NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: A general view of the NBA 2K League Draft at Madison Square Garden on April 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
As the second NBA 2k League regular season enters its final weeks, two teams on the outside looking in of the playoff picture have made a move they hope will better their circumstances.
Late on Sunday, June 16, Heat Check Gaming and Jazz Gaming announced they had agreed to a trade. Heat Check Gaming acquired Bobby “MOAM” Wilson in exchange for Lytel “Lotty” Martin.
Season Statistics for Lotty and MOAM
At first glance, it appears this trade was about even based on the body of work both players have put together in their first seasons in the league.
MOAM, who will be returning to his home state of Fla., has gotten into seven regular-season games and six tournament games for Jazz Gaming since they drafted him in the second round of this season’s draft.
In those 13 contests, MOAM has averaged 15.1 points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game at the small forward position. Appropriately enough, his best game of the season came against his new teammates in Week 7 of the regular season.
Lotty has appeared in 11 regular-season and five tournament games for Heat Check Gaming so far this season. A first-round draft pick of Heat Check Gaming, he averaged 10.5 points, 0.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Playing at shooting guard Lotty has shot almost 67 percent from 3-point range during regular-season contests.
Where Both Teams Stand in the Playoff Race
After Warriors Gaming Squad won “The Ticket” tournament this past Saturday and in doing so claimed one of the league’s eight playoff spots, only seven spots remain for the league’s other 20 teams.
Jazz Gaming currently sits in 11th place at 5-5 while Heat Check Gaming ranks 18th at 4-7. Jazz Gaming has six games remaining to improve its position. Heat Check Gaming only has five contests left on its regular-season schedule.
The current seventh-place team, Cavs Legion GC, sits at 7-5. That means both Heat Check Gaming and Jazz Gaming are still alive for a playoff spot but can’t afford to lose multiple games for the remainder of the regular season. Blazer5 Gaming and Mavs Gaming, both with records of 10-1, are virtually assured a spot at this point. That realistically only leaves five spots for the remaining 18 squads.
In order to snag one of those spots, Heat Check Gaming will likely have to win all of its remaining games to finish at 9-7. Even that may not be sufficient. Jazz Gaming has a bit more breathing room but losing more than one more game would put it in the same situation.
This isn’t the first time this season Heat Check Gaming has made a move to try to improve its fortune. A month ago Heat Check Gaming swapped point guards with T-Wolves Gaming, acquiring Hood for JMoneyRep817. Hood hasn’t produced as Heat Check Gaming hoped he would, however. His points per game average has dropped by almost three points per contest since joining his new team.
Time is short for both teams to string wins together but the opportunities are there. If either team ends up making the playoffs, that will justify this trade.