Week 18: Down the Final Stretch - Race for the Playoffs
Three matchups to go after this one, and the push for the playoffs is in full swing. Trade Deadline is March 4, so we'll see who makes a move to get just a bit better in the next week and who stands pat.
The top (Paul) and the bottom (Rojas) seem set, but its the 10 teams in between (I'm being generous by including Knapp in this, and only a big choke by Michael will ruin his #2 seed...) whose fate/seed is yet to be decided.
3rd place (Bridges) and 10th place (Cody) are separated only by 13 games, but more importantly, 6th (Jeff) and 7th place (Kevin) are tied and only a game behind the 5th place (Moss) squad, making the push for those final two spots a tight one. But, Thunder (4th place) isn't so far ahead himself, and we can't count out 8th (Duarte) and 9th (Matt) just yet. Without further ado, the Review.
CONTENDERS TIER 1
1. War Monkeys - He's held my top spot all year long, and there's been absolutely no reason to replace him (save the 0-9 "I forgot to reset my lineup after I made a pickup then I went on vacation" loss). He did lose 5-4 last week to his closest competitor (#2 Michael), his second loss of the year to the MonStars, but he was pretty banged up. I'd sacrifice a 5-4 loss now for success later. Paul gets a tier all to himself for the time being, because no one has really posed a serious threat to his top spot all year.
CONTENDERS TIER 2
2. Zen-Masturbaters - This may be the highest I've ever placed Trent in a Review, but he's earned it. The Z's have won 5 of their last 7 weeks, and are on pace to demolish the Jeffs (and their playoff chances) this week. Only six games out of the coveted #2 slot (and its first-round playoff bye), a big win this week could make things real interesting near the top. It also makes that Week 21 matchup vs. The MonStars very interesting.
3. The MonStars - If any team has really threatened the War Monkeys at all this year, it's been The MonStars, evidenced most recently by their 5-4 win. Their problem, however, were the previous few weeks, in which they lost Chris Paul and proceeded to lose three straight matchups to mediocre-to-bad squads (Jeffs, Lezbos, Double D's). They've got a tight hold on second place, but (see above), a big win by the Z's this week could threaten that. In any event, if CP3 comes back as planned, this team is still plenty scary.
CONTENDERS TIER 3
4. Bangladesh Thunder - After an incredible first half of the season (won first 9 of 11 weeks), the Thunder have struggled mightily, winning just two of their last six weeks. Still, that early success means it takes a little more than some struggling to knock the Thunder out of the playoff hunt. A matchup with the War Monkeys this week will be difficult, and he'll see all teams that are in direct competition with him for his playoff spot in the final three weeks (Menifee, KD's Ballers, and Lezbos). It's the Thunder's playoff spot to lose, and I'd be shocked if this were the first year in ITL history that the Thunder weren't in the playoffs.
5. Kevdog's Ballers - In a real surprise jump, the Ballers have picked it up majorly in the last 5 weeks, winning four of five and vaulting themselves from near the cellar into the hunt for a playoff spot. The trade with Rojas (in which the Ballers acquired Pau Gasol and Gerald Wallace) has proven huge, but key use of the free agent wire has been the real difference. The Ballers snagged Darren Collison immediately after CP3's injury, have watched Andre Miller begin to thrive in Portland, and stuck with Kirk Hinrich long enough to see the Bulls deal away John Salmons and Hinrich move into the starting lineup. Clinging to a tie for the 6th spot at the moment, the next three weeks are real tough (MonStars, War Monkeys, Bangladesh Thunder), but the last week looks nice right about now (Globetrotters). Can the Ballers hang on and make the playoffs?
PRETENDERS
6. Loud Lezbos - Three straight losses have pushed the once "sure-thing" Lezbos into a fight for their playoff lives. Jayson's shrewd managing skills (and 55 FA pickups) got the Lezbos off to a hot start, but we're all (including Jayson) still questioning the Bynum and Billups for Carmelo trade. Fortunately, the Lezbos have one of the easiest schedules coming home (Free Ballers, Rattlesnakes, and Menifee in three of the final four weeks), which means they just have to take care of business against the league's lower tier to get into the playoffs. That said, these final weeks are really important, and that fourth week (against the Masturbaters) could prove to be fatal if they suffer a big loss.
7. Lightning Jeffs - I think Jeff almost crapped himself when he realized his 8-1 win last week vaulted him into playoff contention. That means he has gone 15-3 in his past two weeks, gaining a significant amount of games in the standings and bringing out the trash-talking once again. Then, this week happened. The Jeffs are getting murdered by the Z's, perhaps undoing all of their hard work from the past two weeks. That said, it ain't over 'til its over, and the next two weeks against the Snakes and Menifee could give the Jeffs another chance at glory. In any event, it's been a nice comeback, but they are still just pretenders.
8. Free Ballers - Matt gave it a good run a few weeks back, but that 1-8 loss to the Jeffs last week all but did them in. After the trade with the War Monkeys, Matt had won 4 of 5; since, he's 0-2-1. To make matters worse, his schedule is perhaps the worst of those fighting for a playoff spot: his final two weeks are against the War Monkeys and MonStars. He's got a chance at a playoff berth, but he's gonna need a big performance.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
9. Double D's - I was a bit shocked to see that the Double D's had won 6 of their past 7 weeks before dropping two straight to KD's Ballers and the War Monkeys. The problem? They never really got a chance to move up in the standings because of their miserable start. Big wins against the Globetrotters and Free Ballers could give them a slight chance to make a final push for the playoffs, but as the heading says, "too little, too late" for the D's. Better luck next year.
IT'S BEEN A ROUGH YEAR
10. StraightouttaMenifee - Week 10 was the last time the Menifee Men won a matchup. That's right, over the past seven weeks, they've gone 0-6-1 -- but for some reason, they're still in the playoff hunt, just 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. Give them credit for that - while losing, the losses have all been pretty close, not enough to lose too much ground in the standings. That said, if they are lucky enough to snag a few wins and get a playoff berth, a 4-5 loss looks the same as a 1-8 pounding.
11. Rattlesnakes - This has been one of Cody's more forgettable fantasy basketball outings. Normally known for his "big man" strategy, Cody went away from it this year, but I have a feeling he'll be drafting the Chris Kamans and the Al Jeffersons next year. The Snakes have lost 6 of 8 weeks, and despite being only 6.5 games out of the playoffs, have never really made a playoff push all year. They're clearly not mathematically out, but there's too many better teams ahead of them to have a great shot.
12. Globetrotters - Poor Steven. For a team that looked so promising and an owner that puts in a lot of effort, it's sad to see him finish in last year (every year). That said, he's won 2 of three, but like Knappy above, definitely "too little, too late" in this case as well. Someday, he'll get his fantasy basketball mojo and blow us all out of the water. Someday...
That's all I got for now. Post your thoughts.
The top (Paul) and the bottom (Rojas) seem set, but its the 10 teams in between (I'm being generous by including Knapp in this, and only a big choke by Michael will ruin his #2 seed...) whose fate/seed is yet to be decided.
3rd place (Bridges) and 10th place (Cody) are separated only by 13 games, but more importantly, 6th (Jeff) and 7th place (Kevin) are tied and only a game behind the 5th place (Moss) squad, making the push for those final two spots a tight one. But, Thunder (4th place) isn't so far ahead himself, and we can't count out 8th (Duarte) and 9th (Matt) just yet. Without further ado, the Review.
CONTENDERS TIER 1
1. War Monkeys - He's held my top spot all year long, and there's been absolutely no reason to replace him (save the 0-9 "I forgot to reset my lineup after I made a pickup then I went on vacation" loss). He did lose 5-4 last week to his closest competitor (#2 Michael), his second loss of the year to the MonStars, but he was pretty banged up. I'd sacrifice a 5-4 loss now for success later. Paul gets a tier all to himself for the time being, because no one has really posed a serious threat to his top spot all year.
CONTENDERS TIER 2
2. Zen-Masturbaters - This may be the highest I've ever placed Trent in a Review, but he's earned it. The Z's have won 5 of their last 7 weeks, and are on pace to demolish the Jeffs (and their playoff chances) this week. Only six games out of the coveted #2 slot (and its first-round playoff bye), a big win this week could make things real interesting near the top. It also makes that Week 21 matchup vs. The MonStars very interesting.
3. The MonStars - If any team has really threatened the War Monkeys at all this year, it's been The MonStars, evidenced most recently by their 5-4 win. Their problem, however, were the previous few weeks, in which they lost Chris Paul and proceeded to lose three straight matchups to mediocre-to-bad squads (Jeffs, Lezbos, Double D's). They've got a tight hold on second place, but (see above), a big win by the Z's this week could threaten that. In any event, if CP3 comes back as planned, this team is still plenty scary.
CONTENDERS TIER 3
4. Bangladesh Thunder - After an incredible first half of the season (won first 9 of 11 weeks), the Thunder have struggled mightily, winning just two of their last six weeks. Still, that early success means it takes a little more than some struggling to knock the Thunder out of the playoff hunt. A matchup with the War Monkeys this week will be difficult, and he'll see all teams that are in direct competition with him for his playoff spot in the final three weeks (Menifee, KD's Ballers, and Lezbos). It's the Thunder's playoff spot to lose, and I'd be shocked if this were the first year in ITL history that the Thunder weren't in the playoffs.
5. Kevdog's Ballers - In a real surprise jump, the Ballers have picked it up majorly in the last 5 weeks, winning four of five and vaulting themselves from near the cellar into the hunt for a playoff spot. The trade with Rojas (in which the Ballers acquired Pau Gasol and Gerald Wallace) has proven huge, but key use of the free agent wire has been the real difference. The Ballers snagged Darren Collison immediately after CP3's injury, have watched Andre Miller begin to thrive in Portland, and stuck with Kirk Hinrich long enough to see the Bulls deal away John Salmons and Hinrich move into the starting lineup. Clinging to a tie for the 6th spot at the moment, the next three weeks are real tough (MonStars, War Monkeys, Bangladesh Thunder), but the last week looks nice right about now (Globetrotters). Can the Ballers hang on and make the playoffs?
PRETENDERS
6. Loud Lezbos - Three straight losses have pushed the once "sure-thing" Lezbos into a fight for their playoff lives. Jayson's shrewd managing skills (and 55 FA pickups) got the Lezbos off to a hot start, but we're all (including Jayson) still questioning the Bynum and Billups for Carmelo trade. Fortunately, the Lezbos have one of the easiest schedules coming home (Free Ballers, Rattlesnakes, and Menifee in three of the final four weeks), which means they just have to take care of business against the league's lower tier to get into the playoffs. That said, these final weeks are really important, and that fourth week (against the Masturbaters) could prove to be fatal if they suffer a big loss.
7. Lightning Jeffs - I think Jeff almost crapped himself when he realized his 8-1 win last week vaulted him into playoff contention. That means he has gone 15-3 in his past two weeks, gaining a significant amount of games in the standings and bringing out the trash-talking once again. Then, this week happened. The Jeffs are getting murdered by the Z's, perhaps undoing all of their hard work from the past two weeks. That said, it ain't over 'til its over, and the next two weeks against the Snakes and Menifee could give the Jeffs another chance at glory. In any event, it's been a nice comeback, but they are still just pretenders.
8. Free Ballers - Matt gave it a good run a few weeks back, but that 1-8 loss to the Jeffs last week all but did them in. After the trade with the War Monkeys, Matt had won 4 of 5; since, he's 0-2-1. To make matters worse, his schedule is perhaps the worst of those fighting for a playoff spot: his final two weeks are against the War Monkeys and MonStars. He's got a chance at a playoff berth, but he's gonna need a big performance.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
9. Double D's - I was a bit shocked to see that the Double D's had won 6 of their past 7 weeks before dropping two straight to KD's Ballers and the War Monkeys. The problem? They never really got a chance to move up in the standings because of their miserable start. Big wins against the Globetrotters and Free Ballers could give them a slight chance to make a final push for the playoffs, but as the heading says, "too little, too late" for the D's. Better luck next year.
IT'S BEEN A ROUGH YEAR
10. StraightouttaMenifee - Week 10 was the last time the Menifee Men won a matchup. That's right, over the past seven weeks, they've gone 0-6-1 -- but for some reason, they're still in the playoff hunt, just 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. Give them credit for that - while losing, the losses have all been pretty close, not enough to lose too much ground in the standings. That said, if they are lucky enough to snag a few wins and get a playoff berth, a 4-5 loss looks the same as a 1-8 pounding.
11. Rattlesnakes - This has been one of Cody's more forgettable fantasy basketball outings. Normally known for his "big man" strategy, Cody went away from it this year, but I have a feeling he'll be drafting the Chris Kamans and the Al Jeffersons next year. The Snakes have lost 6 of 8 weeks, and despite being only 6.5 games out of the playoffs, have never really made a playoff push all year. They're clearly not mathematically out, but there's too many better teams ahead of them to have a great shot.
12. Globetrotters - Poor Steven. For a team that looked so promising and an owner that puts in a lot of effort, it's sad to see him finish in last year (every year). That said, he's won 2 of three, but like Knappy above, definitely "too little, too late" in this case as well. Someday, he'll get his fantasy basketball mojo and blow us all out of the water. Someday...
That's all I got for now. Post your thoughts.
Labels: nba, power rankings
posted by K.C.R. at
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