TROPICAL THUNDER IS YOUR 2024 BBL CHAMPION!
The Thunder earned their fourth BBL Championship by taking down the top seeded Icecaps 189-161 in a first-place battle!
The Icecaps jumped out to an early lead which held through Monday night, but the Thunder came storming back with a dominant performance to melt the top seeded Icecaps to raise their first banner since 2019.
How did we get here?
For the Thunder, it was an all-around solid performance from the roster. Fantasy MVP Jayden Daniels (41), along with Bijan Robinson (23), Jahmyr Gibbs (24), Cameron Dicker (18) and the Chargers defense (19) paved the way to 189 points. Clearly saving the best for the championship, 189 was the Thunder’s highest point total of the season.
“What if I told you…” There should be a 30 for 30 made about this team. Remember back in August when the Yahoo draft grades came out? I remember! Yahoo gave the Thunder a D- and projected them to finish last with a 1-13 record. How’s that looking now? That’s the last time I hold any stock in the yahoo draft grades, proving they don’t know what they are doing. Don’t you love proving yahoo wrong?
In Yahoo’s defense, they could not predict the trades that this team would be able to pull off during the season. Taking a step back to look at the big picture, two of the three quarterbacks they drafted were benched at one point during the season (Richardson and Young). Richardson was also drafted in the third round if you recall. After navigating the quarterback carousel, through multiple trades and added pieces, the Thunder were able to flip seventh and eighth round picks James Cook and Alvin Kamara for first and second round picks Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. This proved to be championship winning moves to raise their fourth banner in ten seasons. What an incredible run by the Thunder. Some may call it a dynasty.
There’s always the other side
For the Icecaps, it’s always disappointing losing in the championship matchup, but this one just seems to hurt more. Derrick Henry got things started on Christmas (28) but two points from Schultz and a big ZERO points from kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn left Jack a little sad Christmas evening. Jack continued to build a substantial lead thanks to the Seattle defense (21), Joe Burrow (43) and Sam Darnold (30) paving the way to 161 points. A good performance in a championship match, but not what it takes to win. Three players scored less than three points (Schultz, Fairbairn and McLaurin), proving to be the reason for the loss.
There was no one on the immediate bench to flip the outcome, the only notable player was Abdullah (18) but again, it would not have given Jack the win. I just can’t help to think that this team still missed an opportunity to win. There are positives, as this team will go down as the most dominant regular season team in league history. But that’s all it is, the regular season.
The Icecaps had the roster to win a championship, especially on championship weekend. Burrow, Darnold, Henry, and the Seattle defense combined for 122. What did they do to compliment those players? Seemingly content with the team they had, their big trade for the playoff run included Pollard (injured) and McLaurin (0) while trading away Bucky Irving. Swing and a miss. Some may point to the David Montgomery injury or the Kenneth Walker injury as the turning point. I’m not buying it, considering if you asked the entire league if they could play in a championship matchup where four players get you 122 points, every single league manager would take that in a heartbeat and could easily fill out the rest of the roster to win a championship. The other six players Jack started combined for 40 points. Not good in a championship matchup. Perhaps this team cannot handle the pressure of the playoffs and championship and folds when the lights are brightest.
“Hey now, I think you are being a little too hard on the Icecaps, they won the Title in 2020 remember?”
The voice of public opinion is correct in that the Icecaps did win the championship in 2020. The narrative floating around prior to 2020 was that this Icecap team couldn’t win the big one, as roster mismanagement held them back. In 2018 for instance in a semifinal matchup, Jack started a kicker with zero points, costing him an eventual championship victory. Sound familiar? Once again, when it mattered the most, the kicker position cost him. Is this a trend?
There is no doubt the Icecaps have been one of the best teams in the league over the years. Or are they? The BBL has completed 11 seasons, and Jack has been a manager for ten. We have a sample size of ten seasons for the Icecaps to look at. Out of those ten seasons, Jack has finished first in the regular season six times. SIX TIMES! Jack has won the regular season title six times, yet only has one championship to show for it, albeit in the 2020 Covid year. Out of those six seasons, they have made the championship four times, winning once and losing three. Maybe that’s all this franchise is, a regular season team.
No one can take that 2020 championship away from the Icecaps that’s for sure, but it certainly makes you wonder what this manager does so well in the regular season that cannot be replicated when the pressure is on.
Sandstorms win third place game over HSG, 149-90
It took him 17 weeks, but Trey McBride finally found the end zone. They didn’t need much to take down the 90 points from HSG. It was a solid season to follow up a championship win last season.
HSG fell apart, with six starters scoring less than ten points and no players scoring over 19 points. It was a good run.
Piranhas claim seventh place over Avalanche, 161-128
The Piranhas ended the season on a high note, earning the choice of his draft position next August scoring over 160 in the win. Half the roster scored over 18 points in the balanced weekend.
When Aaron Rodgers scores less than a point, it’s really hard to win. But hey, despite the QB struggles, Erk would NOT vote for a Superflex league.
Misfits shock Prairie Dawgs, avoid last place, 146-125
In this instance, the Bucs helped the Misfits in a big way. Mayfield (44), McMillan (19) and Irving (24) led the Misfits to a 9th place finish, beating the injury riddled Prairie Dawgs.
Challenging. What a very challenging season in his first year back in the league. The story for this team was all the injuries sustained plus Marvin Harrison not living up to expectations. Outside of 86 points from the quarterbacks and Higgins, the other seven starters combined for 40. Not a great way to end the year.
Thank you
That concludes the 11th season of the Books Boss League! Hope everyone has a GREAT New Year! For one final time in 2024,
Cheers!
Books Boss League 