Muslim Basketball

Best team in the league. #thingsMBsays

Omar Abbassi’s MVP candidacy may have strengthened in his absence. His impact is not fully captured on the stat sheet, but if you watched Islamabad with and without him, he is the key to the smoothness of their offense. Nobody on the team had scored 20+ in their first four games, Fursan drops 22 in Omar’s absence, but the offense did not run the way it normally does. They even had a season low of 8 assists in his absence, 5 less than their 13 assist per game average. They also shot a season low of 30%, while their previous season low was 40%. Beyond making a case for Omar’s MVP candidacy, they are a significantly better and more complete team while he is on the floor.

They won by 8, but they were up 14+ for the majority of the game. They answered every push Riyadh tried to make, Farzad, even though he didn’t have a statistically overwhelming game, appeared to be the most comfortable he’s been all season. Ameer continues to play at an MVP caliber level, making plays for himself, but also finding ways to distribute when the opportunity is not there for himself. Fahad continues to stretch the floor, shooting 43% from deep. Ali is putting an enormous amount of pressure on defenses to hustle back on defense and stop his transition game. Salman stays clogging underneath. Dhaka is locked, loaded, and ready to defend their title.

Held Popal to a ‘pedestrian’ 26 points, but more impressive, they cannot be guarded. Raza is looking to become back-to-back MVP, Yousef put in another solid game, Weiss and Daniel will challenge any front court, and Sadat finds ways to impact the game discreetly. They are built to give Sana’a their toughest challenge - we’ll have to wait until the postseason to see that dandy of a matchup.

They continue to look impressive without big man Omar Mana. Louis and Moayad are playing at a tremendous level. Muhammad Shabazz continues to clean up the glass for his guards - he had another solid performance while playing the entire game. Louis and Moayad combined for 40 on 30 shots and over 50% shooting. They have both been very efficient all season long and that starts with their ability to get to the rim. 

Besides a hiccup two weeks ago against Granada, they’ve been cruising. These dudes can score, they find ways to defend, their guards rebound well, and Mohammad Masri strokes the three ball. Huge game against Mombasa lurking, that will show exactly what this team is about. They’ll need to be successful on both ends of the court, they’ll need to keep Mombasa’s bigs off the boards, and on top of that, they’ll need to contain Raza in transition - Should be a heck of a game!

Not sure why there seems to be a feeling of disrespect towards the PR and other MB forum outlets, but we’ve been on board with this team. They can play - Islamabad was short their horse, but nevertheless, Islamabad is a very respectable team without Big O. Joe has been extremely consistent for them scoring the ball, Tayeb had his breakout game but rebounds very well, and as a unit, they are pretty coherent. They may not necessarily rack up the assists to justify that notion, but they have guys who create for themselves off the dribble and distribute efficiently. Another team that can prove A LOT if they get a win this week. On paper, they can challenge Sana’a if they can prevent Raied from getting cheap layups and keep Sana’a off the offensive glass - much easier said than done, though.

Best defensive performance they’ve had thus far - this was the level of defense I expected from them to start the season. Not many teams should score more than 35 against this team. Muj will carry the load offensively. They’ll rack up wins real quick in the second half of the season if they maintain this level of defensive intensity. 

Couldn’t bring the energy to match that brought by “Splash” and Muhanad in their debut. Little too much isolation ball from a group that should feed off of each other’s individual scoring ability. Also, @Omar Qasem, don’t shoot under 30% then try to drop the mic in a sound off of another squad who has been absolutely ROLLING. Sit down. Be humble.

The Jon Mingo hate-train is absolutely blasphemous. This dude rarely sits, has the ball in his hand 75% of the game, runs the offense, cleans up the glass, and because he takes an extra 2 or 3 bailout shots he gets blasted? Nah. He’s not the highest percentage shooter, but he takes and makes tough, contested, and momentum changing shots. If I’m in a tough, close, physical game, I would much rather play alongside him than guard him. If you think otherwise, go defend him. Let me know when you’re bruised and out of breath five minutes into the game. John H. has also been playing at a very high level, stretching the floor and knocking down 3s.

Anas is out for the foreseeable future, but I foresee Malik and Jaber leading this team. But damn, they have some tough games coming up. With Anas, they could possibly win out, without him, they need to find a way to grab at least 2. More than that would be a blessing, less than that would be understandable. They are a good team without Anas, 5-5.

Alrighty then.

Not a fluke win. Beware.

Almost created an interesting finish against Beirut, but they continue to improve. Even though they’ve lost 3 games, they challenged 3 top 10 teams - that means something. Not sure why Hosam Karkis isn’t in the Most Improved Player conversation or even mentioned as Best Young Play, boy can play and is a handful on both sides of the court. They have a tough remaining schedule, facing 3 of the top 4 teams. A 4-6 finish is the floor, 5-5 would be solid. 

How to you score the 2nd most points per game, but give up more than you score? Go. Play. Defense. Defense. Is. Effort.

Leonard Lee. That is all.

Getting back to the old Suba ways.

Prayers go out to Mohamed Miraoui, that was not a pretty sight. Great game from Osamah, but not nearly enough to top the new kings of the PR.

Find ways to come back from behind to shred 20 point leads and lose by 8. 

…five games laaaayyterrrr **Spongebob timecard scene**

If they don’t beat Riyadh they may not win a game.

Abdul gonna need to push his average up to like 50. How he shoots 48.5% is besides me. Dude be hitting some of the toughest floaters imaginable. Little bro gotta chill pulling those wild 3s though. Let Abdul take the shots.