Week 15 NBA Power Rankings
Week 15 Power Rankings
Tier 1
1- Win’s Up Doc (11-3) [-]
2- Sporty Strauss (10-4) [+1]
3- DTC Porkchop Express (10-4) [+1]
4- Minnesota Moose Knuckles (9-5) [+2]
5- The Pullies (9-5) [-3]
Tier 2
6- Wait ‘ Til Next Year (8-6) [-1]
7- Ornery Otters (8-6) [-]
8- Las Cabras (6-8) [-]
Tier 3
9- Cooper Troopers (4-10) [-]
10- The BamO’s (4-10) [-1]
11- Shepherd Goods Choppers (2-12) [-]
12- $traight Cash Homie (3-11) [-]
(Tier 1) If last week jumbled things up, this week started to set things straight(er than DTC Porkchop Express’ pants on Saturday night) again. Top teams are regaining form. Bottom teams aren’t throwing things out of whack. Teams in the middle are trading blows.
The most consequential outcome last week was The Pullies loss to the MN Moose Knuckles (5). Beginning there, he biggest thing at stake in that game was the fight for a BYE. With that win, the MN Moose Knuckles officially have beaten The Pullies twice and have solidified the Head-to-Head tiebreaker. Each have 9-win records, sothe MN Moose Knuckles just need to maintain pace with The Pullies to win a BYE. However, this won’t be easy. After we outlined the schedules for each team last week, it was evident that the MN Moose Knuckles would be sledding through tough terrain. Hall draws the top-2 ranked teams over the next couple of weeks, followed by what is sure to be a legendary showdown with Wait ‘Til Next Year in the most important game of the season.
When it’s all said and done, the Moose Knuckles pulled off a critical victory, but it’s no sure thing for Hall to make the playoffs.
For The Pullies (5), they are still virtually guaranteed to make the playoffs. Their magic number is now ONE! One loss from The BamO’s or a win from The Pullies. But their odds of winning the BYE went down, despite a cakewalk schedule. They only have one game left against teams in Tier 1 or Tier 2. They are VERY banged up, so it’s not clear whether or not they’ll be able to hold off teams for that 2nd BYE.
Elsewhere, the Win’s Up Doc (1) bastion held firm this week against a furious week from an onslaught of goats. Doncic from Oat and Jokic from Las Cabras put up LEGENDARY weeks, combining for about 450 points, easily the most that two opposing players have scored in League of Leagues history. Despite the win, Oat has NOT clinched a playoff berth yet, and he won’t unless he wins and Wait ‘Til Next Year loses.
Sporty Strauss (2) and DTC Porkchop Express (3) are as close as two teams have ever been in the Power Rankings thus far in league history. Sporty Strauss has the 4-game win streak, but DTC Porkchop Express has a 500-point advantage. But with (temporary) LaVine and Sabonis injuries, it’s safer to keep #StreakingStrauss at #2 on the Power Rankings (for now). More importantly, these teams are keeping pace with Win’s Up Doc and each have a chance to unseat him for the Nolo’s Division. A lot can happen late in the season, and these teams can always hope for an injury or slip-up from the juggerdoc.
(Tier 2) Wait ‘Til Next Year (6) has slipped from 2nd early in the season in points all the way down to 6th. Statistically, he’s the weakest team currently in the playoffs, and he’s tied for the last playoff spot with the Ornery Otters (7). Right now, league odds gives Wait ‘Til Next Year a ⅔ chance to make the playoffs with the Ornery Otters at about a ⅓ chance. With Wait ‘Til Next Year back to his high-scoring ways, that feels about right. Kyrie Irving has been a huge boost, and Anthony Davis is inching closer and closer to a return. But the Ornery Otters are still competent, even without Lonzo Ball for the rest of the regular season.
This is shaping up to be a tight race between these two squads, and the MN Moose Knuckles could easily fall back into this maelstrom of mediocrity. All we know for certain is that one team is going to be abjectly heartbroken over what happens in the final month and a half of the NBA League of Leagues regular season.
But Las Cabras (8) have to feel heartbroken right now. They gave Win’s Up Doc their best shot, scoring over 1350 points – a mark good enough to win high score most weeks – but they still lost by almost 200 points. ESPN puts Las Cabras’ playoff odds at about 9%, and that might be generous. They’re likely finished now. They’ve had some luck this season. Some bad luck at other times. And in the end, they’re going to be on the outside looking in, ready to fight their way through a Consolation Tournament that might be tougher than one might think. Las Cabras’ only hope is to run the table.
(Tier 3) Nothing to see here. 4 fat L’s. 4 teams just waiting for the Consolation Tourney.
Week 14 High Score
Win’s Up Doc (Oat)
1531 points
Notes: Win’s Up Doc had the highest score in the league for the first time since week 8 (!!). Now that he’s back as the big daddy on the block, he’s starting to talk a big game again. He’s starting put that target on the back of his scrubs. He’s starting to terrify the rest of the League of Leagues, who begin to feel the futility of challenging the man who’s avatar on commish’s phone is Thanos, hell-bent on collecting the NBA League of Leagues infinity stone.
Week 14 Low Score (AKA the JordJack Award)
$traight Cash Homie (Jack)
928 points
Notes: All is right with the world again. Oat as highest scorer. Jack as the lowest. Somehow, he still had the second-highest SINGLE scorer in the League of Leagues this week (Embiid), but the rest of his team stank like a Packers special teams coordinator.
Week 14 MVP
Luka Doncic
Win’s Up Doc (Oat)
228
Notes: This is where things get scary. Luka Doncic has not has his best season. He’s been banged up. He’s been good, but not amazing. If he goes on an unrivaled late-season stretch in the League of Leagues, Win’s Up Doc has a championship in the bag.
Week 14 LVP
Cole Anthony
Las Cabras (Trevor/Jordan)
77 points
Notes: An early-season surprise is faltering as the season goes along. Cole Anthony is still a decent #Hunk, but the hopes that he’s a 30+ fantasy point-per-game scorer have been shrinking month-by-month. It’s far likelier that he was a flash in the pan, and also a flash in LAS CABRAS’ PANTS – a moose knuckle that came and went without much fanfare.
Current Playoff Seeding
Playoffs
Win’s Up Doc – BYE
MN Moose Knuckles – BYE
The Pullies
DTC Porkchop Express
Sporty Strauss
Wait ’Til Next Year
Consolation
Ornery Otters – BYE
Las Cabras – BYE
The BamOs
Cooper Troopers
$traight Cash Homie
Shepherd Goods Choppers
Week 14 Matchups
Win’s Up Doc (1) vs MN Moose Knuckles (4)
Sporty Strauss (3) vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (11)
DTC Porkchop Express (3) vs Wait ’Til Next Year (6)
The Pullies (5) vs Cooper Troopers (9)
Ornery Otters (7) vs The BamOs (10)
Las Cabras (8) vs $traight Cash Homie (12)
Week 14 MATCHUP of the WEEK
Win’s Up Doc [11-3] (1st) vs MN Moose Knuckles [9-5] (4th)
These matchups go in streaks, don’t they? Pullies for a few weeks. Then Moose Knucks. A little bit of Wait ‘Til Next Year. That’s a function of 3 or 4 teams continually circling the drain that is that last team out and first team in of the playoffs.
This week, the MN Moose Knuckles look to unseat Win’s Up Doc. The biggest thing at stake is BYEs for either of these teams. The Moose Knuckles’ odds of getting a BYE SKYROCKET with this win. They’d just need to maintain pace with The Pullies over the last 4 weeks. And Win’s Up Doc would like to add at least a little bit of separation from the rest of Nolo’s Division before division play starts up again.
On top of that, these teams are healthy – one of the first matchup of the weeks in several months in which both of these teams pass the threshold of good health. This should be an EXCELLENT matchup.
PG1 – Luka Doncic vs Devin Booker
PG2 – Dennis Schroeder vs Terry Rozier
SG1 – Dejounte Murray vs Bradley Beal
SG2 – Kevin Porter Jr. vs Devin Vassell
SF3 – Scottie Barnes vs RJ Barrett
SF4 – Herbert Jones vs Otto Porter Jr.
PF1 – Kristaps Porzingis vs Julius Randle
PF2 – LaMarcus Aldridge vs Bobby Portis
C1 – Jonas Valanciunas vs Rudy Gobert
C1 – Jarrett Allen vs Wendell Carter, Jr.
FLEX1 – Mo Bamba vs Richaun Holmes
FLEX2 – Jordan Poole vs Jarred Vanderbilt
FLEX3 – Brandon Clarke vs Jalen Suggs
The Pullies: Advantage at 8/13 positions
MN Moose Knuckles: Advantage at 5/13 positions
INJURIES:
Win’s Up Doc: Desmond Bane (Q - COVID), Michael Porter Jr. (O - Back), Brandon Clarke (P - Back), Boner Hyland (P - Illness)
MN Moose Knuckles: Rudy Gobert (Q - Calf)