Muslim Basketball

For a 6-4 team, this season was anything but pretty. I’m going to hit you with probably the most eye-opening stat or statement of fact in all of Muslim Basketball: Lahore’s season HIGH this winter was 57 points. Lahore’s season LOW last summer was 58 points, in a season where they average 60+ points per game. Anwar, Waqas, and Bilal can average 45 points per game on their own. This is not a knock on them, sometimes it just doesn’t click right away. If they find a way to replicate the machine they were operating last summer, Jakarta has no chance, and I don’t even think Istanbul would be able to outscore them. That is a very large what-if though, but what we do know is, they have three guys who can take a game over.

 I hate knocking teams down after winning games, but this game was far too close for too long. Lahore should be good enough to end games against 60% of this league in the first half. Damascus was up by I believe 7 with 11 minutes left to play. If it wasn’t for an untimely cold streak for Damascus, they probably would have won this game. Lahore needs to tighten things up and find ways to exploit other teams’ deficiencies. Besides Anwar, there needs to be more consistently impactful play.

The combination of solid defense and aggressive offense, albeit inefficient offense, allowed them to win a game much closer than the 6 point favor would indicate. Anwar, Bilal, and Waqas combined for 39 of their 42 points. Yes, that’s a solid figure for your three top scorers to have, but they have no scoring elsewhere. If a team figures out a way to slow them down, they’ll struggle. That is much easier said than done – I expect the Big Three to take advantage of a favorable matchup and try to catch fire before a regular season finale showdown with Mecca.

Very good first half, could not contain Raied and Mo in the second half. I know Waqas, Anwar, and Bilal are all disappointed in their offensive output this week, especially in the second half. They’ve been terrific for the majority of the season, but the slightly inconsistent play may come to haunt them. They do have three guys who can absolutely dominate a basketball game though, so do not expect another let down any time soon from this bunch. They take on Granada next week and end their season against Mecca, two games that they’ll need to play well in to win. Both those teams will be playing for improved playoff seeding, so they’ll be coming with a vengeance.

Anwar followed up his 18 point performance with a season high of 20. It was not the cleanest of games, but that happens when your point guard is not able to make it. Last week seemed like it was the game that made Lahore just click. They followed it with a solid game from Anwar and Waqas, without the third member of the big three, Bilal. Lahore is trending is the right direction, this team will go wherever Anwar takes them. He’s reinserted himself into the MVP conversation, and once again must be mentioned when speaking of the best offensive players in this league. They face Sana’a next week in a game that features some very solid individual offensive talent – they’ll need to have a sound game on both ends of the floor.

Vintage Lahore was on full display – The Ahmed brothers did what they do best: run the floor. They were relentless in transition and forced the ball down the court every time the opportunity presented itself. Both Waqas and Anwar finished the game with 18 points each on a combined 17/31 from the field. Efficient game where they were able to get easy baskets – something they struggled to do in their first four games. They take on Tehran next week, so look for them to get the offense flow going even more.

This is where things got interesting in ranking the middle-of-the pack teams. Lahore does not deserve to remain at 4 following their performance, but no one below them deserved to move up. Other than Bilal, they really did not get much from anyone else. I can hear Anwar and Waqas scoff at their stats and saying something along the lines of ‘we will never put up only 28’ – That’s why I am willing to leave them at 4. They are playing as a shell of themselves, this is not who they are and this is not how they will continue to play. Anwar and Waqas will take it upon themselves to score 28 individually next week. They’ll be challenged by Dhaka and I just do not see them getting that win, but oh boy if the Waqases and Bilal come with a vengeance next week, the viewers are in for a heck of a spectacle. They’ll be on court B during the primetime 11AM slot. Do yourself a favor and stick around for this one.

Tough loss against an Alexandria team that can compete when their shots fall. They went up in the first half, but without Waqas, they struggled to get much offense going. Anwar had 12 and 7, a game that he will be the first to say that is not good enough to beat a solid team. Off shooting game for a group that is capable of scoring 42 in a half. Won’t knock them too much, they still are a top quartile team. As mentioned before, they and Mombasa meet up next week in what should be a terrific game.

Sneaked out a win against a hungry Kazan team. They were able to overcome a career high 20 points from Frank Ozoria and another solid game from Mark Oliver. They were outrebounded, but ultimately, their shot making ability overcame their off game. Anwar had 15 and Waqas had a quiet 6 points and 7 rebounds. They found a way to get a win in a game they probably could’ve lost. They aren’t perfect, but they showed the league that they could win an ugly game yet again. When Anwar, Waqas, and Bilal catch fire, they could join Dhaka at the top of the league. For now, they are not yet on Dhaka’s level.

Found a way to survive an ugly game against Jakarta. In what was a poor display of offense (okay, we’ll call it a defensive slugfest), Lahore struggled to get any rhythm on offense. Anwar, Waqas, and Bilal want to run, but they found it challenging against Jakarta’s stingy defense. Lahore should walk away from this game with some added confidence – taking down the Omar brothers in a scrappy game is no easy feat.

 The potent offensive trio of Anwar, Waqas, and Bilal was able to insert itself into the final four last season, but that is no longer the goal. They are looking to climb the ranks and knock off the likes of Dhaka and Mombasa. The Big 3 averaged a whopping 47 points per game – the highest of any trio in the league last season (…we’ll have our stat guys look into that one..). This team can score with anyone, but in the odd instance they go cold, their defense has not always been there to support them – a tough 66-47 loss to Dakha ended their season. If they can tighten up their defense, Lahore will have a chance to take the next step. They will be challenged by Jakarta in Week 1, a team that will test both their offensive chemistry and defensive discipline.