MLL Playoff Preview

So now that I'm all done trashing the MLL, I figured I'd just preview the upcoming playoffs/championship weekend, and maybe just maybe pick a winner. Somehow, I was actually able to find betting odds on the games! Good thing I don't have a compulsive gambling problem. On to the games...

Semifinal 1 - #1 seed Denver Outlaws (-2.5) vs. #4 seed Boston Cannons

I like Denver to win this one, but I think Boston covers and is going to make a game of it. Boston is a deceptive 4 seed, with every one of their six losses in the regular season coming by one goal. The Cannons don't exactly have a shining history of playoff success though, going 1-6 combined in the franchise's playoff history. However, they do have the recently named Warrior MLL Offensive player of the year in Paul Rabil, and a more than capable attack led by Ryan Boyle and Sean Morris, not to mention a stud in Matt Alrich.

The outlaws just have too much firepower. With a very balanced offense led by the underrated attack duo of Drew Westervelt and Brendan Mundorf along with young stud Dan Hardy, not to mention the MLL goalkeeper of the year in Jesse Schwartzman, Denver gets it done in the semi's. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that two of the most dominant college players in recent memory in Kyle Harrison and Max Seibald are at midfield for Denver.

The one area of concern for me with the Outlaws would be the lack of a top-caliber defense to deal with the Boston attack, but Schwartzman and the high-powered offense should be enough for the Outlaws to get it done and return to the MLL championship game. Containing Paul Rabil is oxymoronic to even type out, but I think Mike Ward, Cittadino and the rest of the Outlaw short stick defenders can do an OK job of keeping Rabil in check and not let him completely take over the game. If rookie Shane Walterhoefer can win 50% of the faceoffs, the Outlaws should be able to keep the ball out of Rabil's stick well enough to control the flow of the game to their liking.

Key Matchup: Denver's short-stick defenders vs. Paul Rabil - Rabil is good enough to split double teams and still get to the cage, but Denver has some pretty solid defenders at midfield, and I think they contain him just enough to get the job done.

Prediction: Denver 17, Boston 15