Muslim Basketball

Knocked off a Goldberg-less Mombasa squad. Frustrated Mombasa early to create a lead and found a way to hold off what looked to be a potential Mombasa run. This dude Patrick has been an absolute horse this season, 31 points on 18 shots and 66% shooting is impressive - he also left a handful of potential points on the line. Come playoff time, you need that kind of player you can rely on in critical situations and Kazan has two players on that level. Mark’s taken a back seat to Patrick, but he has it and will unleash it when necessary. This isn’t an easy team to defend, add to that a top third defense and you have a beast of a squad.

Not going to be the popular pick for top dog, but they look solid and complete. Defense isn’t the best in the league, but it does enough to complement their top ranked offense. Questionable early season loss to Granada is the only blemish, that Amman loss was a tough game against a good team, that’s going to happen. They are a very scary team to go up against - Patrick and your best player will wash, the difference is that the remaining cast (ESPECIALLY Mark) is tremendous.

This is less of a move down for Kazan than a move up for Cordoba. Terrific win over a tough, physical, and scrape rivalry game against Beirut. Patrick’s been unreal all season long, now add a game winner to the resume of this rookie MVP candidate.

Not their best game, but playing against a Muj-less Jakarta team helped. Not sure if it was their defense that got it done or if it was Jakarta's lack of offense. Will tip the cap in Kazan's favor though.

I don’t like how inconsistent they’ve been, but I think it’s fair to say that they’ve shown that they have what it takes to be a top team. Not a fan of seeing 60 points against, but when you have five guys in double figures, you’re a dominant team. Their transition game is unstoppable, they all know that anyone on the court can score, so their is a significant level of unselfishness (even though Patrick seems to take the bulk of the shots in the half court). If they can play like this week after week, oh boy.

They hold two of the most impressive wins on the season thus far, but also lost two games they could and maybe should have won. Seems like they fall in love with the 3 and don’t look for alternatives when it doesn’t fall. Pat has had two tremendous shooting games and two atrocious ones. Him and Mark combined for 10/42 shooting, resulting in just 27 points. If they can get around 35 on 50%+ shooting, this team is unbeatable. Both players can score from anywhere on the court, but at times, it seems like they don’t try to - they’re only taking what the defense is giving them instead of taking what they want. They’re too talented to be sitting at 2-2.

I think this proved last week’s collapse as a fluke. They didn’t play the toughest opponent, but oh man they put up points with swiftness. 41 in back to back halves is no easy feat. They didn’t let up and got a much needed bounce back win. Patrick was able to find the bottom of the net again, Mark continues to do what he does, Frank and Frank find ways to contribute, and that full court press is not easy to break. They aren’t a big team, but their length and athleticism makes it difficult to get into your offense. They play Amman next week, a team that features much better ball handling than they’ve seen thus far. We’ll see how successful the press is if they even decide to dispatch it.

They had Granda until they didn’t. It’s not easy trying to press for an entire 40 minutes. It worked while they did it, but they let off a bit and paid for it. Doesn’t help that Patrick shot 4/30, but I’m sure they’ll learn from it. As good as Patrick is, Mark seems like he’s the more versatile and dynamic of the two; I think they’re a better team with the ball in Mark’s hands. Regardless, they have some serious firepower and are a force to be reckoned with. I think they’ll let out their frustration against Damascus in a one sided affair.

We all saw what Mark could do, but oh man, 39 and 13 in Patrick’s debut! Kazan has two tremendous players and is definitely a force to be reckoned with.