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blind squirrel theory....................

Time to pull out an excuse from my bag of whining (The Wizard) ehemmm, two of my starters were benched and my starting point guard was doing out of position training. Pathetic that I almost won. *Drops mic and walks away*

Bro you don't need to say anything. You'll be relegated and everyone will forgot about you. It's totally fine. No excuses needed.

I knew he was tired. I was not going to play him. Just gonna concentrate on getting healthy for the playoffs.

What happened to all the players on the Injured List? They all die or sumpin'? Gangrene set in? The croup? Gout? Barber's Rash? Barrel Fever? Galloping Consumption? Testicular Elephantitis? The Screaming Fantods?

as you're all aware, we've reached the 2/3 way in the season, and thus it is reasonable to post brand spanking new power rankings. i doubt any of these will be controversial, so i'll get right into it:

1. The All-Injury Team - 275-4

absolute superstars have been on this team; from the homeboyz's vahi, to my margono AND koscien, to bezerra in dc, van roy for cowmen, jovanovic in la, viego in orlando, even mantle at rhino, philippsen and lacey for svj, and jazilionis and chevalley for crosstown. the pedigree speaks for itself, and has amounted a considerable winning streak. very few can overcome this squad when it's performing at its best, and it seems to be going strong still, leaving high profile players on its roster. some accuse this squad of cheating, stealing players directly off rosters, which the bb commissioner is currently looking into, but i say it's all fair play. good luck against them in the playoffs.

2. Orlando Tragic - 15-0

obviously second only to the all-injury team, they've been the big dogs all season, and nothing has stopped them from securing the top playoff seed. generally speaking, they get it done from all over the court, with a slight emphasis on the interior. that's only offensively, though. defensively, they're actually better equipped to stop the perimeter. while not overwhelming in the rebounding department, they get plenty of it from their bigs to let their defense do the talking, and keep the ball alive for their offense on occasion. the squad is led by hamed el hadden, who is putting up stupid numbers this year. 5.1 apg for a big? to go with 20 ppg and 10 rpg? maybe the league's mvp right here. if not officially, certainly realistically. they're the favorites to go all the way, unless that pesky all-injury team has something to say about it.

3. Rhino’s Rage - 11-4

when you talk about under-performing your salary, rhino has to be in the forefront of your mind. now, it's possible, even probable, that rhino is biding his time for now, and is just going to make his move at playoff time, but without a home game in the first round, i think that could backfire. moreover, if they finish with a worse record than, say, homeboyz, their route to a championship could be riddled with adversity in a very unexpected fashion. this remains, however, an extremely dangerous team. if the tragic think it's going to be all pizza and bikini models on their way to promotion, think again. the rhinos boast 2 allstar bigs that can compete with the tragic, and plenty of perimeter help to still be dangerous from the outside. more importantly, they have the ability to shut down post play. while they've faltered thus far, i don't think it's necessarily a trend we should expect to continue.

4. homeboyz - 10-5

currently without vahi, this is going to be a very tough stretch for the boyz. however, for the purposes of this ranking, i'm just going by playoff damage potential. the boyz have a top level salary that can give any red sided team a run for its money come championship time. they also manage minutes extremely well, so even without vahi, they can beat most teams. rauw and kasselakis make up for any lost points, and for the most part, lancia and the newly acquired giovanbattista can hold down the interior in his absence. clearly, though, this team is built to beat you up on the interior. they do a damn good job of it. they have a few strange losses that a top-flight team ought not have, but this season, there have been so many games not go the way they ought've. that makes the playoffs scary for managers, but makes it exciting for the spectators. plus, they've had to worry about their cup run, which has detracted from their league play, and indeed they've all but forfeited a couple games this season in an effort to continue this SICK cup run. i expect them to do serious damage in the playoffs. they're my favorite to come out of the uncertain blue

5. LionPride - 11-4

yeah, orlando has a 4, and based on pd, effectively 5 game lead on everyone in the red conference. lionpride, though, has made the most of their budget, and the d3 honeymoon period is in full effect for the pride. a real testament to oriolekid's effectiveness in purchasing the right players and game preparation. so how have they done it? mostly on the interior. they mostly use an 8 man rotation, and only have 2 players over the age of 32, only 1 of which starts. they also get a TON of assists from their guards. both mplatsiotis and kostrzewski average over 6 apg, good for 2nd and 3rd in the entire league respectively. on the same team. there's no reason that i can see that they can't make a little noise in the playoffs. they whooped on rhino early in the season, though shortly thereafter got bounced from the cup in a game they probably should've won. they also played orlando extremely tough, albeit at home. whatever the case, i can pretty confidently say they're safe from any relegation talk.

6. DC Wizards - 10-5

right now, they're on top of the blue side. that alone should tell you all you need to know about their potential for playoff damage. they've had their bouts with injuries, as well as a deep cup run, which is reflected in their record thus far. on the other hand, they've struggled to put away marginal red side opponents, losing to the 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 seeds from that conference, and NARROWLY pulling out wins against the 7 and 8 seeds. in fact, had crosstown just refrained from using gdp, they probably would've lost that game, too. they did, however, smoke rhino at home. it's a confusing team this season. are they a threat? hard to say one way or the other. thewizard does a great job scouting and always comes prepared to games. you never know what they're going to throw at you, and whatever they do play, it's for a good reason. they're best inside, but aren't afraid to let the 3 ball go. they've got 4 guys shooting over 35% from 3 on the season. they can play you inside and out defensively, so preparing for them is kind of a nightmare. as stated before, their playoff prospects are almost entirely unknown and uncertain.

7. Frosty BC - 9-6

disappointing season for the squad. i mismanaged to 1 loss, and the team flat out played bad in 2 others. injuries to my 2 best players didn't help the cause at all. super disappointing end to my cup run, too. a good season would've been 12-3 with a trip to the final 32 at this point. i need to pull some upsets if i want to hit my mark i set before the season started. in fact, i can't lose a single game from here on out. not going to happen, obviously. probably. and just as i thought we were starting to get some momentum, bucsblue blasts me a new one with a heartbreaker on the road. needless to say, i think my playoff prospects are pretty grim. on the road to orlando is the absolute worst case scenario. but, if you ask dwight coward, my guess is he might say the same thing about me. we still did a lot of work in the offseason, and my team is still getting better. i still have plenty of enthusiasm in the bank. i don't think it's IMPOSSIBLE to win a playoff game, but it's seriously improbable. 2 games back from both pride and rhino, can i really catch them? the squad is, of course, fairly balanced, though slimane has been carrying me a lot of the way, and liutvickas has been clutch. a few good wins, a few bad losses, middle of the pack as usual.

Last edited by FrostyMc at 1/7/2016 5:28:47 AM

8. Baker Street Irregulars - 8-7

baker street has a big pd lead on both the boyz and dc, and you know what? they could easily catch them and creep into the top spot in the playoffs. they've done it before. while it's not your daddy's irregulars, it's still a quality squad. they've been "blowing up" their roster for the last, what, 4 seasons? meredith is an animal, but it's actually been pedzik leading the charge. top 10 in assists and leading the team in points, he's been mr. doitall. meanwhile meredith has been achieving relatively meager numerical output. he can still spit glass at ya ass from the guard spot, but those 3s have been tricky this season, shooting just 31%. not great from a superstar. at 73k, it's hard to believe he has much room for development, but i think this has been more of a product of the quality around him. every team puts their best defender on him, which is why pedzik has been putting up numbers. that's really been the bane of the irregulars all season. can't get meredith going due to the primary focus on that one player from a defensive matchups standpoint. i think they can be a threat come playoff time, even on the road, but this season's team has a lot to prove.

9. Ballstars - 9-6

they've been squeaking out wins, but that only really tells half the story. they've been winning against good teams for the first time in franchise history. big turning point for them. they're more than within striking distance of the playoffs, they're tied for the 4 spot. they're smack dab in the middle of an absolutely fascinating battle on the red side. a playoff team could easily be facing a relegation series shortly. will this happen to ballstars? i actually don't think so. moreau has been every bit as advertised, and his backcourt partner orlowski has been wonderful as well, both the starting guards in the allstar game. with big names on the roster and experience under their belt, ballstars have as good a chance as any to snag the 4, or even 3 spot in the red side. their minute management has also been great. so can they do anything in the playoffs? well, they have a starting 5 that can play with anyone, but if they have to go to their bench they have no chance. moreover, just to get to the playoffs, it's likely they'll not be able to save a ton of enthusiasm. i don't think playoff damage is very likely, but a playoff appearance is certainly plausible.

10. BucsBlue Lob City - 7-8

you know, i threw bblc and ballstars back and forth, and i just couldn't justify a team with a 2 game disadvantage and SERIOUS pd deficit to outrank the team ahead of them. moreover, ballstars throttled bblc. just couldn't do it. even so, right now, bucsblue is playing outstanding ball. back to back wins against red side playoff teams. in fact, they went 5-3 against the red side. while i think 3 games and a significant pd margin is too big to overcome to get a home playoff game, i think this squad on the road is going to present a lot of issues for whoever they have to face. we'll see when it comes to intra-conference play again, but i have a hunch they will perform very well against their own conference. tompkins still leads the league in ppg, and is 7th in apg, so he's once again a strong candidate for mvp. hilton is having a great season. their 2 best players are homegrown, and i have a case of trainee envy. they never did address the center spot with a proven player, but thénot has been playing admirably in that spot. next season, i bet lob city looks more like the one we're accustomed to. so what's their outlook for the rest of this one? pretty damn good. they have a playoff spot pretty much locked up, and if anyone knows what to do with a gift like that, it's belbucs.