BBL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS 20/21

Its here! The league is here! Well, it was back last week, just I wasn't! I rounded off the BBL Cup with a solid 10-7 record, hopefully I can build on that in this weeks set of games starting in the Midlands with Worcester Wolves facing off against Manchester Giants.

WORCESTER WOLVES V MANCHESTER GIANTS

The Manchester Giants have surprised a lot of faces this season, after bringing in alot of new faces, they have won 5 of their first 6 games, 2 of them coming in League competition. Worcester however, haven't been as successful, still without their imports, with tight losses against Plymouth and Bristol last week in the Cup Quarter final decider, they will want to pick up their first win in league competition on Friday night against the High Flying Manchester Giants. Personally, i think Manchester will see this one out, even with their woes on the road after losing v Glasgow and going scoreless from behind the arc against Bristol last week. I still think they will win, having a guy who can score inside and is an elite three point threat aswell, in Lyle Hexom (avg 22.5ppg in league competition) will cause a lot of trouble for Worcester, in particular, Jordan Williams, as well as Matthew Bryan Amaning dealing with Breaon Brady inside, who seems to grab every rebound that comes his way at the minute. If Worcester can get their imports in, ahead of Friday night then I think it will be more competitive, but whilst they are also without young, British big Daniel Johnson - Thompson, its only going to cause problems for Worcester. Manchester Giants will win this one.

LONDON LIONS V PLYMOUTH RAIDERS:

This is a very interesting game, London expected to set the league alight and wipe everyone aside, Plymouth, surprising everyone sat at the top of the table, still without elite guard Andrew Lawrence. This is the game to watch this week. Given London are on their homecourt, and whether Plymouth travel the night before or not, I think Plymouth will take this one, it will definitely be tight though. Raiders have lot of inside scoring with their leading scorer Ashley Hamilton averaging 20ppg

(listen to him talk about the raiders here) - @marcelabbott_ | Linktree

This is something that London don't necessarily have, and have struggled with all season long, since the start of the BBL Cup, seven weeks ago. If Liggins can find his shot again, then they might find their way into the game from behind the perimeter. Lets wait and see.

LEICESTER RIDERS V SHEFFIELD SHARKS:

After the face off midweek, Sheffield walked away with a w after a dominant 19pt outing from Antwon Lillard, I think Leicester will respond well, playing with aggression and intensity like any Paternostro team does, after defeating the Surrey Scorchers on the weekend, they will want to carry on their league campaign with a W at the Morningside Arena against the Sheffield Sharks

SURREY SCORCHERS V CHESHIRE PHOENIX:

With Cheshire looking a complete different side after the pickups of Mike McCall and Jimbo Lull, whilst Surrey continue to struggle, this game will be an exciting one for both sets of fans. I think with the size of Surrey, that will play a big part at the Surrey Sports Park on Saturday night, given Cheshire's backcourt is reasonably undersized i think they will struggle and I think Surrey will get their first W in League Competition

BRISTOL FLYERS V GLASGOW ROCKS:

I think Bristol will take this win, given the height and depth of their frontcourt in comparison with the thin Glasgow roster, i do not think they will be able to compete, nor will they be able to compete in their backcourt, when they are facing elite GB point guard, Teddy Okereafor and Zach Copeland, who has been lighting it up in the Bristol offence.

PLYMOUTH RAIDERS V GLASGOW ROCKS: Two road games, on a back to back, i still cant see Glasgow picking up a w this weekend, leading them to an 0-3 start to their league campaign. Given how dominant the raiders look, Glasgow playing the night before and then another long trip to Plymouth, everything plays into Plymouths hands in this one, before we get to the squad. With the dominance of Ashley Hamilton and the playmaking ability of Elvisi Dusha, I'm not sold on whether Glasgow can keep up with that, especially on the road.

SHEFFIELD SHARKS V BRISTOL FLYERS:

In the same situation as Glasgow, Bristol come off of a game the previous night to face the well established Sheffield Sharks side who are competitive year in year out. After battling Glasgow the night before and the long enduring journey up to Sheffield, the Bristol players will be up against it. Coach, Atiba Lyons knows how to coach and with the recent brilliance of Antwon Lillard, whether Bristol can stop that I'm not sure, I think Sheffield will get another win at home, at the Ponds Forge Arena.

CHESHIRE PHOENIX V LONDON LIONS:

Both teams final game of a double header, one team clearly the favourite, even though London have struggled to piece the jigsaw together, I think this will be the game they do it, meaning no disrespect to Cheshire, but i cant see London losing this, with the depth of the side and the height of their backcourt, this is the Lions' game to lose. The perfect game for Coach, Vince Macaulay to experiment with rotations.

MANCHESTER GIANTS V NEWCASTLE EAGLES:

The final game of the predictions, as much as it pains me to say it, I've got Newcastle taking this, Rahmon Fletcher is doing Rahmon Fletcher things, Evan Maxwell looks like he could be an MVP candidate, him up against Breaon Brady will be a very interesting matchup, but after Manchester would've had a long, enduring battle, 48hhours previous, their bodies will be feeling it, especially given Newcastle haven't played a game all week, so are fresh and raring to go.

Well, predictions done! Come back again next week on Tuesday to see my predictions for the BBL CUP Quarter finals!

PHOTO : HC CAPTURES - Harry Collins