Week 9 Power Rankings
Week 9 Power Rankings
Tier 1
1- Win’s Up Doc (8-0) [-]
2- Wait ‘ Til Next Year (6-2) [-]
3- DTC Porkchop Express (6-2) [-]
Tier 2
4- Sporty Strauss (5-3) [+1]
5- The Pullies (5-3) [+1]
6- The BamOs (3-5) [+1]
7- Ornery Otters (3-5) [-3]
8- Minnesota Moose Knuckles (4-4) [-]
Tier 3
9- Las Cabras (3-5) [+1]
10- Cooper Troopers (2-6) [+1]
11- $traight Cash Homie (2-6) [-2]
12- Shepherd Goods Choppers (1-7) [-]
(Tier 1) In today’s Power Rankings, we’re going to break down how many effective players each team has. Teams are generally content with mid-tier players scoring in the low 20’s with hope for 30+ output on any given night. Therefore, the Mendoza line for an effective player on anyone’s roster is around 23 points.
It will surprise no-one that Win’s Up Doc (1) has the most players with over 23 points – a massive 13 players. That’s a full starting roster, and nobody else has a team that deep, even with all of Oat’s injuries.
DTC Porkchop Express (3) has 10 or 11 players at that number, which is more than acceptable. He has a few more bodies in that next tier down as well. But starting players like Naz Reid who score closre to 16ppg is holding Craig back and giving him close games like the one The Pullies just threw at him. (beware stat corrections)
Wait ‘Til Next Year (2) has only 8 players over 23 PPG, but his stars carry more weight, and he has an army of players in the 20-22 PPG range. He certainly doesn’t need to make a trade with the lack of strength in his division, but Wait ‘Til Next Year is far from guaranteed a playoff basketball win right now. An Irving return still looms large in that regard as the top of his roster is unmatched the way it is.
(Tier 2) Sporty Strauss (4) is putting himself in contention to join Tier 1. He’s only a game behind Craig and Kyle. He has 11 players at the 23 PPG mark, which is closer to Doc territory. It’s a really well-balanced collection of 11 as well. Bigs. Wings. Guards. If Sporty Strauss makes the playoffs in NFL, he could make a trade or two for any position in basketball to improve his lot. He wouldn’t have any concerns regarding positionality.
The Pullies (5) are the most difficult team to rank right now. They have 8 or 9 players above that points Mendoza line, which is on the low side… and they always have injuries with an overly veteran roster. They are 7th in total points, but again, factor injuries in there. But at the same time, the have weeks where they push top-tier teams like DTC Porkchop Express! Peter and Eric’s awkwardly designed team could be better than anyone expects, or it could be a team that continually cedes ground all season the the other more consistent teams.
Next, The BamO’s (6) are in a tough spot. They should be rooting for The Pullies NOT to get stat corrected more than DTC Porkchop Express himself in that tight 8-point victory. The CJ McCollum trade doesn’t look good right now, but this is a top-3 team when fully healthy, and he wouldn’t 3. He also has 13 players above 23 PPG, with excellent depth. Even coming off of a terrible week like last week, this is a good team when healthy, but 2 key players are out long-term and multiple players are out short-term. Sam needs to continue staying vigilant to improve and eke out some wins – that’s something noted in the Power Rankings every week. His schedule just doesn’t do him any favors. If Las Cabras are an improved roster, there are no gimmes for The BamO’s until the FINAL WEEK of the season. He’s spent much of his trade-able assets so far, and this week against the MN Moose Knuckles is an ABSOLUTE MUST-WIN. And then it’s 2 games against Las Cabras in 3 weeks, which are also ABSOLUTE MUST-WINS considering that Sam and Trev/Jordan are the two BYES in football. The BamO’s can’t let them gain ground with an inferior basketball. As the first team out of the playoffs, Sam cannot afford a 4-game losing streak at this point in the season, and his injuries are unsustainable right now. But what more does he have to trade?
The Ornery Otters (7) are the biggest disappointment of the week. After showing some potential, they had a massive let-down to Las Cabras who had previously been dead in the water. Now that water is littered with the corpses of Otters. Injuries are a factor here, but every team has injuries and Korey has some depth. There are 11 players over that Mendoza line of 23 PPG, which is excellent. There are plenty of players right below that too, so this is a team that should stay in contention. But he can’t drop games to the #Abominable4 like this if he wants to be a playoff team.
Last in Tier 2 might be a team that no longer belongs here. The MN Moose Knuckles still currently hold the final playoff spot and are two weeks removed from a weekly high score, however, so they still have a chance. But he’s closer in total points scored to the #Abominable4 than the #Big3.
(Tier 3) To round things out, Las Cabras (9) are probably the most interesting team in the League of Leagues right now. They’ve cemented their status as the top team in the NFL leg, and are now firmly “in it” in basketball. They are only one game out of a playoff spot in an easy(ish) division. They draw the Oat juggernaut two of the next 5 weeks, but sandwiched in there is a huge opportunity for them. 2 games against the BamO’s and another chance to take down The Pullies. With their playoff seeding finalized in football, now might be the time to start thinking about some moves to bolster a team that only has 8 players at 23PPG, and a couple of those are on the lower end like Seth Curry and Lauri Markkanen (their 7th and 8th best players – yikes!). Season-long, this is a team that could win it all or have an NBA roster that torpedoes its chances. The range of outcomes is absurdly high right now, but one thing is certain – Las Cabras have no chance against the Oatslaught this week.
The Cooper Troopers are happy to get Dolla Dame back, which is a nice boost to a squad that has no depth at all. With a solid top 6, this team might be able to win a surprise or two. But don’t count on it. There are only 7 players above the Mendoza line – second worst in the league.
The only team worse is $traight Cash Homie who got some bad Zion news, and is effectively toast. It might be time to sell off, build a young squad and build for the future, especially if things don’t break his way tonight to make the playoffs in NFL. He only has 6 players above the 23 PPG mark, with two of those 6 not breaching 24 PPG.
Last but certainly least are the SG Choppers, who are in a sorry state of affairs. 8 players breach the 23 PPG mark, which is better than Coop and Jack. Half of those are still below 30 PPG. But as a playoff team in NFL, it’s really hard to know what this team should do – build for the future or try to make something happen. But with only one win, it’s probably too little to late no matter how it shakes out. The Choppers obviously need to get a break in the health department, and they might prove to be a feisty bunch if that happens. Until then, he plays Kyle, Korey (x2), Craig (x2), Hall and Strauss the next 7 weeks – all contenders. Those big boys are licking their chops when the Shepherd Goods Choppers, knowing they can have their way against the lowest-scoring team in the League of Leagues.
Week 8 High Score
Win’s Up Doc (Oat)
1476 points
Notes: Another week. Another high score. It’s one of the most dominant teams in fantasy history. Yada yada ya. What else can we say?
Week 8 Low Score (AKA the JordJack Award)
Shepherd Goods Choppers (Jordan)
1088
Notes: Another week. Another low score. It’s one of the worst teams in fantasy history. There’s really nothing more to say here either, other than it’d be nice to get some new blood in here.
Week 8 MVP
Jakob Poeltl
DTC Porkchop Express (Craig)
151 points
Notes: Despite MASSIVE weeks from LeBron James and Kevin Durant on the other side of the ledger, two of the best players in the NBA, the MVP of the week goes to Jakob Poeltl, the highest-scoring player on DTC Porkchop Express. More than anything else, this is the benefit of having a player with a 4-play week, meaning they played 4 games from Monday to Sunday. These are the quirks that make fantasy basketball the least “fair” of the 3 sports, even though the predictability of scoring output is high.
Week 8 LVP(s)
Montrezl Harrell
The Pullies (Pete/Eric)
49 points
Notes: The Pullies are hurting at center. Harrell was a revelation for them until this week, where he had games of 4 and 18 points, which tanked their week. This was a tough, tough loss that could be the difference between making the playoffs or not. Either way, The Pullies don’t have a chance to truly compete in the playoffs with the current construction of their roster
Current Playoff Seeding
Playoffs
Win’s Up Doc – BYE
Wait ’Til Next Year – BYE
The Pullies
DTC Porkchop Express
Sporty Strauss
MN Moose Knuckles
Consolation
The BamOs – BYE
Las Cabras – BYE – (yx)
Ornery Otters
$traight Cash Homie
Cooper Troopers
Shepherd Goods Choppers
Week 9 Matchups
Win’s Up Doc (1) vs The Pullies (5)
Wait ’Til Next Year (2) vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (12)
DTC Porkchop Express (3) vs $traight Cash Homie (11)
Sporty Strauss (5) vs Las Cabras (9)
The BamOs (6) vs MN Moose Knuckles (8)
Ornery Otters (7) vs Cooper Troopers (10)
Week 9 MATCHUP of the WEEK
MN Moose Knuckles [4-4] (8th) vs The BamO’s [3-5] (6th)
Now we’re in MN Moose Knuckles Matchup of the Week territory instead of Sporty Strauss. As the last team IN the playoffs, MN Moose Knuckles have the eye of every hungry team, from the goats of Latin America - to the otters who are oh, so ornery - to this team, the Sam BamO’s of Injuryville. Sam’s roster is still deeper, and he should be favored against Hall as long as Paul George plays this week.
PG1 – Terry Rozier vs Steph Curry
PG2 – Armoni Brooks vs Jalen Brunson
SG1 – Bradley Beal vs Jrue Holiday
SG2 – Pat Connaughton vs Alex Caruso
SF3 – RJ Barrett vs Paul George (DTD)
SF4 – Otto Porter, Jr. vs Buddy Hield
PF1 – Julius Randle vs Miles Bridges
PF2 – Bobby Portis vs Carmelo Anthony
C1 – Rudy Gobert vs Jusuf Nurkic
C1 – Wendell Carter vs Willy Hernangomez
FLEX1 – Jared Vanderbilt vs Josh Hart
FLEX2 – Devin Vassell vs Marcus Smart
FLEX3 – Cam Johnson vs Davion Mitchell
The BamO’s: Advantage at 9/13 positions
MN Moose Knuckles: Advantage at 4/13 positions
INJURIES:
The BamO’s: Bam Adebayo, CJ McCollum, Kyle Kuzma, Paul George, Bogdan Bogdanovic
MN Moose Knuckles: Devin Booker, Richaun Holmes, Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz