Re(1): Battle Court Playoff Matchups Posted on May 8, 2024 at 06:54:18 PM by jatna77
Thanks, Mo! You are the best.
BTW, in regards to our discussion on Jeden: I believe Jeden was out for a few weeks sometime after week 1, with an injury and when he came back, it took him a while to get back up to speed. I think he is a better catcher now than when he started the season.
Luckily, I don't bet. But looking at the matchups, you can tell which ones seem uneven on paper. Of course, any single game can go any way for any number of reasons. Here is what I see, without any statistics to back me up (lol):
Douglas-Julen v. Iturbide-Ubilla
Douglas tends to be more conservative in doubles than singles, sometimes too conservative. Iturbide is aggressive and when he can keep it inbounds, he is devastating. Both Julen and Ubilla can be error-prone and have weaknesses to be probed. However, they are both capable of having a good day. If Iturbide is on and Douglas is conservative offensively, with Julen and Ubilla canceling each other on misses and errors, I would give it to Iturbide-Ubilla.
Williams-Manny v. El Barba-Benny
Unless he has a bad day, Manny is usually a better back courter than Benny. He is a wall. El Barba has more offense than Williams. If he is on, which is a big if, he should make a difference. They should both hammer Williams as the weak point. If they just throw it to Manny and leave Williams alone, that would be a mistake.
Correa-Nicolas v. Zulaika-Bradley
Nicolas is a wall in the back and Bradley is not perfect, especially if he is off. Zulaika needs to be aggressive and not conservative. Coerrea would not be a match for him in top form. Nicolas should keep throwing it back to Bradley and wait for him to miss. Correa should as well until he can catch Zulaika off guard.
Williams-Julen v. El Barba-Ubilla
This is fairly even if everyone is on. El Barba has an offensive edge over Williams and should try to beat him inside and outside. Julen can be devastating offensively from the backcourt, so they need to cover that. If either back courter is off, then that will be decisive.
Douglas-Nicolas v. Zulaika-Benny
Nicolas and Benny cancel each other out with Nicolas usually being a little better defensively. Get Nicolas to the mid-court and near the wall, that is where he makes most of his errors. Benny needs to be on and not give it to Douglas, at all. Zuliaka needs to be aggressive and not conservative. The same with Douglas. You will not win by just throwing it back to Nicolas in the backcourt! He can catch all day long.
Correa-Manny v. Iturbide-Bradley
If he is on, Iturbide's aggressiveness can beat out Manny's crazy good defense. Manny is especially good at catching impossible inside shots. Make him run with Dejadas and then hammer Correa on the outside. Just throwing it back to Manny will not do. Meanwhile, Correa and Manny should keep the pressure on Bradley until he misses. Keep it away from Itrurbide, unless he is having a bad day.
Olharan-CRB v. Goenaga-Arta
On either team, just hammer the backcourters until they make a mistake. It will be interesting to see who is the more aggressive and successful front courter.
Robin-Roque v. Joseph-Aratz
Hammer Joseph until he misses. Hammer Rouque until he misses. Pretty simple. I picture Aratz running around and catching everything like a monkey with his head cut off. But it won't be enough if they target Joesph.
Jairo-Urbieta v. Goixerri-Ben
Will Ben break from all the catching before Goixerri's offense beats Jairo's great defense? Urbieta is a wall. Ben is not. Jairo needs to keep up with Goixerri both offensively and defensively. Keep it away from Goixerri as much as possible. Ben is not going to be able to keep up in the long run, unless he is having an extraordinary day.
CRB-Robin v. Joseph-Arta
Unless something wonky happens, I think this is a mismatch in favor of CRB and Robin.
Olharan-Urbieta v. Goixerri-Aratz
Goixerri needs to be on and aggressive out of the gate, not off and defensive like the last time they met. I think Goixerri and Aratz will be hungry for revenge. The difference will likely be in the front-court play. Both back courters are usually insanely solid.
Jairo-Roque v. Goenaga-Ben
Ben is usually a better back courter than Roque and Goenaga is usually very succesfully aggresive. I see them winning unless Jairo steps up both offensively and defensively or Ben is having a bad day. Dejadas and split placements are what I would suggest from the front and hammer Roque until he misses.
Having said all that, I am quite often wrong lol! Replies:
