By Mike Slattery | Photo Courtesy of Alex Denner/Legacy Leagues
Legacy Leagues Summer 18 Playoffs: Finals (Monday, August 20th at 8PM)
#1 Shocker City (9-0) vs #3 Run TMC (8-1)
First Matchup: Teams have not played each other this season
Current Streak: Shocker City (W9), Run TMC (W4)
Highest Power Ranking: Shocker City: 1, Run TMC: 2
Standout Performers: Mike Davis (Shocker City) and Reggie Stewart (Run TMC) both going for their third Legacy Leagues title
In what should be the game of the year to wrap up the Legacy League’s Summer 18 season, Run TMC tries to upset undefeated Shocker City. Sadly, these two teams have not played each other yet but everybody is in for a treat when these two powerhouses square off.
Shocker City and Run TMC both have similar styles of play. They both like to get the ball and take off utilizing a high-paced offense. Run TMC needs MVP front-runner Reggie Stewart to have an MVP-caliber performance if Run TMC plans on winning this game. He is going to need help from Eric Singleton and Kayjuan Bynum who is coming off of his best game of the season.
They are also going to need to display a masterful defensive gameplan to slow down guys like Mike Davis, Carmine Santorelli, and Davon Pratt. Those are just a few of a bunch of guys Shocker City has at their disposal that can take over a game. The problem with Shocker City that TMC will try to solve is how to keep up offensively, while getting stops on defense.
Davon Pratt is an exciting player to watch each game because of his raw emotion he shows. Shocker City plays a terrific energized game when Pratt is talking and getting in the opponents’ head on each possession. Run TMC has shown some signs of frustration during close games so look for Pratt to get an edge any way he can.
The beauty of both of these teams is that they have so many options. These teams play a team brand of basketball which is rare in a league where rarely everybody gets involved and everybody is unselfish. These two teams have star-studded rosters, but rosters with guys willing to buy in and play a role to get the job done.
Mike Davis, who is shooting nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc this year, is going to have to be stopped by Reggie Stewart. This is going to be the matchup to watch solely because they are clearly the two best players in the league, and are going to be on the biggest stage displaying that.
Shocker City is not surprised to be where they are. Their record speaks for itself and Shocker City has a championship swagger to them. After clinching a berth in the Finals, Carmine Santorelli made his team’s thoughts very clear.
“We expected this and we are not done yet,” Santorelli said.
