Royal Conference

West Division

Holcomb Heat vs. Garden City Gladiators - Charlie Dillingham's Heat finished fourth in the West, but snuck into the playoffs' last berth due to temporarily coachless Philly, who would've been there had Coach Gary Goldstein not been on sabbatical this regular season. Penny Hardaway (Heat) and Tim Duncan (Garden City) are the only two stars in this match-up and since Duncan is the better star, you have to give the edge to the Gladiators.

Charlie's been to playoff dance before, but Garden City makes it's first appearance this year after earning the number one pick in last year's draft. How'd you think Josh got Duncan, anyway?

The winner of this tussle with run into the East Asia buzzsaw.

Finney Longhorns vs. Richmond Raiders - . . . Two evenly matched teams square-off in what could be a fantastic series. Finney and Richmond have identical recoreds, but Finney gets the home-court advantage because it beat Richmond 4-2 in their season series.

The winner of this one takes on West Division winner Deerfield.

Deerfield Kings - Deerfield started slow, but ignited in the second half of the season. Abdul-Rahim and Paul Pierce are the linchpins of a well-balanced offensive attack that should get the team to the Royal Conference finals.

Meade Jayhawks - Trade Reggie for a pile of youth and rebuild for the future. This is Meade's hope, especially since the team has the second pick in the draft this fall.

East Division

East Asia - Paul Bennett's team had the best defense in SABL history this year. The Dragons allowed only 84.8 points a game. Combine that with super coaching ability and East Asia is the favorite to win the Royal Conference championship.

Philly - Philly doesn't have a coach and will thus not make the playoffs. When it has a coach next season, it will make the playoffs and maybe win the division.

Akron Blimps - Akron shoulda' made the show this year. It surely has the talent. And that's the silver lining in this disappointing season - this young team should be a playoff contender for years to come.

Brooklyn Tigers - Steve Feldheim bit the bullet and began rebuilding this season and his first payoff is the first pick in this fall's draft. Gary Trent's injury means Elton Brand could go first, but Steve says he's considering Steve Francis and Lamar Odom, too.

Classic Conference

South Division

Galactic Thunder - Yeah, Steve finally got me, taking the divisional crown. With all his weirdoes available every game, he'll be murder in the playoffs and is the slight favorite to win the Classic Conference crown, too, with the best offense in the SABL.

St. Lucie Aces vs. Bettendorf - The Druids stunned the Aces by beating St. Lucie two out of three at Bettendorf, so don't count 'em out. On the other hand, the Aces scored 20 more points a game than the surprising Druids did this season.

Tulsa Twisters - If Tulsa were not in the competitive South Division, long-suffering Coach Phillip Creider would be in the playoffs this year. Well, at least Dennis Rodman came back for a few games to keep his presence alive in the SABL, if Phillip wants to keep The Worm around.

McLean Nationals vs. Davenport - One of the most talented-laden but until-now coachless SABL franchises has made the playoffs at last. Coach Rob Storey is leading Zo into the post season against one of the Feeney triumvirate, Kevin. Should be a damn good series with an unpredictable outcome.

Chapel Hill - The Jams didn't get into the top three draft positions for this fall, and that's a shame. Any of the big three - Odom, Brand or Francis - would've looked nice in North Carolina. Still, getting the fourth pick ain't too shabby and whoever it is will still be pretty good. 

North Division

Tri-City Blackhawks - What kind of deal is this? All three Feeneys in the SABL playoffs at once? Heck, there's a 50 percent chance that a Feeney will win the Classic Conference Championship. There's a 25 percent chance a Feeney will win the SABL Championship! Tri City is the sleeper in this year's playoffs. Coming from behind to win his division, the Hawks are one of only three SABL teams to average more than 100 points a game this season.

Great Lakes - Great Lakes has to be looking forward to next year. He has a roster loaded with talent and will draft very high this fall.

Miles Bulldogs - Miles bailed out on this season when he traded Malone to the Aces, but he has about a million draft picks in the next two years to make rebuilding a breeze.