THE TIPOFF Powered by AT&T is finally here and we’ve got some fantastic groups on tap this week! We’ll keep headlines in our back pocket for next week after the tournament, so we’ve got something special planned for this notebook. We’re going to go group-by-group and break down who has the best chance to make it out and who could make a surprise run to begin tournament play in Season 3. As a reminder, one winner from each group makes the next round plus one wild card team that meets all of the tiebreakers. Without further ado, let’s get into Group 1!

GROUP 1
76ers GC, Nets GC, Pistons GT

Group 1 is wide open. You may look at these teams and assume Nets GC will pull it out, but I preach caution with that. Pistons GT is beginning to find a lineup that works for them with Charger and Ramo and PF and C respectively, while Demon JT has improved of late. It would also be foolish of anyone to ignore 76ers GC and the absolute dominance they have had over this tournament in year’s past. Sure, they are struggling to start the regular season, but this team has proven its ability to show up with the money on the line. NetsGC, however, is probably the best team in this group at the moment and the favorite to win Group A. Choc has enjoyed the best season of any player among these teams so far and if Chess and Shuttles keep showing up, this team will have a good chance to make it to the next round.

GROUP 2
CLTX Gaming, Jazz Gaming, Mavs Gaming

Group 2 might be the most fun three-team group, bringing together two hot teams in Jazz Gaming and Mavs Gaming and a team with a chip on their shoulder in CLTX Gaming. Jazz Gaming has been on fire recently, sitting with only one loss on the season and back-to-back wins over Warriors Gaming Squad and Hornets Venom GT. Mavs Gaming have been very good this season, sitting at 5-3 on the year with Dimez, Sherm, and PeteBeBallin all posting top numbers at their position. On the flip side, CLTX Gaming has struggled to start the year and remain winless in Season 3. It’s a solid roster and headed by one of the best player in the league in oFab, but it’s not clear if they have enough firepower to get passed these two top tier squads. It’ll likely come down to Mavs Gaming and Jazz Gaming, so watch out for No. 10 overall pick Splashy to be the x-factor in this group.

GROUP 3
Grizz Gaming, Pacers Gaming, Warriors Gaming Squad

Unfortunately for a hot Grizz Gaming team, they landed in a group with Warriors Gaming Squad. Not to discount a stingy Pacers Gaming team, but they are going to need some serious offensive firepower to get past WGS, and Grizz Gaming are currently in the middle of an impressive four-game winning streak. Warriors Gaming Squad come in as the favorites, even after losing their first game of the season to Jazz Gaming in Week 6. The combination of CB13 and BSmoove combined with the relentless rebounding of Slaughter makes for a perfect tournament team. Oh, and this Warriors team won two tournaments last year and is looking to complete the Banner Chain from last season. Grizz Gaming is an interesting pick as a wild card team, but Warriors Gaming Squad is the team to beat in Group 3.

GROUP 4
Hawks Talon GC, Kings Guard Gaming, Magic Gaming

Group 4 has a ton of fascinating dynamics to it, revolving primarily around Kings Guard Gaming. We just saw this team fall to Magic Gaming in a riveting three-game series on Thursday, so they’ll have revenge on the mind as they only scored 45 and 51 points in Games 1 and 3. On the other side, they go up against the team they made one of the biggest trades in league history with that sent BP to Atlanta for Dat Boy Shotz and the draft pick that became defensive stud, Crush. It’s a really fun group featuring three teams that couldn’t play with more different styles if they tried. Kings Guard Gaming is probably the slight favorite in the group, but the other two teams can’t be ignored.

GROUP 5
Bucks Gaming, Knicks Gaming, Heat Check Gaming

Maybe the most balanced group of THE TIPOFF, there is no true favorite in this group. Heat Check Gaming can’t be looked over despite their regular season record. As long as they have Hotshot, they’ll be tough to deal with. Knicks Gaming has been hot of late, thanks to the improved play of both Duck and Original Malik, but their defense has been up and down all season. If they want a chance to make it out of this group, they have to take down Regg and Bucks Gaming. While Bucks Gaming is 3-4 on the season, Regg has been one of the league’s best rookies, currently 7th in the league in scoring and 1st in assists. Taking Knicks Gaming is probably the popular pick, but Bucks Gaming are going to give them a run for their money and ignoring Famous and his Miami boys is a mistake no one should make. Still, Knicks Gaming is tough to pick against coming off their past few games.

GROUP 6
Blazer5 Gaming, Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, Lakers Gaming, Raptors Uprising GC

Both of the four team groups that tip off on Wednesday are going to be a ton of fun to watch. In Group 6, you’ve got the best team in the league in Raptors Uprising GC, an embattled Blazer5 Gaming, a team who is starting to figure it out in Gen.G, and a team that just got stuck in the wrong THE TIPOFF group this season in Lakers Gaming. Raptors Uprising GC is definitely the favorite to come out of this group, but the rest, at the least, will be fighting to squeeze into a wild card spot. It’s tough to know which of these teams will be able to get in. Outside of Raptors Uprising, there isn’t a ton of defense in this group. This is also the most talented PG group of the tournament and that is going to go a long way towards deciding if these teams can get that eighth wild card spot. Don’t sleep on the possibility of Raptors Uprising dominating on defense to the point that no other team scores enough points to get out of the group.

GROUP 7
Cavs Legion GC, Hornets Venom GT, T-Wolves Gaming, Wizards District Gaming

This one is fun! Group 7 features four really technically sound teams who all play their own unique brand of 2K. Whether it’s the Wizards with JBM’s elite playmaking, or Hornets Venom GT with Type playing Point Center, or T-Wolves Gaming having Bear and JMoney dominate in the backcourt, or even Cavs Legion GC with their gritty defense and interior scoring, this is an awesome group. The chances of getting a second team out of this group is going to be a tall task as all four of these teams play great defense and should keep the point differential at a minimum rate for all. In terms of who wins the group, your guess is as good as mine. It will really depend on which PG gets the hot shooting touch or if one of these big men turns in a huge performance.

3 TEAMS TO WATCH FOR WILD CARD SPOT

Grizz Gaming

Grizz Gaming has been on fire over the past few weeks, winning four straight games after starting the season 0-4. Vandi has started to come into his own and the whole team is really started to gel around GOOFY 757. Along with those two, their revival has also included the improved play of AuthenicAfrican, playing his third position in three years and dominating at that position as he usually does. It took him some time to acclimate to lock, but the 2-way Finisher build he settled on fits his play style perfectly. This team is still figuring things out defensively as a team — they still give up close to 72 PPG — but a 2nd place finish in their group and a real chance at a wild card spot wouldn’t be a surprise. This is a team hitting their stride at the right time.

Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai

If you’re looking for a team that is going to win multiple tiebreakers to get the 8th seed, the math leads you to Gen.G. Why? Because they score like it’s going out of style. Gen.G has the second best offense in the entire league at 73.1 PPG and just recently switched lineups to make them way more balanced on the interior. Moving Deadeye to Center was a move long expected and it paid off in a huge way vs. Blazer5 Gaming with a two-game sweep. Shiftykaii has been one of the best players in the entire league so far this season, so if he gets hot in the group round, this team could cruise into a top 8 seed, even winning a very competitive Group 6 if they can get past Raptors Uprising. Watch out for this team, they are right on the cusp of being one of the league’s best.

Bucks Gaming

Bucks Gaming has battled inconsistency this season — it seems every week they either go 0-2 or 2-0 and your opinion about them changes just as fast. They’ve hit the upswing right before THE TIPOFF, however, and that momentum could easily carry over to this tournament. Regg is playing some of the best 2K of his career right now, so he’ll be the catalyst for any success this Bucks Gaming team has. It also helps that Arooks is really starting to figure out his secondary scoring role and with Plondo back at Center, this team’s season is back on track. They are in a very winnable Group 5 with Knicks Gaming and Heat Check Gaming, so them taking the entire group wouldn’t be a huge surprise. If they do drop a game or two, they might score enough points to get in on point differential.