BBL CUP WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS:

Missed last week, sorry about that guys but I'm back! Its not going well for me currently 0-3 on my prediction tally, hopefully I can get one right in this busy week of basketball!

NEWCASTLE EAGLES V SHEFFIELD SHARKS:

Newcastle will want to get back to winning ways tomorrow night v Sheffield Sharks after suffering the first defeat of their cup campaign last Friday night v the Leicester Riders. Sheffield , likewise will want to return to winning ways after London defeated them by 15 led by a strong performance from DeAndre Liggins. I've got Newcastle taking this one, after watching in recently I think they have too much firepower for the Sharks to cope with. With the performances from Justin Gordon recently, if he carries on then I think Newcastle have this W secured. Rahmon Fletcher is doing Rahmon Fletcher things averaging 9assists per game so far with Justin Gordon averaging a double - double at 21.5ppg and 10.5rpg, incredible numbers for the 26 year old.

PLYMOUTH RAIDERS V BRISTOL FLYERS

After securing two wins in two, Plymouth will want to carry that on and make it 3/3 against Bristol, despite missing star point guard, Andrew Lawrence. I think Plymouth will do just that, given Bristol are still missing Josh Wilcher, they are lacking depth in the roster and against this Plymouth side, I think they'll struggle, especially after only just coming out of Self - Isolation. Plymouths players dominate Bristol's on every aspect of the floor, the dominant and versatile inside presence with Prince Ibeh and Ashley Hamilton have a good matchup against the likes of Edozie and Delpeche. The battle of the two guards will be interesting, not the matchup we were all expecting but a good matchup nonetheless, Elvisi Dusha v Zach Copeland, the playmaking ability of Elvisi Dusha is phenomenal and we saw that against Worcester on Sunday afternoon tallying 5 assists. Whether rookie Zach Copeland can match that with his strong offensive arsenal I don't know. I have Plymouth taking this game.

MANCHESTER GIANTS V CHESHIRE PHOENIX

After predicting the Giants to lose last time out, I've got them winning this one. Although Cheshire didn't look great, the Giants looked great, bear in mind that was their bench unit aswell, providing Danny Byrne with the best problem a coach could have. With the likes of Sam Cassell Jr and Lyle Hexom coming in alongside the size of Breaon Brady and Lyle Hexom against the struggling phoenix, I cant see Cheshire taking anything from the game, especially with the situation they are in due to COVID. Zack Powell, Jordan Whelan and Alex Ouandie all looked great last time out, Jordan Whelan slotting into his role nicely in the North West hitting 24pts against the Cheshire unit. With the size of the Giants against the considerably undersized Phoenix I think they have to win this game.

SURREY SCORCHERS V PLYMOUTH RAIDERS

After losing due to a controversial call v Worcester in the dying embers of the game, surrey will want to secure their first win as soon as they can.

After Plymouth would've had 3 games in 5 days, they will be most likely fatigued going into this, if not then props to their coaching and conditioning staff. I think Surrey will take this game due to the events on Saturday evening, especially if Martelle Mclemore is cleared to play, that will be a huge boost for the Guildford side.

SHEFFIELD SHARKS V LEICESTER RIDERS:

In the group of death, this will definitely be an interesting game for both sets of fans. After winning both games of the back 2 back, Riders will want to continue their ways and take the victory back to Leicester, also Sheffield would've also played Newcastle just 3 days before this fixture, they might still be feeling it from the physical Newcastle offense. If Sheffield can avoid any injuries or knocks on Tuesday I think they can take the game to the Riders at the Ponds Forge Arena on Friday evening. If Nicholas Lewis can get hot like he we all know he can and they can break the always dominant defense of Leicester riders then Sheffield will win, however after just playing one big dog then having to play another 3 days later, I think Leicester will take the game to Sheffield and take the W back to the Morningside Arena.

NEWCASTLE EAGLES V LONDON LIONS:

Back at the Eagles Community Arena, the two big hitters face off against each other, in order for London to qualify in the group this game could prove vital in their cup campaign. Newcastle will look to return to winning ways after suffering defeat to the Leicester Riders last Friday evening. As this will be London's first game of the week, i think Vince and the team he has assembled will take the W home after a slow start to the season. Justin Robinson will be crucial for them v Newcastle.

BRISTOL FLYERS V WORCESTER WOLVES

May be surprising I know. However I've got Bristol taking this game against Worcester Wolves. After they've already played Plymouth twice, I'm sure they will learn from their mistakes and improve on their performances. Looking back at last Sunday, Worcester struggled to get any sort of offense going with 2/5 starters hitting 0 points, if they continue along that kind of form then I cannot see them getting anything out of the game. Although, you have to remember that, that game was off the back of a tough game against Surrey less than 24hrs previous which would've definitely took its toll on the squad. Despite that, i still think Bristol will pick up their first W in the BBL Cup.

LONDON LIONS V LEICESTER RIDERS

I think the lions will have a successful week, this week. After suffering defeat against both Leicester and Newcastle i think they will take the W from both of them this week, silencing the critics on Social Media. The uncertainty around Mullens still raises a problem in the Lions camp as they look a total different side with him in the team, especially when the other bigs on the roster are struggling to find any sort of offense. DeAndre Liggins has been a bright spark for the Lions, averaging 17ppg so far. Whether the Leicester defense can deal with him, who knows. I believe that the Lions will find their form this week and start to pick up wins.

PLYMOUTH RAIDERS V SURREY SCORCHERS

I have the Plymouth Raiders taking the 2nd game of 2 against the Scorchers, after the game 2 days previous, the Scorchers will be feeling the fatigue and whether the scorchers are able to deal with the inside presence of the Raiders I'm not sure, and we saw that it helped them in huge amounts v Worcester with 46% of their points coming from inside the painted area, aswell as big man Ashley Hamilton leading the scoring. I don't think Scorchers will have the firepower second time round to deal with the presence of Plymouth.

CHESHIRE PHOENIX V GLASGOW ROCKS

Assuming Phoenix are without their imports etc. once again, i cant see anyway Glasgow lose this game, despite their efforts on Sunday , Cheshire still couldn't find anyway to really hurt the Scottish side and i think they'll struggle again this time round. Coach Murray and his young group of players will only be getting better with the likes of Mpondo, Kwedi , Van Sauers and Jacdonmi all performing on their Rocks debuts, i think they'll perform similarly next Sunday evening at Ellesmere Port. It is a very tough situation for Coach, Ben Thomas to be in.