the first third of the season is complete, round 1 of intraconference play has been concluded, and here are your totally non-biased and 100% accurate ranked deductions from the results:
1. Orlando Tragic - 7-0
as expected, the tragic find themselves undefeated, and i don't know how they're going to lose their #1 overall seed. don't get me wrong, things happen, but man, this squad is deep and talented. they need to be careful, though. that game shape is starting to slide a little bit. an upper-echelon team with good game shape can surprise them. pf hamed el hadden is leading the charge with 4.6 apg and 17.6 ppg, despite averaging less than 30 minutes a game. that's INSANE efficiency. in fact, that makes him the 3rd most efficient player in the league. hard to believe that there are better. his turnovers are all that are holding him back from being #1 on that list. you probably have 2 mvp candidates on this team when you include grigoris vassilakos. nobody has been able to match up with him at sf all season. this team has some of the best forwards in the league, and are match up nightmares for all other squads.
2. Rhino’s Rage - 5-2
i think they've gotten the message. losing a few quick games will wake you up to the challenge staring you in the face real quick. if there's 1 team that can match up with the tragic's forwards, it's the rage. game shape isn't spectacular, but it's reasonable, which is plenty when you have a team this talented. pf massimiliano argentoni is just going off this season. he's consistently putting up 17.0 ratings, averages a double double, and is a true shot swatter. he's been far from the only contributor, though. pg maciej swies has a stranglehold on league assists per game. come playoff time, they'll likely have to travel to orlando to bring home the gold and promote back to d2. can they? we'll see. there's no reason to doubt them.
3. DC Wizards - 7-0
underrated? maybe, but a narrow win over baker street isn't enough to wanting to play them less than wanting to play rage or the tragic. they've just added a new center, which poses some interesting questions about their squad. it did seem like they were rather loaded in the front court, so the only reasonable thing to conclude is that this is a replacement for one of their aging players. is bezerra on his way out? further contributing to the seed is this team's injury to their starting pg. that'll hurt their odds of winning for a few weeks. they do have capable backups, and in fact, have THE BEST bench in the league, so that will really help them get through this tough time. they have a bit of a challenge in the cup this week, but with their bench, you'd expect them to pass that test. they keep a pretty tight ship in terms of game shape, and if that keeps up, you could well see them as the blue side representatives in the finals. side note, richard willis is becoming an absolute animal. with druff coming up through the ranks as well, they're set up to have a young and talented front court for a really long time.
4. homeboyz - 5-2
i wouldn't say it's been a disappointing season for the boyz, but i'm sure they'd like to have at least 1 game back. i know the feeling. they threw a game in order to win a cup game and get that sweet, sweet 50k, and more potential money. that's a savvy move, and in the long run, usually pays off. i think there are really only 2 contenders in both the blue and red sides, and this is the last of them. markko vahi is easily an mvp candidate this season. i'd be extremely surprised if he doesn't finish in the top 3 in voting. he is THE MOST efficient player in the league, and 6th highest rated player in the entire division! moreover, for a big guy, hitting 80% free throws is downright scary. you can't even hack him, he'll kill you from the stripe. i don't know how one would go about stopping him.
Last edited by FrostyMc at 12/8/2015 3:24:39 PM