The Interlace Digital Division is sponsored by Interlace Digital, "Grow your online sales with Interlace Digital!" In all seriousness, we're super happy that Pistons team member, Brian Cleary, blessed us with the opportunity of a sponsorship this season. With that being said, the ID division started off a bit rocky but they have been on fire in recent weeks. This conference features the leagues best tandem, one of the leagues hottest teams, and some middle of the pack teams that could really put a thorn in the ass this upcoming playoffs.
Statistics:
The ID division is currently 22-20 (.550) on the season.
This division is responsible for 4 of the top 10 scorers in the league.
2 players average a double-double in this division. (Nate Hoellig, Roy Wallace)
4 players average 20 ppg or more (Mario, Malikye, Jarmani, Jason Martin)
The Division Breakdown
KINGS
Record: 6-1
Notable Wins: Sonics, Clippers, Celtics
Notable Loses: Knicks
Remaining SOS: .429 (Nuggets, Bobcats, Bucks)
Playoffs: Clinched
It's been KINGS WORLD for almost the entirety of this summer. What seemed like it was about to be a rocky season with the loss of All-Star Caliber Guard, Trent Cordone, was quickly corrected in the draft. GM Kyle Okie did himself a fantastic job securing some serious size with Mike Borton in the first round. Borton sits near the top for league leaders in rebounds and hes a serious paint presence. Okie then went and secured what is looking like the greatest 2nd round pick in league history, Malikye Ridgeway. Kye dropped 66 in the Winter League in one game. 66 POINTS AND HE WENT IN THE SECOND ROUND! Already holding onto sharposhooter and league candidate for MIP, Mario Quattrucci, the Kings lineup was looking spooky, Okie drafted veteran guards Sean Dobrick, Brennan "Chet" Scarsella, and Mikey Brown to go with his other keeper Chad Gloss. The Kings have the 3rd best win margin (+87 points), and score the second most points in the league (511 total points / 73.0 ppg). Ridgeway and Mario combine for the most points as a tandem (48.3ppg), and Mike Borton is 5th in the league in rebounds per game (13.0 rpg). Watch out for the Kings this August.
SONICS
Record: 5-2
Notable Wins: Nuggets, Bobcats, Grizzlies
Notable Loses: Kings, Clippers
Remaining SOS: .381 (Wizards, Celtics, Wolves)
Playoffs: Clinched
A bad loss week 1 to the Kings, followed with a win by 7 in week 2 against the Suns had this team even going into their primetime matchup against the Clippers in week 3. They got absolutely throttled by the Clippers by 30. Ever since that loss, the Sonics have rattled off 4 in a row and their one of the leagues hottest teams currently. Second year GM Liam Speyer "Spip" really has this team locked in. His first pick went on a limb and he took Keelo Bradberry without an official combine (he was present but injured). He traded his keeper, Conor Foley, for that draft pick. He went on to lock in Roy Wallace with his second 1st round pick and what a fantastic pick that turned out to be. In his last game, Roy was 2 assist shy of having the first triple-double with 30+ rebounds in league history. Mitch Middlebrooks Jr has been an absolute problem for defenses and the best move of the season has to be the trade for top 5 league leading scorer Jarmani Cooper. The Sonics have deopth at big as well bringing in Erik Hibit in the Jarmani trade, and they sent Daylon Krencik to the Nets in exchange for Jorden Moore Graves and they still have Guard Will Lindstrom who is still looking to find his place in this new look offense. Now with 1 top 5 scorer, the leagues leader in rebounds, 2 more guys that average north of 17 per game, and a GM that knows his role, the Sonics are looking like a serious threat for the upcoming playoffs.
CLIPPERS
Record: 4-3
Notable Wins: Sonics, Heat
Notable Loses: Grizzlies, Kings, Mavs
Remaining SOS: .381 (Wolves, Bucks, Celtics)
The YACHT is sailing and the CLUB is packed with hype out in LA. The dusted off a rough start dropping some bad loses to both the Grizzlies and the Kings before getting back on track in week 3 against the Sonics. The combination of 2X MVP Nate Hoellig, Rookie first round pick Kam Williams, and 2nd round rookie Putt Brown has this team versatile from anywhere inside half court on offense. In a recent broadcast, the Commish was on record saying "this team might give up a lot on the glass, but they will make up for it with their ability to run and gun and hit the 3 ball". Journeyman Forward T Bailey has been great when healthy for this team and Guards Ethan "The BioWeapon" Dinse, Matt Geary, and Brett "BB" Borowski have brought grit and key contributions so far thoughout this season. AllPlay President and Team GM Gabe McGovern has to be happy with what his team looks like going into their final stretch of games. This team easily could be 5-2 but dropped a real tough one in OT to the Mavs. The Yacht Club looks like a lot of fun.
GRIZZLIES
Record: 3-4
Notable Wins: Clippers, Bucks
Notable Loses: Kings, Suns, Spurs
Remaining SOS: .429 (Mavs, Wolves, Nuggets)
I really thought GM Jack Harper was going to put the entire league on notice following his 30 point performance in week 1. The guy went absolutely balistic and couldn't miss. They started the season on back to back wins going into their matchup in week 3 against the Kings. They hit a serious road block. They got absolutely mouth pieced by Mario on his way to 9 3s. To throw salt on the wound, they lost Rookie Lottery pick Matt Larusch and keeper Conrad 997 Ring, both to serious injuries. The also lost Joe Blackwell to a work conflict. Down 3 guys the Commish had to figure something out. Free agent Nate Neudeck was sitting on his couch watching film waiting on his call and he was more than ready. Brendan McGrath slid right into Blackwell's spot and just like that the Grizz are revitalized. The guard combo of CJ Moore and Nashiem Harris have played well for the Grizzlies and Jack Harper officially #FreedTheGlee acquiring Brady Gleason from the Suns. We'll forget the fact that they gave up the most points literally ever in a game to the Spurs and look forward to the future. If Larusch can come back, the Grizz got a real nice shot at stirring the pot.
WIZARDS
Record: 3-4
Notable Wins: Suns, Wolves
Notable Loses: Grizzlies, Clippers, Suns
Remaining SOS: .714 (Sonics, Mavs, Bobcats)
The toughest remaining schedule of all 24 teams belongs to 3AP Jawyan Clark and his AllPlay Wizards. The Wiz looked in shambles early on. Through their first 5 games, they only beat down on the Suns. The Veteran leadership of Tony Gualla has been beneficial for team morale as his leadership has kept the ship sailing over in DC. Jawyan traded his first round pick Kevin Zabawa and got Ant Luba in return. Rookies AJ Turner and Mike Davis have been fantastic counterparts to Gualla in the backcourt. AJ provides tough shot making capabilites and Mike Davis is one of the best on ball defenders in the entire league. What would a Wizards team be with the one and only Andre "Smoove" Nevins? Smoove brings a 3 and D presence to the team and Veteran Rick Young has shown signs of his ROTY campaign from 2023. A big body in Ty Isch to eat up some space in the middle allows Gualla and Young to crash the glass. The Wiz will have to play composed and smart ball if they want to get more wins under their belt before the play-in games at the end of July.
SUNS
Record: 1-6
Notable Wins: Grizzlies
Notable Loses: Wizards, Nets
Remaining SOS: .524 (Bucks, Nuggets, Mavs)
No need for SPF this season when facing the Suns. A team that has been in virtually every game except the season opener just hasn't been able to piece it together. 6 loses by single digits is tough to do. GM Kyle Rubeck got some unfortunate news right before the draft finding out Keeper Kyle Ebert would not be playing this Summer. Pair that with Luke Ingrando opting out for Free agency and all Beck had left was a guard from the Falls. A Canisius High School graduate and a certified bucket, Jason Martin. J Mart is averaging 20+ this season and is doing his best to will his Suns to the finish line. Beck traded Brady Gleason and brought in Nate Gonsiorek from the Grizzlies. He's running with Zach Garland in his backcourt with J Mart, and 2nd year Forward Matteo Duennebacke has been under the radar, having himself a pretty legit season. First round selection Chris Griner has proven to be a tough big inside the paint, causing issues for any teams trying to get easy paint buckets. The Suns also brought in Korey Gegenfurtner in a trade to give them a spark off the bench. Korey has a quick trigger and can find the bottom of the basket from 3. Last but not least, we got Big Curly Will McKeever adding needed size to the front court. Basically, the Suns need to win games and they have the 2nd toughest schedule remaining. Good Luck Suns!