Muslim Basketball

The Cinderella magic hasn’t worn off for this team and you love to see it. Years of playing with the same core has led them to success and you can see they genuinely enjoy playing with one another. Hey Tex, maybe Amir doesn’t need to score 30 for this team to win games anymore. They continue to keep everyone involved and came up with a win against a strong Beirut team, despite not having Tim Brown. And yes, I know Beirut didn’t have Luis so don’t come at me. Regardless, I think Baghdad rightfully belongs at the top, until proven otherwise.

This game came down to the wire! Props to Kazan for limiting Mana to 9 rebounds, which is probably a career low. They forced Moayad into difficult shots and made him defer to his teammates. Not only have they performed well defensively thus far but they lead the league in points per game and in 3point %. Best part about this team they aren’t carried by one guy. Oh and Tex, looking at your roster none of your guys have  “m”, “I” and “s” in their names

Player comparison: Anthony Ozoria, is Andre Iguodala. Doesn’t look to shoot from the perimeter, gets to the basket, defends, and just an overall good glue guy to have. This team has an abundance of scorers and playmakers, and you can no longer double team Pat because of that. Diaz with 19, Craig with 16 and Pat had 18 of his own.

Honestly not sure how the committee approved Zain and his over 9000 MBR to join Dhaka. A walking double double and he even brought a friend in Idris over to Dhaka, who by the way hit 5 three pointers. Good luck guarding a lineup of Zain, Idris, Fahad, Ameer and insert whoever else here.

Overall, not the greatest shooting performance collectively and with Luis not in attendance, that may have been why. With Luis operating as the point forward, their shooters space the court, Mingo can work the perimeter and post, while Kenny can attack the basket with little to no help defense standing in his way. Game of the week against former teammates and family in Cordoba.

I do not want to come across as a hater, but their 2-0 record is overrated. First win was against a Bukhara squad that had an imposter disguised as Billal, and this past win was against a bottom tier team. They will most likely start the season 3-0 and could even finish the season amongst the top of the standings. I know you guys didn’t create the schedule, but I call em’ like I see em’. Looking at their remaining matchups, their real tests are Week 4 and 5. Beat either of those two teams and you have the league on notice.

I wouldn’t stress this loss too much, shot 50% as a team, outrebounded their opponent by 10, just need to tip your cap and move on. Moayad has been one of the league’s premier players thus far and his evolution from “ball hog” to an efficient player who makes good decisions is quite remarkable. I expect more from Omar Mana and if they can get a consistent 10-12 ppg from rookie Hassan Chaabane, they will be in great shape.

Not sure who saw this one coming. They were able to limit Palermo’s transition baskets and forced them into jump shots. Brandon Landfair with 10 and 18 and is leading rebounder so far. Malik and Sal have been impressive so far and once Brandon Stew gets back in the lineup that will only create more opportunities. Playing against the league’s best this week, let’s see what Commissioner Himey and his crew are made of.

Moving forward Omar lil o Abbassi is now the Real Omar Abbassi. Sorry OG but the younger Abbassi has been ballin’ over the past few seasons when healthy and is a game changer. As mentioned earlier, Billal made his season debut this past week after reports of an imposter stealing his jersey and wanting to play in the greatest basketball league around. I only expect to see them climbing the standings the rest of the way.

Quite games from Shafic and Towfeek. They struggled as a team from 3 and looked lethargic early on. Despite the big second half, it wasn’t enough to come out on top but look for them to get back on track against Amman in Week 3.

I know I said last week, “When Ed plays, they win and when he doesn’t automatic L”, and although that may still hold true, Ed wasn’t the savant he normally is. Let me introduce you all to Week 2 player of the week, Nicholas Francis, no relation to Stevie Francis, AKA Franchise. 27 points, 19 rebounds and 2 blocks is a monster night. I know this team is stacked with scorers, but they may have to consider running their offense through Nick moving forward, just based on how he has played over the past few seasons.

Went up against a formidable defensive squad and they were no match from the jump. There is no reason on God’s Green Earth why Ali Hassan only took seven shots. Dude is a Bucket with a capital B. Get him the ball, let him operate and watch what happens.

Hell of a game from Omar Singer! 26, 9, 4 and throw in 6 steals. Not to mention he shot 43% from the field, all while being the only legitimate ball handler on this team as currently constructed. Until Anas Najib makes an appearance, Singer and Moiz are going to oversee how far this team can go. Favorable matchup in week 3, let’s see a win streak fellas.

Ayyyyy Career game for Ahmad Saleh! 23 points and 7 triples. Shahzaid added 22 of his own, and they almost stole this game from Cordoba. Young team, I wouldn’t overlook these guys.

The Yanes family experiment doesn’t seem to be working so far. Grant it, only two games into the season, but perhaps Moose is regretting his decision to leave Palermo. Jay Wiggins, no relation to NBA All-Star Starter Andrew Wiggins, early favorite for ROTY.

CORNER HOT! Career high 12 points for everyone favorite MB player. D-mack and Omar H did all they could to keep this game close, but they are one more ball handler away from being a respectable squad. Week 3 matchup against a Palermo squad that loves to run up and down the court, so we perhaps could be looking at an 0-3 start for this team.

Oh man it doesn’t get any easier moving forward. Splash received some criticism over the week about the origins of his nickname and I think he bounces back this week with a solid performance. George needs to play better! Dude was a vital part to Granada’s championship run a while back. If their back court shows some consistency and Muhanad Deeb plays like a dog down low they can fight their way into the playoffs.

Handful of new faces but they aren’t quite there as far as being able to compete. They may have one of the if not the most favorable schedule this season but hard to win games when you rank close to last in almost every statistical category.