Muslim Basketball

Best win: Suffocating Al-Bireh. Safad went up against the most talented 6-man rotation in the league and kept them under 20 in the second half. They play with the type of desperation and accountability on defense that allows small hustle plays to accumulate over a game and really impact the outcome. Brandon, Fursan and Islam all have to be in contention for DPOY. The loss to Al-Khalil is really bringing this team down because it’s a defensive team and the plan vs Mahdy was disappointing.

27, 18, 15, 17: Safad’s margin of victory the last 4 games. Season high 81 points, 21 assists and 5 players in double digits. The defense is holding opponents to under 50 a game. Al-Bireh next week will be a bigger challenge but Safad has handled what’s in front of them well. There’s still room for improvement with 3pt shooting and turnovers but this veteran group knows better than to get complacent now.

When you see Fursan and Islam lacing up, get ready for a long night. Safad locked up early to get a big lead and never looked back. They’ve quietly dominated from tipoff to final whistle for 3 straight games now. The offense is slowly catching up, too, as they hit a season high 12 threes with 2+ from 5 different players. They’ll look to keep on rolling to close the season.

Without Omar, Safad has handled business convincingly, winning by a combined 32 points the last two weeks. The defense has been dominant, as Gaza was still in the 20s well into the second half before a late run. They’ll need this aggressive version of Aadil to stay when the full team returns. Huzaifa had a season high 13 and they’ll need as much shooting as they can get.

Winning by the margin they did is a good sign for Safad, especially in a game without Omar in which the depth played major minutes. In a week filled with great stat lines, shoutout Aadil’s arrival this season with 27-12-5 and 5 stocks on 50%. Lots of room for improvement still, especially on open threes.

Safad fits the bill of a middle of the pack team, showing flashes of dominance like they did in their quick start followed by unexplainable disappearances like the last few minutes that let Al-Khalil back in the game. The offense is a little iso-heavy for a team that isn’t deep with consistent scorers. They’ll look to get back on track in the coming weeks.

Far from a perfect game for Safad, especially with all the turnovers early. But a dominant defensive performance led to a relatively comfortable lead throughout. Aadil and Brandon are the perfect complement in the paint to the Abbassi’s on the perimeter. Time for the offense to catch up.

Relied heavily on "Lil O" he team knocked down 10 threes overall but struggled to score inside and finished with only 10 rebounds, limiting their second-chance opportunities. Cold shooting at 34% and minimal playmaking made it difficult for Safad to sustain runs against Nazareth’s size and efficiency.