Muslim Basketball

Tarim really missed the presence of Muhammad T on Saturday. Medina just seemed to have more experience and grit this game. Tons of turnovers for Tarim, and missing their 25+ PPG big man was a big hit. They need all their guys for week #1 of playoffs. The benefit Tarim has entering playoffs is that nobody really knows what this team looks like at full strenght with all their players.

Tarim got a win! I repeat, TARIM GOT A WIN! They seemed to finally be bringing all the pieces together, and it even took them most of this game to figure that out. But late in the game when it mattered most, they hit some key buckets and were the aggressors on offense, never settling for bad shots. In overtime, they pulled away from Islamabad and secured a really big win. I’ll say it now, these guys are my dark horse pick for the chip this year. That could change depending on their performance next week but, putting some of my eggs in this basket.

Missing Muhammad R and Kyle Trexler this week really hurt Tarim. Their offense still just hasn't been able to get the wheels spinning in the right direction. You'd like to see more aggressiveness on offense, but outside of their 2 20 PPG scorers, there just hasn't been enough. It's on the whole team, to perform better and try and pull some wins out in these last couple weeks. 

Take your pick, Tarim or Medina, some weeks one looks better than the other, but it’s been pretty rough. I try and give them a pass because they haven’t played together much, but, the offense just runs through too few people. They have the ingredients, it’s just about finding the right mixture. Still not totally out on them, but they need to start ramping up soon. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s gotten better. Muhammad R, when hot, has shot the lights out, and they’ve found an offensive initiator in #1 Mohammad T, both those guys averaging 20+ a game, just nuts. But they’ve gotta find some wins. 

Much better performance this week from Tarim, who got back some key players, moves them up just a spot this week. The 2 Muhammads combined for 47 points this week. Still missing a few guys this week definitely hurt these guys. Remember that most of them, have never played together, expect steady improvement and they could be a big sleeper in the playoffs.

Pretty ugly showing for Tarim today. First half was fairly brutal, however, they looked much improved in the second half. It will take this team some time to find continuity, but once they do, they have some solid offensive threats as well as some quick-handed defenders.