times this year, I don’t think that would be much better as it would give gaps for Rafah to attack and help them move the ball more. On the other end, Anas Najib or Nabil will likely have to match up with Mike while Joey should be able to keep up with Mo Masri from 3. Especially with DPOY candidate Zain in the paint, it could be tough for the rest of the Jerusalem team to provide enough support to match Rafah’s offense.

Rafah by 6

(3) Safad vs (14) Baysan

This matchup will be a rematch of the Week 7 game, except Baysan will hope to have John Pearson this time around. Baysan was able to play very competitively the first time around until right before halftime, when Safad got to a 10 point lead that only extended as the game went on. Baysan had some trouble getting good shots at the rim with Brandon down low, and while John should give them a boost, Brandon is capable of keeping him relatively contained. On the other end, as the game went on, Baysan struggled to keep running up and down the court with Safad and we know Aadil can run back and forth all game. If they can control the pace of the game, Baysan can try and use their 3pt shooting advantage to make it competitive.

Safad by 8

(7) Tulkarem vs (10) Tiberias

This should be a very interesting matchup. Tulkarem won when they played in Week 1 but it’ll be a different dynamic with Tulkarem adding Anas and Tiberias adding Sal. It seems like Mana, Elias and Moayad will have an easier time scoring in these more open games that Tiberias plays. However, Tiberias won’t need as many plays to keep up offensively if they continue to hit a high number of 3s, considering Tulkarem doesn’t hit many. With Sal in the fold, the guard-guard PNR that has been very successful for them could be very effective against a defense that is strong, but better in the paint. When they struggle to finish at the rim, Tiberias has to take more contested 3s and I think that will be the case with Mana protecting the paint.

Tulkarem by 4

(2) Bethlehem vs (15) Yazur

Yazur could choose to play zone against a deep Bethlehem team that may have too many good options for them to man up against. If they go that route, Omar Hussein and Trey will have to hit their 3s, which they’ve been more than capable of doing for the whole season. Bethlehem has also been super active on the glass, so Nader and Jay could give them another edge against a zone that will be more difficult to box out from. Bethlehem should be able to man up this week against Yazur, who can frequently go cold offensively. However, some weeks they’ve had trouble defending around the basket so they’ll have to pay extra attention to Marawan, who is a presence down there.

Bethlehem by 10