Week 17 NBA Power Rankings
Week 17 Power Rankings
Tier 1
1- Win’s Up Doc (13-3) [-]
2- DTC Porkchop Express (12-4) [-]
3- The Pullies (10-6) [-]
4- Sporty Strauss (11-5) [+2]
5- Wait ‘ Til Next Year (9-7) [+2]
Tier 2
6- Minnesota Moose Knuckles (9-7) [-1]
7- Ornery Otters (9-7) [-1]
8- Las Cabras (8-8) [-]
Tier 3
9- The BamO’s (4-11) [+1]
10- Shepherd Goods Choppers (3-12) [+1]
11- Cooper Troopers (4-11) [-2]
12- $traight Cash Homie (3-11) [-]
Week 17 Matchups
Win’s Up Doc (1) vs Ornery Otters (7)
DTC Porkchop Express (2) vs Sporty Strauss (4)
The Pullies (3) vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (9)
Wait ’Til Next Year (5) vs MN Moose Knuckles (6)
Las Cabras (8) vs Cooper Troopers (11)
The BamO’s (10) vs $traight Cash Homie (12)
(Tier 1) As division play finally resumes after a 13-week hiatus, the top-4 teams have cemented their playoff ticket. And while it IS clinched for DTC Porkchop Express but not for Sporty Strauss, it’s damn close. It’ll be difficult for him to miss with a 2 or 3 game lead and significant points advantages over the 9-win teams. To no one’s surprise, #Nolo’s Division holds the top-3 scoring teams in the League of Leagues.
Win’s Up Doc (1) holds the top spot for now, but DTC Porkchop Express (2) continues nipping at his heels. Both came up with victories this week to get to 13 and 12 wins, respectively. An impressive feat for each manager, and they should each be proud of their accomplishments this season. Now it’s just a matter of who wins this gauntlet of a division.
The Pullies (3) are just playing for the other BYE right now. With the division locked up, they ‘re just keeping their eye on whoever will win Fhima’s Division and their win/loss record. The Pullies WIN a tiebreaker over Wait ‘Til Next Year, but they LOSE a tiebreaker to the MN Moose Knuckles. So their rooting interests, with a one game lead over both, are clear.
Sporty Strauss (4) edged out a consequential victory last week to the chagrin of the rest of the League of Leagues. With a dominant victory over the MN Moose Knuckles, Strauss essentially just needs to win one game or for the the Ornery Otters to lose one game to clinch. From there, a win puts him in excellent chance to win the entirety of the League of Leagues.
We have a new high score for a single week! Wait ’Til Next Year (5) is cementing his status as a bona fide contender, getting ‘hot at the right time.’ If he wins this week, he puts himself in contention for a BYE. At the very least, he puts himself in firm position to get the 3-seed and face the worst playoff team, likely the Moose Knuckles or the Otters. He’s in good shape with an easier remaining the schedule.
(Tier 2) The MN Moose Knuckles (6) could beat Wait ’Til Next Year this week, but Hall’s team is in far worse shape than Kyle’s right now. But everybody’s team looks worse than Kyle’s right now, and the MN Moose Knuckles have had their fair share of dominant weeks.
The most consequential result of the week, however was the Ornery Otters (7) .6 point (!!!) loss to Las Cabras (8). This unbelievable result puts 3 teams at 9-7 and Las Cabras waiting in the wings at 8-8. It’s a muddy situation. Any of these 4 teams could make the playoffs, and any of them could miss it.
But odds are that Las Cabras and the Ornery Otters will still be on the outside looking in based on the remaining schedules.
The Fhima’s Division all play each other (and Coop) to end the season. Las Cabras play the Cooper Troopers, Wait ’Til Next Year and MN Moose Knuckles. The MN Moose Knuckles play Wait ’Til Next Year, Cooper Troopers and Las Cabras. Wait ’Til Next Year plays MN Moose Knuckles, Las Cabras and Cooper Troopers.
But the Ornery Otters play Win’s Up Doc (1), DTC Porkchop Express (2) and Sporty Strauss (4). It’s a gauntlet, and he’s (very) likely to go 0-3 and miss the playoffs, especially if he can’t put up performances that were better than last week.
Las Cabras has the real opportunity here: they play the teams they need to beat. It’s right where they want to be in coming from behind, and the schedule gods game them another easy win over a low-scoring team this week.
(Tier 3) Another win for the Choppers (9). Another loss for the other 3 eliminated boys. The Choppers are hell-bent on destroying this ‘Constellation’ bracket. He’s bringing ‘momentum’ to the playoffs with an easy remaining regular season schedule. He’s inching towards the third seed in the Consolation Bracket and draw Coop or Jack in the playoffs, giving himself a real chance to score 4+ points. His season isn’t over.
The BamO’s (10) have lost 6 straight, but they are still formidable in the Consolation Playoffs when Sam is really trying to set a powerful lineup.
But things are looking relatively hopeless for the Cooper Troopers or $traight Cash Homie who are putting low scores up every week. These two teams are hitting tank territory, and they might want to lose their round 1 games.
Week 16 High Score
Wait ’Til Next Year (Kyle Ooms)
1595 points
Notes: What a dominant performance. Wait ’Til Next Year found excellent performances all over the map. Anthony Davis was the big scorer, but his #Hunks are really leading him back to prosperity. He has three of them: Tyrese Maxey, Ayo Dosunmo, and Isaiah Stewart probably all deserve to be on someone’s #Hunk list at the end of the season. To the victor go the spoils.
Week 16 Low Score (AKA the JordJack Award)
$traight Cash Homie (Jack)
1181 points
Notes: $traight Cash Homie is looking like the most desirable matchup in the Consolation Bracket. Whoever draws them is likely to win based on his constant, low scoring. But if Zion or even Isaac can make a return in the next month, he might have a chance.
Week 16 MVP
Nikola Jokic
Las Cabras (Trevor and Jordan)
165 points
Notes: Jokic is the best player in fantasy, and he’s the only lights-out player on Las Cabras’ injury-riddled squad. Without Jokic, Las Cabras would have been the lowest-scoring team of the week, but they edge out a narrow victory because of him.
Week 16 LVP
Russell Westbrook
Ornery Otters (Korey)
76 points
Notes: There’s no ifs ands or buts about it – Russell Westbrook is a bust this year. While older players like Chris Paul are balling, Westbrook is getting benched in OT games in weeks that the Ornery Otters absolutely needs to win. Westbrook is NOT a keeper going forward in the League of Leagues, and his best days are firmly behind him.
This was Oat’s dream when the NBA portion of the League of Leagues started – a Russell Westbrook implosion on the court and in fantasy not on his roster.
Current Playoff Seeding
Playoffs
Win’s Up Doc – BYE
The Pullies – BYE
MN Moose Knuckles
DTC Porkchop Express
Sporty Strauss
Wait ’Til Next Year
Consolation
Ornery Otters – BYE
Las Cabras – BYE
The BamO’s
Cooper Troopers
Shepherd Good Choppers
$traight Cash Homie
Week 17 MATCHUP of the WEEK
Wait ’Til Next Year [9-7] (5th) vs MN Moose Knuckles [9-7] (6th)
Lookie here! ANOTHER MN Moose Knuckle’s Matchup of the Week. This is the doozie though. This matchup has been circled since the MN Moose Knuckle’s victory over Wait ’Til Next Year in Week 3 of the season.
The winner of this game likely wins Nolo’s Division, so there’s plenty at stake. The loser is sent to fend of the late-season attacks by Las Cabras and Ornery Otters, though the Otters’ defeat last week definitely decreases the necessity for victory in this matchup to still make the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Hall, Kyle’s team is getting healthier and healthier. The MN Moose Knuckles likely lost guard Bradley Beal for an extended period of time. Rudy Gobert still isn’t stepping on the floor either, so this looks like Wait ‘Til Next Year should be favored for victory.
Lineups:
PG1 – Trae Young vs Devin Booker
PG2 – Kyle Lowry vs Terry Rozier
SG1 – Kyrie Irving vs Devin Vassell
SG2 – Tyrese Maxey vs Jalen Suggs
SF3 – Will Barton vs RJ Barrett
SF4 – Evan Fournier vs Cameron Johnson
PF1 – Anthony Davis vs Julius Randle
PF2 – Jaren Jackson Jr. vs Bobby Portis
C1 – Isaiah Stewart vs Wendell Carter, Jr.
C1 – Andre Drummond vs Richaun Holmes
FLEX1 – Ayo Dosunmo vs Jarred Vanderbilt
FLEX2 – Marcus Morris vs Max Strauss
FLEX3 – Royce O’Neal vs Gabe Vincent (or Rudy Gobert or Bradley Beal)
Wait ‘Til Next Year: Advantage at 8/13 positions
MN Moose Knuckles: Advantage at 3/13 positions