Week 1 Game Previews

Season 4

GSB'S OFFICIAL TWITCH CHANNEL 

Tuesday Night Games

• 7:30 PM ET: San Antonio Reapers vs. Pittsburgh Steelhawks

The San Antonio Reapers are here with a new logo, uniform, and roster shakeup. They will bring relentless energy and grit with a rapid fire Dior Island (S2 ROTY, S2 Scoring Champ, 2x All Star). It's also time for Biff Marcum (S3 All-Star) to take the next step offensively and consistently be a 15-16 ppg type of scorer as well, and grab double doubles easily each game. Biff felt comfortable behind the 3-point line last season, shooting a stellar 69% and San Antonio needs that from him. The issue is he only attempted about 1 3-point attempt per game. However, look to last season's game against the Kings where Biff went for 26 points and went 4 of 6 from the 3pt line. Just get him to take 1-2 more per game and combine that with his already stellar post game and you have an impossible to guard do-it-all forward. Also look for veterans like Percy 'Mini" Cooper and Tez Green (S3 3pt Contest Champ). Green gives SA deadly sniper from the perimeter to pair with Island and Cooper provides a hybrid forward who can bully both bigger and smaller defenders with his tank-like size and strength. 

But, they'll face a tough test against the Pittsburgh Steelhawks, featuring the dynamic duo of Dex Matty and Truck Ackles (S3 DPOY, S3 1st Team All-GSB). Pittsburgh will look to utilize his powerful inside presence to take advantage of San Antonio's tendency to drive inside. Matty's versatile scoring will make this a tough matchup. That's before I even get to mention Pittsburgh other newest weapons in Justin Banks, who improved in every statistical category each of his seasons with the Martians, and Scout Mitchell. Both Banks and Mitchell provide range and versatility by being adept passer-scorers (both averaged nearly 5.0 APG last season). Last, but certainly not least it's time for Prince Revels to fly high and soar. This year is his year to shine, he was a bright spot in spurts last season for the Merfolk. Revels should be ready to take on a bit more of the offense, if the Steelhawks can mold him into a Matty-esque style scorer and give him similar sets and plays, look for Revels to be a 17-20 ppg type of scorer out the gate. They need to eliminate his bad shot attempts and look to help him up his efficiency while increasing his minutes. Marvin Hymes Jr. (S3 All-GSB Rookie 2nd Team, S3 All-GSB Defense 2nd Team) may just be able to help with that; Hymes will be able to help open up space on the floor, and his defense will hopefully give Pittsburgh extra possessions on offense. If they can turn great defense into offense this will give themselves an edge more often than not. 

• 9:30 pm ET: Boston Militia vs. New York Skyliners

The Boston Militia returns with a deep, disciplined roster ready to make a statement. Boston will showcase Aaron Hughes who comes over from the Merfolk (now the Pittsburgh Steelhawks). He will look to benefit from a offensive system that previously allowed Dex Matty to flourish. Mike Melo (S3 All-GSB Defense 2nd Team) at 6'8, will provide a tall defensive presence from the guard position that can guard 1-4, if Melo adds a small tab of offense after already averaging 14.1 ppg last season he will undeniably be an All-Star. Aso, back is Brum James, who started out in S3 as hot as ever. Give him more minutes and he will also be an All-Star in my opinion at the Small Forward position. James provides a streaky 3-point and smooth slashing presence that can quietly drop 15 ppg this season if fed properly. I say 'fed properly' because Boston would be wise to focus on feeding Greg Powers (S3 All-Star), King Demoura, and now Zeus Williams (#6 Overall Pick) down low. These 3 will look to rival the Big 3 in Seattle, this season. All can score from the post and are rebounding machines. Boston has capable scorers, but they will look to play a slower pace, and force their opponent to make mistakes.

They’ll be up against the New York Skyliners, who feature now feature Greg Lake 'The Lake Show', which adds a dash of star power and swagger to this historic Atlantic Division rivalry. Look for a hard-fought game as both teams try to establish dominance in the Northeast. The Skyliners will look to Ant Thomas to continue to be the All-Star level guard he's always been. His presence on the court should automatically draw in 2 defenders (or prepare for him to drop 30) which will open up Greg Lake, Sarah Counterman, and Marshall Drake to feast in what will be a roaming offense where shooters can pick and choose their spots to wait for a catch and shoot. Adding Damien Chambers into this mix opens up things even more, now you have another hybrid shooting forward that if he gets hot can stay hot all game long. In the paint will be King Maximus who looks to get back to 3.0 BPG like he did in NOLA. And, Apollo Konstantinos (#2 Overall Pick), should be on the court for this team as much as possible. That's right the Zeus vs Apollo Rivalry will be alive and well for both of these rookie's in their first GSB game. Could not have scripted it any better. Apollo, adds a nearly veteran style of crash and bash for the Skyliners, he can gobble up any misses and get some nice putbacks or create his own shot from the post, adding an extra layer to what could be one of the league's most proficient freelance-style offensive systems.