Week 3 has come and gone and teams are gearing up to head to Las Vegas for THE TURN powered by AT&T. This past week was about incredible coaching and shutdown defense, but featured many teams experimenting on offense trying to figure out their identities before the tournament. Before we look ahead at the week to come, let’s take a look back at Week 3.

Wednesday (Night 1):

1. Raptors Uprising GC sitting 1st round pick Doza was surprising, but it worked out well. All Hail Trey dropped 26 points and Doza’s replacement, Kenny Got Work, played well enough to keep them in it.

2. It’s time to take Lakers Gaming seriously. While they went 0-2 this week, KontruL showed that he can run this team from the point and Kev isn’t going to go 1-for-11 from 3-point range every night. A few more weeks to gel and they’ll be a fun spoiler team come tournament time.

3. Magic Gaming coach Jonah Edwards is an elite in-game tactician. His ability to keep his team constantly adjusting and playing great situational basketball was key to the team’s two wins. Edwards appears to gets everything he can out of this roster.

4. The Heat Check Gaming vs. Lakers Gaming game wasn’t pretty, but Lotty needs to get some love. 17 points, 6/7 shooting from the floor and 3/3 from 3PT range on a pure lock defender build? Just another day in the park for one of the best surprises in Season 2.

Thursday (Night 2):

1. Video bombs are here in the NBA 2K League! Just watch out for Alex!

2. The Knicks won their first game of the regular season thanks to a Thanos-like performance from Goofy 757 against Pistons GT. Point guards get much of the attention, but the most talent in the league might be at the Center spot. Good luck to anyone trying to rank a top 10 at that position.

3. Nets GC is in a tricky spot. Their half-court offense has been sub-par so far this year, but they communicate very well as a team. It might be worth trying out a two-PG system and have NateKahl operate as a primary ball-handler 50% of the time. It makes him a focal point of the offense and could allow Lav to get more open shots on the perimeter.

Friday (Night 3):

1. It seems only record-setting performances from Arooks can take down Blazer5 Gaming. They communicate on the defensive end so well, you forget from time to time that they technically don’t have a coach. Their upcoming match-up against 76ers GC will be riveting.

2. The biggest difference for Kings Guard this week wasn’t just their shooting, it was their focus. Between Bp, Worthingcolt, and BallLikeSeem, they have as much talent as anyone. What we saw was what they can do when they are engaged and determined. We saw a very different and very dangerous team this week, do not sleep on Kings Guard Gaming.

3. Celtics Crossover had as tough of a week as any team, but it’s temporary. Understandably so, the whole team was very tense against Kings Guard and it hurt their communication. Still, oFab was excellent in his first game back dropping 19 PTS & 16 AST, reminding everyone that he is an elite PG.

4. Cavs Legion went 1-1 this week, but their coach, Austin Peterson, got hooked up with a dope clipboard.

 

What To Watch For In Week 4:

1. Must-See Game:
   1. 76ers GC (2-1) vs. Blazer5 Gaming (4-1):
      1. Time: Friday, 6 pm/et
      2. Best Match-up: Radiant vs. Mama Im Dat Man
      3. Summary: Two of the best teams from last season have continued their form in Season 2. Blazer5 Gaming has won four straight after dropping their season opener, while 76ers GC lost their first game of the whole year last week after going undefeated through THE TIPOFF tournament. These teams had some big-time matchups in Season 1 as well.

1. Game Flying Under The Radar
   1. Celtics Crossover Gaming (0-3) vs. T’Wolves Gaming (1-3)
      1. Time: Wednesday, 7 pm/et
      2. Best Match-up: oFab vs. BearDaBeast
      3. Summary: A disappointing start to the season for both sides leaves us with an interesting match-up between two teams with elite talent desperate to get their seasons back on track.
2. Elite Position Battles For Week 4
   1. Point Guard:
      1. Radiant (21.3 ppg, 10.3 apg, 76ers GC) faces off against Mama Im Dat Man (21.8 ppg, 12.6 apg, Blazer5 Gaming).
      2. Dimez (5-0 record, Mavs Gaming) meets BearDaBeast (T-Wolves Gaming) for the first time this season.
      3. CB13 (10th overall pick, Warriors Gaming) with a fun matchup against Yeah I Compete (Jazz Gaming) coming off his best performance of the season.
   2. Shooting Guard:
      1. WoLF 74 (Pacers Gaming) squares off against UCMANNY (Magic Gaming) in a battle of two of the best on-ball defenders the league has to offer.
      2. LavishPhenom (Blazer5 Gaming) and Newdini (76ers GC) also meet in the week’s most anticipated matchup.
   3. Small Forward: 
      1.  All Hail Trey (Raptors Uprising) will be tasked with slowing down the league’s leading scorer, Arooks (27.3 ppg, Bucks Gaming).
      2. ProFusion (CLTX Crossover Gaming) and Hood (T-Wolves Gaming) should be an excellent matchup at 7 pm/et on Wednesday.
      3. Bsmoove (Warriors Gaming) faces a tough challenge from Demon JT (Wizards District) if he stays on the wing.
   4. Power Forward: 
      1. Star rookie DT (Magic Gaming) will have his hands full this week with Season 2 surprise Lord Beezus (Pacers Gaming).
      2. OOC Slim (Raptors Gaming) has played well recently, but BigMeek (Bucks Gaming) will be his toughest clash so far.
   5. Center:
      1. Coming off the first 20-20 game of the year, OneWildWalnut (Blazer5 Gaming) has possibly the best match-up of the week against the league-leader in rebounds, Goofy 757 (Knicks Gaming).
      2. Ria (#1 overall pick, Jazz Gaming) takes on AuthenticAfrican (Grizz Gaming) in our night cap game on Friday.
      3. PeteBeBallin (#5 overall pick, Mavs Gaming) has an under-the-radar good matchup against Arsonal (Hawks Talon GC).

Content You May Have Missed:

• The league launched their new long-form video series, NBA 2K League Locked In powered by AT&T.
• The league also announced their partnership with Stance socks.
• Blazer5 Gaming continued their B5 files with a great interview of OneWildWalnut.
• Nets GC took to the streets of Brooklyn to hype people up for their inaugural season.
• Wall Street Journal wrote a great story on Warriors Game Squad coach, Tommy Abdenour.

Scott Cole and Dirk Moment Of The Week:

Keep up the good work, fellas.

This article represents the thoughts and opinions of the writer and not of the NBA 2K League.