Week 7 Preview
June 23, 2020
CLTX Resumes Regular-Season Action vs. Pistons, Mavs
BOSTON – Celtics Crossover Gaming will resume remote gameplay this week following a 1-3 finish in the group stage of THE TIPOFF tournament. Still searching for its first win of the regular season, CLTX (0-7) will face off against Pistons GT (1-7) at 9 p.m. Tuesday night, before taking on Mavs Gaming (6-3) at 8 p.m. Friday night.
The Pistons, much like the Celtics, have struggled throughout the first half of the campaign, having captured just one regular-season win against a 1-8 Lakers Gaming team in Week 4. However, Pistons GT gathered a bit of momentum during last week’s tournament, as it prevailed past the group stage before falling to Jazz Gaming in the quarterfinals, finishing with a 3-3 record.
Detroit hasn’t had a clear-cut star performer this season, but it has displayed great depth with four players averaging between 13.5 and 16.5 points per game. Leading the charge has been point guard Demon JT, who has paced the team in scoring 11 times this season and boasts averages of 16.2 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Demon JT will face the daunting challenge of guarding oFAB, who is coming off of a scorching tournament performance, during which he averaged 40.3 points, 7.5 assists and 3.8 steals across four games.
Two of those tournament games came against the Mavs, whom CLTX will face Friday night in a rematch. Mavs Gaming is off to a successful 6-3 start this season, though the Celtics should feel confident heading into this series considering how well they fared during last week’s two-game tilt.
CLTX was victorious in Game 1 of last Tuesday’s matchup, besting the Mavs, 87-65, for its largest blowout win of the season. oFAB paved the way with 48 points and seven assists, Bulleyy tacked on 17 points, and TooxCool stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks.
The Mavs wound up winning Game 2, eliminating CLTX’s hopes of advancing past the group stage, but CLTX still came away from the series with a 14-point differential in its favor.
Friday night’s matchup will also give us another chance to enjoy one of the most renowned individual rivalries in the NBA 2K League, as oFAB and Dimez face off in a showdown between the first two draft picks in league history. oFAB dominated last week’s head-to-head battle, as he outscored the former No. 1 overall pick, 76-32. Though, the Mavs were able to adjust to oFAB’s 48-point outing in Game 1 by cutting his scoring production down to 28 points in Game 2.
It will be of utmost importance for CLTX to make some adjustments of its own heading into both matchups this week, as it looks to dig itself out of its regular-season slump and capture its first win of 2020.