The Alliance is undoubtedly the top dog in this league. They spread the floor, attack you from inside and out. They play with a point of emphasis on defensive intensity, and full court press when it’s time to turn the heat up. Max Matroni is their leading scorer (32.8ppg), but anyone on a given night could drop over 30 points. Being at the top means everyone The Alliance plays will give them their all going forward, but a clean sweep of the regular season becoming more and more likely.
2
(3-2)
Boom-Shakalaka was without their deep threat Matt Camara (a.k.a. Larry Bird) this past week, but that didn’t seem to slow them down. Trevor DiMicco and Lucas Martin stepped up in a big way (27 points each), and Marc Belleville was solid leading the attack as always. This is a big physical team that knows how to win, and continues to show taht week in and week out. Boom-Shakalaka won’t play The Alliance again in the regular season, so we can only hope they get the chance to play again the playoffs.
3
(3-2)
The Halfway Crooks is one of those teams with the potential to separate themselves from the pack, but seemingly never does. This team definitely does not lack talent, but at times struggles to score which allows their opponents to stay in games. They have good chemistry and size, and an awareness on defense that has landed them back in third in the rankings. When everyone shows up, the Halfway Crooks become much more versatile and harder to guard. They were without a key cog in Dylan Lincoln for Week 5. The Halfway Crooks still have time to get a few more wins and move up in the standings before the playoffs start.
4
(2-3)
The Skyhookers have been on a tear. After starting the season 0-3, many were quick to write the Skyhookers off as a weak team. Players on the team never gave up, and now the Skyhookers have won two-straight. They still have some things to tweak if they want to challenge the top three teams, but they are trending in the right direction. Brendan O’Donnell is the clear leader, and when other players also step up, as Terrance Paris and Leo Baessa did in Week 5, this team is tough to beat.
5
(2-3)
The Werewolves are a team sliding as we approach the end of the season. They have all known each other for a long time, and that chemistry is visible on the court. However with such a young roster, the Werewolves play sloppy at times leading to bad turnovers. This week the sloppy play seemed to start with their point guard, Gino Forte, who had his worst game of the season (1-15 shooting with 6 turnovers). Fortunately, Forte and his team cannot play much worse than they did in Week 5, making for an interesting matchup against The Alliance in Week 6.
6
(0-5)
Big Baller Brand unfortunately finds themselves last in the power rankings for consecutive weeks, and are now two games behind every other team in the standings. The bright spots on their roster have ultimately been overshadowed by a winless record. With just three weeks left in the regular season, Big Baller Brand will have to try something new if they want that elusive first victory. We’ll see if their leading scorer Brett Cody (26.6 ppg) can focus on getting others more involved when they take on the Halfway Crooks in Week 6.
