Season 54 Playoffs...SemiFinals Game 2...Sacramento at Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY 101, SACRAMENTO 80 (Slaughter Rule Enforced)

LARIATS RETURN TO FINALS IN STYLE 

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Lariats swept the Sacramento River Dogs 2-0 in this SemiFinals series, racking up 101 points on 66.2 percent shooting to return to the MBA Finals for an expected return clash with the two-time defending champions from Dallas.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

30 GVP...Cut pile refugee ANTHONY "FISH FACE" FINSECA scored a game-high 28 points in a losing effort for Sacramento, concluding a surprising season for the River Dogs. The 6-5 small forward, finishing up his fourth season, was 11 for 14 from the floor, going 2 for 3 from deep and 4 for 4 from the foul line. He added 1 rebound and 1 assist in his titanic battle with Hall of Fame forward Crentis Dentist.

Other 20 GVP-plus performers

29 GVP...Hall of Fame small forward Crentis Dentist of Oklahoma City...16 points...5 assists...4 rebounds...3 blocked shots...1 steal.

29 GVP...Oklahoma City point guard King Czardines...19 points (3 treys)...5 rebounds...4 assists...1 steal.

22 GVP...Sacramento power forward Kevin Duran-Duran...18 points...4 rebounds.

20 GVP...Oklahoma City power forward Phillip Mianus...14 points...3 blocked shots...2 rebounds...1 assist.

Next Up: More of a public execution than a game. Dallas puts the collective head of Los Angeles on the chopping block on their way back to the Finals.

Season 54 Playoffs...SemiFinals Game 1...Los Angeles at Dallas

DALLAS 89, LOS ANGELES 60

DALLAS BLOWS BY BIG ONE

DALLAS -- The undefeated, two-time defending champs from Dallas busted out of the playoff starting gates with a 31-point first quarter and drifted home with a first-round win over visiting Los Angeles 89-60. 

Counting last season's championship game, this was the 12th consecutive win for the Demons, who, despite actually giving way to The Big One in the second half 40-37, don't seem to have much competition in this SemiFinal round.

The Whiz Kids scored 89 points on 60 percent shooting, both right in line with their league-leading averages of 89.2 and 61.6 percent.

The head-to-head between rookie stars Pinky Toe of Los Angeles and Vicious Hick of Dallas (more or less a draw for the second time in two meetings) was, however, worth the price of admission.

POINTS PREVENTED BY LOS ANGELES ...6

POINTS PREVENTED BY DALLAS...14

4 PLAYERS TIED WITH 4 POINTS PREVENTED

TURNOVERS CAUSED BY LOS ANGELES...6

TURNOVERS CAUSED BY DALLAS...8

TOPS IN TURNOVERS CAUSED...Pete Marzano, Dallas...4; Barfly Gigglewaters, Los Angeles...2

PLAYER OF THE GAME

31 GVP...Neither center on Los Angeles could handle the 7-foot BIGGUS DICKUS of the Dallas Demons, who started off the game with a 12-point first quarter on perfect 6-for-6 shooting, driving Louie Lunkerson to the bench early on. Dickus, who was one of two centers to finish with a GVP over 20 this season, scored a game-high 22 points on 11 of 13 shooting. His only misses came from 3-point Land. The third-year man added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot to his POG performance in a dominant display. 

Other 20-plus GVP performers

30 GVP...Dallas rookie guard Vicious Hick ... 20 points...6 rebounds...3 assists...1 steal.

26 GVP...Los Angeles rookie guard Pinky Toe ...18 points...4 rebounds...3 assists...1 steal23

23 GVP...Dallas Hall of Fame guard Juzan Djinn...16 points...3 rebounds...3 blocks...1 assist.

20 GVP...Dallas small forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...10 points...6 assists...3 blocks...1 assist.

NEXT UP: Elimination Games come fast for first-game losers, and that's what Sacramento is facing on the road after being crushed in Game 1 by Oklahoma City. 

Season 54 Playoffs...Semifinals Game 1...Oklahoma City at Sacramento

 

OKLAHOMA CITY 92, SACRAMENTO 74 (Slaughter Rule Enforced)

SECOND-HALF SURGE BLOWS AWAY R-DOGS

SACRAMENTO -- The top 3-point shooting team in the MBA bombed in 10 from deep on the way to a 92-74 slaughter rule win that saw the victors from Oklahoma City begin pulling their starters in the third quarter.

Points prevented by quarters

Oklahoma City...2...3...6...2  Total=13

Sacramento.........5...3...7...4  Total=19

Tops in points prevented

1. Gooch, Sacramento...7

1. Duran-Duran, Sacramento...7

3. Mianus, Oklahoma City...4

PLAYER OF THE GAME

32 GVP...Third-year Sacramento power forward KEVIN DURAN DURAN was brilliant in defeat for the River Dogs, scoring a game-high 25 points and pulling down a game-high 6 rebounds while tying for top honors in points prevented defensively. He also had 1 steal. The willowly 6-9 star was 11 for 16 from the floor, going 3 for 4 from the foul line and 0 for 1 from beyond the arc. 

Other 20-plus GVP performers

31 GVP...Oklahoma City shooting guard Handsy Joe Potatoe ... 23 points...4 3s...4 blocked shots...3 rebounds...1 steal.

21 GVP...Sacramento center Dave "Uncle Dunk" Tesh...14 points...4 rebounds...2 blocks...1 assist.

20 GVP...Sacramento small forward Anthony "Fish Face" Finseca...15 points...4 assists...1 rebound

NEXT UP: The powerhouse Demons of Dallas begin their post-season march toward a third straight championship as they host Pinky Toe and the Los Angeles Big One. 

54 Regular Season Stats and Awards and playoff preview

 Observations

-- As usual, the East won the cross-over battle

-- For the first time in recent memory (probably ever), every team averaged at least 70 points per game

-- Only three teams...Dallas, Oklahoma City and Charleston...had positive point differentials...none in the West.

-- Dave teams again bested Tyler teams more times than not in head-to-head competition

-- There was a lot of slaughter rule games...30 percent of the games played.

-- This was the most 100-point games ever in one season. 

-- Dave and Tyler tied for standings predictions 3-3 correct each, all in the East. Nothing was correct by either in the West.

Observations

-- Pinky Toe's 22.1 scoring average is the highest since Season 47 when Dr. Marcus Brody (also of Los Angeles) scored 22.8 to lead the league.

-- Pinky Toe is the first rookie to lead the league in scoring since Naf Naf of Oklahoma City topped all scorers in Season 37, 17 seasons ago. Naf scored 22.9 per game that season.

-- Pinky Toe is the eighth rookie to lead the league in scoring.

-- Sheetrock Hudson, in his final campaign, wins his third rebounding title. Only Hall of Fame center Bart Pitbull, with 4, had more.

Observations

-- The only team to place more than one player on the First Team All-MBA squad is Charleston, which did not make the playoffs.

-- Crentis Dentist is the first player from Oklahoma City to make All-MBA since Chochky Galumpkus seven seasons ago.

-- Juzan Djinn is the only player from last season to repeat as All-MBA.

-- With Juzan Djinn winning the regular season MVP, a Dallas player has won the top honor 10 times. Djinn is only the second Dallas guard to get the honor, the first being Joey Two-Tones in Season 23.

Dallas winners are as follows:

Season 54...guard Juzan Djinn

Season 53...forward Pete Marzano

Season 47...forward Chip Battoe

Season 46...forward Chip Battoe

Season 45...forward Chip Battoe

Season 44...forward Chip Battoe

Season 43...rookie forward Chip Battoe

Season 33...center Tom Kondla

Season 23...guard Joey Two-Tones

Season 16...forward Curly Hogbottom

Los Angeles and Houston Rookie of the Year Winners through the years

Season 54...guard Pinky Toe

Season 50...guard Flufferton Springs

Season 36...forward Vic Hitler

Season 7...forward Link Lennex

Season 3...guard Soul Duran 

In the predictions department...Tyler and Dave tied with two correct predictions each.  Tyler nailed Pinky Toe and Crentis Dentist for All-MBA and Dave correctly named Juzan Djinn All MBA and MVP. Here's what was predicted.

ALL-MBA PREDICTIONS FROM TYLER

Guard-Vicious Hick, Dallas (also MVP and Rookie of the Year)

Guard-Pinky Toe, Los Angeles (rookie)

Center-Chochky Galumpkus, Oklahoma City

Forward-Erik A. Crocidale, Seattle (rookie)

Forward-Crentis Dentist, Oklahoma City (Hall of Famer)

ALL-MBA PREDICTIONS FROM DAVE

Guard-Juzan Djinn, Dallas (also MVP)

Guard-Vicious Hick, Dallas (also Rookie of the Year)

Center-Blob Dylan, Gillette

Forward-Phillip Mianus, Oklahoma City

Forward-Pete"the Steakman"Marzano, Dallas

POSITION RANKINGS

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER -- Splash Gordon, Charleston

Past Most Improved Winners

Season 53...Charles Broccoli, San Jose

Season 52...King Czardines, Oklahoma City

Season 51...Thomas Thomas Thomas, Milwaukee

and Lothario Fartlek, Milwaukee

Season 50...Buddy Flakes, Sacramento

Season 49...Sheetrock Hudson, Charleston

Season 48...Wardy Joubert, Milwaukee

Season 47...Potatos O'Gratin, Seattle

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

THE TEAMS

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

SEMIFINALS...Oklahoma City (7-3) vs. Sacramento (8-2): The River Dogs surprised the hell out of everyone this season. Going into the draft they had a roster of just four players. Even after the draft, which included a number of pick-ups from the cut pile, Sacramento was picked for last. Instead, they went 8-2 to finish atop the West. The Lariats, the acknowledged next-best-thing to Dallas, would have been favored in this Semifinals matchup even before the top scorer for the R-Dogs, Karma Chameleon, was lost to injury for the initial series. Without Chameleon and his 18.5 ppg scoring average, the Lariats should have no trouble dispatching the River Dogs in two straight, setting up a rematch of last season's Finals against Dallas.

SEMIFINALS...Los Angeles (5-5) vs. Dallas (10-0): The Big One was nearly as big a surprise as the R-Dogs in the West. Picked unanimously for fourth, they finished comfortably in second thanks mainly to Rookie of the Year/All-MBA/league's leading scorer Pinky Toe and his 22.1 ppg. Meanwhile, the two-time defending champion Whiz Kids blew through the regular season schedule with a 10-0 mark. They showed only the slightest hint of being beatable...taking overtime to best Philadelphia and edging Oklahoma City twice by four points. They beat Los Angeles during the regular season in a cross-over game 85-73. They should win the Semis in a sweep.

FINALS...We predict Oklahoma City and Dallas in a rematch of last season, with the Lariats maybe winning one game. But we would not be surprised if the Demons swept to become just the second team ever to run the table with a 15-0 mark. 

Next: Game One...Oklahoma City at Sacramento

Season 54 Featured Game No. 10...Oklahoma City at Dallas

 

DALLAS 67, OKLAHOMA CITY 63

WHIZ KIDS PULL OFF PERFECTO 

DALLAS -- The Dallas Demons overcame a 9-point fourth quarter deficit with an offensive tsunami to best their visiting rivals from Oklahoma City 67-63, becoming the fifth team in MBA history to go 10-0 in the regular season.

The four-point win was their second of the season by that margin against the Lariats, but the victories were polar opposite in styles. The previous game was a 90-86 shootout win for the Demons, while this triumph was a defensive in-the-mud rock fight in which the top two Ds in the league flexed their muscles.

Oklahoma City finished the regular campaign 7-3 in second place behind Dallas in the East for the second season in a row.

The win sets up this Dallas juggernaut, which still boasts one of the youngest starting lineups in the league, for a third consecutive championship and a shot at being just the second team to run the table. The only other team to do so was the Chip Battoe-led Demons of Season 47.

Dallas caught a big break early in this game when Oklahoma City point guard King Czardines, the top assist man in the league, as well as the top 3-point shooter, went down with a first-quarter injury that kept him out of the game until the final quarter.

Still, the Lariats, led by Czardine's replacement Ol' Roy, went into the fourth quarter with a 46-39 lead after holding Dallas to just 8 points in the third. 

Then in the fourth, the impressive Dallas lineup coalesced, and getting contributions from everyone, ran roughshod for 28 points and the triumph.

"Those bastards wear you down," was all coach Grady Booch would offer following the disappointing loss.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

24 GVP...Third-year Dallas small forward, 6-8 PETE "THE STEAKMAN" MARZANO, last season's league MVP, battled long and hard with Hall of Fame Lariats forward Crentis Dentist, scratching out a game-high 16 points on 8 of 13 shooting (0 for 2 from deep). The defensive specialist tied for game-high in blocked shots with 3 and also hauled down 6 rebounds in the big win. This POG performance ties Marzano for the most POGs this season with Dentist, Karma Chameleon of Sacramento, Johnny Bananas of Charleston and Marzano's teammate, Hall of Fame guard Juzan Djinn.

OTHER 20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES

23 GVP...Dallas center Biggus Dickus...12 points...7 rebounds...4 assists.

20 GVP...Oklahoma City Hall of Fame forward Crentis Dentist...15 points...3 rebounds...1 steal...1 assist. 

MBA FINAL Standings … Season 54

EAST DIVISION

DALLAS………………….10-0 (clinched playoffs and first place and home court)

OKLAHOMA CITY…..7-3 (clinched playoffs)

CHARLESTON………. 6-4 (eliminated)

PHILADELPHIA………2-8 (eliminated)

MILWAUKEE……….. 2-8 (eliminated)

 

WEST DIVISION

SACRAMENTO… 8-2 (clinched playoffs and first place)

LOS ANGELES….. 5-5 (clinched playoffs)

GILLETTE………….4-6 (eliminated)

SAN JOSE…………3-7  (eliminated)

SEATTLE…………..3-7 (eliminated)

 

NEXT UP: Stats tabulation…announcement of MVP, Rookie of Year and All-MBA, to be followed by playoffs.

Semifinals…Oklahoma City at Sacramento

Semifinals…Los Angeles at Dallas.