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We'll pick a Player of the Week and four other selections to round out the Team of the Week, paying attention to the following criteria:
Other players will also receive a shout out as honourable mentions at the bottom of the piece.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hemel picked up their 18th win of the season against Bristol on Saturday, but the Hurricanes gave Storm about as much as they could handle in the 91-87 contest.
With Elvisi Dusha and Daniel Edozie both on the charge for the hosts, Ellis needed to turn in a mighty performance for his side, and he provided just that, to the tune of 29 points and a 32 efficiency ball game.
Shooting 55% (11/20 FGs), almost exclusively from inside the arc, Ellis led all scorers on an evening when none of his team-mates passed 13 points.
Going a reasonable 7/10 from the line, he also pulled down 13 rebounds, another game-high, to help the visitors win the battle on the glass 50-41 despite Edozie's regular production.
Worthing are in must win territory as they bid to beat the D1M drop, and Elijah Maynard was their key man in the priceless 97-92 victory against City of Birmingham Rockets.
Netting a game-high 29 points to counter the 26 dropped by CoB's Luke Okosieme, Maynard proved why he's one of D1M's top scorers as he also splashed four of his six triple attempts.
Six rebounds and three assists provided additional value, and his +/- of +8 in the five-point win demonstrated his impact on the final result.
CoB may have come out second best in their battle on the South Coast, but none of the blame can be placed with Luke Okosieme.
The explosive forward put together a perfect shooting performance, netting all 13 of his attempts, with 12 coming in the paint alongside a lone jumper from mid-range.
Such a performance is rare indeed, and adding 11 rebounds for the double-double only strengthened Okosieme's bid further.
Another one pulling out a big performance just as his side needed it most, Bradford's Williams earns a spot in this week's five.
Granted, Williams was a non-factor in the Dragons' heavy 106-77 defeat by Reading on Saturday, but with their backs against the wall and needing to keep pace with the teams around them, the Bradford man put it all together in Sunday's 84-83 victory over Essex.
His 23 points were a team-high, shooting an impressive 60% to make it happen, adding a trio of rebounds, steals and assists for good measure.
Seven points and a pair of assists came in a pivotal second quarter, one that the hosts claimed 24-17 to build a lead that they'd hold for much of the contest.
Reading had their way with Bradford on Saturday, running out as comfortable 106-77 road winners thanks in part to a standout performance from guard Clarke.
Nailing five of eight from long-range and that production helped fuel a 27-point outing that led all scorers in the contest. Shooting 52% overall (9/17 FGs), the Australian also went a perfect 4/4 at the line as another feather in his cap.
Seven rebounds and six assists were both team-highs, and all of it came in just 31:05 of action. Quite the performance!
Few D1M campaigns in recent memory have seen quite so many teams still in the mix for the bottom two with such little time left in the regular season.
Worthing and Bradford (12pts) occupy the bottom two as things stand, with Nottingham and London Cavaliers (14pts) just ahead. You need to go back to the 2021/22 season to find a closer gap between safety and relegation, when Essex and Leicester both finished on eight points and the Rebels survived via a tiebreaker between the two.
More often than not, one team is cast adrift at the bottom, and then there's a closer fight for the second relegation place. Not this year, though, with fans being treated to twists and turns on a weekly basis.
With the likes of Justin Williams and Elijah Maynard pulling out all the stops for their teams this past weekend, which players will be able to pull off something special to help their side over the next few weeks?
With Hemel and Reading looking set for the top two, and Derby back to winning ways in third, the battle for fourth is getting entertaining.
Providing a home playoff game to start the post-season, a top four spot is certainly valuable, and Milton Keynes Breakers (13-8), Essex Rebels (13-9) and Loughborough Riders (12-9) will all be looking to get ahead of the pack in the closing weeks.
MK are in pole position at the moment, having lost one game less than their rivals, but the Breakers have to host Loughborough early next month, with the Rebels also travelling to Milton Keynes on the final day of the regular season.
They're both big games, whilst the Riders hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Essex, should that be needed come season's end as well.
Emmanuel Kanwei (ESS) - 27P/12R/24EFF @ BRA & 22P/8R/2A/25EFF @ NOT
Greg Skoric (NOT) - 24P/11R/2A/2B/28EFF
Luke Busumbru (ESS) - 21P/4R/2A/16EFF @ BRA & 23P/2R/7A/2S/25EFF @ NOT
Rihards Sulcs (BRA) - 22P/5R/3A/28EFF vs REA
Daniel Edozie (BRI) - 18P/12R/3A/5S/2B/30EFF
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Main image credit - Nicola C Creative
