Muslim Basketball

This edition of the Power Rankings will be a little different as it is the final episode. I will give each team a season in review along with a playoff preview. We start off with Istanbul, the only team to finish with 8 wins, a feat they need to be rewarded for. Many will probably question why they are at the top of this list even though they lost to arguably their two best opponents. My answer to that, they lost to a very good Kazan team right as Kazan was blossoming and they lost to an Alexandria team that was beating everyone by significant amounts. Istanbul won the games they were supposed to win, that is something no other team did. Looking forward, they get a first round matchup with Suba, a team they beat by 11 in week 2. Istanbul is a much better team than they were at that point in the season, so expect them to emphatically extent their win streak to six. Besides Adam and Mahmoud, Taha looks like he has become a legitimate offensive threat. He has scored 16 and 24 in his la

Yes, they dominated a pretty weak team team, but they did so short a man – they played the entire game with just four. Mahmoud Hamdan had a terrific game, dropping a much needed 32 for his squad. If he can play like this when the whole team is there and playing in the playoffs, this team has it all. They are as well rounded as they come, have legitimate scorers in Mahmoud and Adam, and play terrific physical team defense.

They dominated Jakarta in a game that played into the hands of Jakarta. Slow paced and relatively low scoring are the types of games Jakarta likes, but Istanbul handled them with ease. Absolute dominance on the glass, the team scored a season low of 37 and had no one in double figures. That is not the recipe for success, but when you force your opponent to shoot less that 20%, keep all players to 6 points or below, and outrebound the other side by 15, you do not need much offense. To Istanbul’s credit, they’ve shown that they can play both ways – outscore or out defend.

Needed a solid second half to beat one of the lesser teams in the league. That’s never really a confidence booster, but nevertheless it is a win. They are pretty good on offense and pretty solid on defense, but they win games by outrebounding you and having terrific ball movement. They find ways to execute in the half court and Adam is typically the beneficiary. Mahmoud had a poor shooting game, but do not let that fool you, he is an above average point guard who will have a big game soon. He gets the ball to the right spots, and his teammates have been able to somewhat capitalize. They are not a good three-point shooting team, so if they hope to knock off the likes of Dhaka and Alexandria, they’ll need some three-balls to fall, or else they will not score enough to compete. Their offense will be tested next week when they take on Jakarta and their #1 ranked defense.

They were missing two of their top three players and still found a way to win a game with dominance. They were down early, tied it up going into halftime, and never looked back. Mahmoud carried the load offensively while Taha added 8. Both these guys have shown that they can be essential pieces to the offense. Along with Adam, Istanbul is a solid offensive team that owns the glass. They need to play some better defense if they have high aspirations.

Has their hot start cooled off? Back to back losses where their offense just did not click. Outside from an inefficient 11 from Adam, no one else had double digits. They shot less than 30% from the field and less than 20% from deep. They need to show the league that they can play both ends of the court again before entering the contenders discussion. They face a Damascus team that finds a way to give good team some trouble – this will be a test for Istanbul.

Played in an evenly matched game, but eventually Kazan was just able to outscore them from the line. They sent Kazan to the charity stripe 30 times, lost the rebounding battle, and lost the turnover battle – not the keys to success. Adam continued his hot start with 17 points, but no one else really added much. They played good defense, but it’s tough to win when you send the other team to the line 30 times. They’ll face a tough test in Alexandria next week, who is coming of what could be called the best team offensive performance in recent memory.

Their undefeated record speaks for itself. I hope they do not look at the teams above them and say that they were snubbed of a higher ranking. They’ve taken down Mecca and Grenada, two teams that have legitimate title aspirations, buuut…Mecca was missing their guy and they got Grenada in a poor shooting game. If they continue to take down their opponents, regardless of who they are, Istanbul will move up. They still do not have that fear a top 4 team exudes, but they are getting there. They have some winnable games coming up, so if they blindfold themselves from this noise and just take care of business, they’ll get to where they probably believe they should already be.

The Turans combined for 25 rebounds, 4 more than their opponents totaled. Very well rounded offensive performance from Istanbul, who surprisingly score the second most points in the league. They also lead the league in rebounds and assists. They’ve proven that they can play offense, but they’ll need to tighten things up on the defensive end if they look to scale the rankings. They’ve given up the 3rd most points, but I am sure that their defense will only get better as the season goes on.

Terrific game from Istanbul, they found a way to beat Mecca not only by slowing them down, but by outshooting them. Did not think they would be able to score after the departure of Ammar, but Adam picked up the slack and poured in 18. Muhammad Turan brought the toughness he always does, grabbing 11 rebounds and adding 7 points. They beat a Mecca team minus Anas Zubi, nonetheless, Mecca is a respectable squad sans Anas. They have a favorable matchup against Suba next week, a solid win could strengthen the optimism surrounding this team.

 Nobody ever looked forward to playing Istanbul in seasons passed. The sheer effort and grit will keep them in games, but the loss of Ammar may be their demise. They are going to have a tough time replacing his shooting ability and the 15 points he averaged. They still will not be a cakewalk for any team as Muhammad Turan brings a physicality and toughness that must be matched by any opponent.