Week 19 NBA Power Rankings (Final Week)
Week 19 Power Rankings (Final Week)
Tier 1
1- DTC Porkchop Express (14-4) [+1]
2- Win’s Up Doc (14-4) [-1]
3- Minnesota Moose Knuckles (10-8) [+3]
4- Wait ‘ Til Next Year (11-7) [-]
5- Sporty Strauss (11-7) [-]
6- The Pullies (11-7) [-3]
Tier 2
7- Ornery Otters (10-8) [+1]
8- Las Cabras (9-9) [-1]
Tier 3
9- The BamO’s (6-12) [-]
10- Shepherd Goods Choppers (5-13) [-]
11- Cooper Troopers (4-14) [-]
12- $traight Cash Homie (3-15) [-]
Week 19 Matchups
Win’s Up Doc (1) vs Sporty Strauss (5)
DTC Porkchop Express (2) vs Ornery Otters (7)
MN Moose Knuckles (4) vs Cooper Troopers (11)
Wait ’Til Next Year (4) vs Las Cabras (8)
The Pullies (6) vs $traight Cash Homie (12)
The BamO’s (9) vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (10)
(Tier 1) We’ve got MAJOR changes going into the last week of the power rankings. The biggest shake-up since all the way back in Week 4 when we FINALLY admitted Win’s Up Doc (2) was a contender. Now, 14 weeks later, we wonder if Doc is fool’s gold. His play is slipping and he scored the 9th most points last week – firmly Consolation Bracket scoring output. As a result, he dropped from the 1-seed all the way down to the 4-seed.
Now, one of the biggest questions in this FINAL WEEK of the regular season is determining gets that one-seed. DTC Porkchop Express (1) put a frying on Win’s Up Doc (2) and now sits as king. He draws the Ornery Otters in the last week of the season in a matchup with stakes as high as JDye’s brain right now. That leaves Win’s Up Doc to fend off Sporty Strauss in this gauntlet of a division. This all could comes down to points scored throughout this NBA season. The difference between Win’s Up Doc and DTC Porkchop Express going into the week is a measly 30 points. If both teams win, it’ll be likely that this final week’s points decides this crucial BYE.
Sporty Strauss (5) awaits the result of that BYE. The loser determines who he’ll play, but his team isn’t looking as strong as it potentially could. He suffered a close L against the Ornery Otters last week. Ben Simmons is waiting until after the Nets play the 76ers on March 10 to debut, which means he likely misses all of the round 1 playoffs (making him a prime trade target for out-of-contention or BYE teams). Derrick White isn’t playing great on his new team fantasy-wise. Draymond Green and Gordon Hayward are still coming back from injury. Right now, Sporty Strauss does not look mighty enough to win in round 1 as currently constructed, which could be a boon for the rest of the League of Leagues. Sporty Strauss losing in round 1 and only scoring 7 or 8 points still leaves the door open to almost anyone swooping in with a great baseball season and winning the League of Leagues.
The Minnesota Moose Knuckles (3) are the biggest risers right now. Upgrading from injured Bradley Beal to Joel Embiid puts Hall firmly towards the top of the league. He could beat anyone, especially with either potential 1-seed looking a little worse for the wear right now. The Knuckles would be title favorites with one or two more additions to the back end of this roster, and it’s going to be fascinating to see whether or not buying at the deadline was a good move or if he gave up too much.
However, Hall’s playoff spot is NOT guaranteed. He need to win this week against the Cooper Troopers or the Ornery Otters need to lose to Win’s Up Doc. At least of those things is likely to happen, so it should be safe for the MN Moose Knuckles to be ranked 3rd after last week’s monster scoring output. He looks like the team to beat if he sneaks in.
Wait ‘Til Next Year (5) also had a nice week last week and looks ready to compete in the playoffs, even without Anthony Davis. And he still is in reach for the BYE! Unfortunately, he needs The Pullies to lose to $traight Cash Homies in the final week of the season, which isn’t likely. But those were the two worst teams in the league in the previous matchup. Still, he likely draws the MN Moose Knuckles in the playoffs in a Fhima’s Division showdown.
The Pullies (6) still drop down to 6th in the power rankings after getting absolutely slaughtered by The BamO’s. The Pullies roster is in shambles right now. Players are hurt. Others are underperforming. The Pullies have shown no interest in improving their squad to compete with these other teams. The only reason they are in Tier 1 is because of the BYE. They are the weakest team in the playoffs and are only here by virtue of being in a terrible, awful, no-good division. They look like a dream 2nd round playoff opponent even if they get slightly healthier. They scored closer to $traight Cash Homie’s 12-ranked scoring output than any other team this week, so it’s hard to have any faith in The Pullies going forward.
(Tier 2) The Ornery Otters (8) might have taken that 7-seed from Las Cabras with a win and a Cabras loss. This is a big development, because the 7-seed means that team will draw one of the 3 awful teams in Round 2 of the Consolation Playoffs: $traight Cash Homie, Cooper Troopers or the SG Choppers. The Otters could still make the playoffs, as mentioned before, but that isn’t particularly likely based on the schedules. Korey needs to beet Win’s Up Doc and Hall needs to lose to the Cooper Troopers. But that 7-seed is still worth fighting for, because The BamO’s are the hottest team in the league, and the Otters would avoid them (and Las Cabras) until the Consolation Championship.
The Joel Embiid trade turned out to be the death knell for Las Cabras (9) who really needed to make a better offer to prevent the MN Moose Knuckles from making that trade. As a result, Las Cabras will miss the playoffs. Now, they look forward to Round 2 of the NBA Consolation Playoffs where they will likely end up playing The BamO’s in a game that could decide whether they are still in contention for the League of Leagues crown this year or whether or not they are doomed to 3 or 4 points in NBA which would make it very difficult for them to win it all.
(Tier 3) The playoff matchups of the Consolation Tournament is set in stone. It’ll be The BamO’s (9) vs $traight Cash Homie (12) which is essentially a BYE for Sam given how much Jack gutted his roster. Then it’ll be the Shepherd Goods Choppers (10) vs the Cooper Troopers (11), a matchup that will be crucial if Cooper doesn’t want to come in last place. With $traight Cash Homie’s PLETHORA of baseball assets, he should have a much better team than the Cooper Troopers in the last leg of the League of Leagues.
Week 18 High Score
The BamO’s (Sam Alakija)
1782 points
Notes: A DOMINANT, 450-point win against a playoff team is just what The BamO’s need to gain confidence. The BamO’s are the best team in the Consolation Bracket when healthy, but they keep taking injury blow after blow. The tanking Trailblazers decided to shut down Nurkic for the year. Paul George isn't coming back soon. So The BamO’s could be a sneaky buyer at the deadline. With an opportunity to win the Consolation Tournament and get 6 points, The BamO’s could firmly put themselves in contention with a late-season run.
Week 18 Low Score (AKA the JordJack Award)
$traight Cash Homie (Jack)
1281 points
Notes: 5 straight weeks as the lowest scoring team. There’s no chance $traight Cash Homies doesn’t continue to keep getting the lowest score every round of the playoffs and week 18. This team has completely given up.
Week 18 MVP
Joel Embiid
MN Moose Knuckles (Hall)
108 points
Notes: This matchup was dead even before the Joel Embiid trade, and then the MN Moose Knuckles went on a elk-like rampage through the woods. 2 game from Embiid: almost 110 points. You’ll never see a moose this ferocious. You’ll never see horns this big. Yes, other players on MN Moose Knuckles stepped up since the NBA got back and the win was relatively decisive, but that just proves that trading for Joel Embiid was the correct move for Chris Lee Hall because his team was ready for it. His team can contend. It also dissuaded Las Cabras from selling out to make a move, and it won him the week. Kudos to the Knuckles for taking a chance.
Week 18 LVP
Pascal Siakam
Sporty Strauss (Strauss)
94 points
Notes: Siakam is an interesting LVP. He’s a bona fide star for fantasy, and his output was still higher than other disappointments on Strauss’ team this week. But he’s still the primary reason for Strauss’ 2-point loss. 5 more points per game (a normal output for Siakam) would have iced the win. Not that it matters at this point – Strauss’ playoff seeding was practically set in stone prior to this week. Still, .68 points per minute isn’t going to get it done. If Siakam doesn’t improve, Strauss could be in trouble against stiffer competition than the Ornery Otters going forward.
Current Playoff Seeding
Playoffs
DTC Porkchop Express *y – BYE
The Pullies *y – BYE
Wait ’Til Next Year *y
Win’s Up Doc *y
Sporty Strauss *y (practically clinched)
MN Moose Knuckles
Consolation
Ornery Otters – BYE
Las Cabras – BYE
The BamO’s
Shepherd Good Choppers
Cooper Troopers
$traight Cash Homie
Week 19 MATCHUP of the WEEK
DTC Porkchop Express [14-4] (1st) vs Ornery Otters [14-4] (7th)
Two things are at stake in this game. One, the top-seed BYE for DTC (or Win’s Up Doc). Two, the Ornery Otters’ playoff bid. If DTC wins this game decidedly, Craig likely takes the BYE. If he loses, it’s likely that Win’s Up Doc likely reclaims that last spot. With Chris Paul out, either outcome is possible.
For the Ornery Otters, they are just praying they can hold on for a victory here and a MN Moose Knuckles loss to the 11th-seeded Cooper Troopers. That’s Korey’s only hope for making the playoffs with this roster.
As you can see, DTC Porkchop Express holds firm advantages at almost every position other than Point Guard, so expect him to win. But by how much is the real question!
Lineups:
PG1 – DeAaron Fox vs LaMelo Ball
PG2 – Patty Mills vs Russell Westbrook
SG1 – Zach LaVine vs Malcolm Brogdon
SG2 – De’Anthony Melton vs Cade Cunningham
SF3 – DeMar DeRozan vs Jaylen Brown
SF4 – Andrew Wiggins vs Mikal Bridges
PF1 – Damontas Sabonis vs Keldon Johnson
PF2 – Al Horford vs Aaron Gordon
C1 – Jakob Poeltl vs Mitchell Robinson
C1 – Clint Capela vs Ivica Zubac
FLEX1 – PJ Washington vs Terrence Mann
FLEX2 – DeAndre Hunter vs Hassan Whiteside
FLEX3 – Jaden McDaniels vs Tre Mann
DTC Porkchop Express: Advantage at 9/13 positions
Ornery Otters: Advantage at 4/13 positions