Another dominant performance means that Team Moose remains atop the power rankings for the fifth-straight week. Team Moose boasts their crown after a sizeable victory over an up and coming team in Nothing Easy. With Jackson Meshanic (24 points on 90.9 percent shooting from the field) continuing to lead his cohesive team in the right direction, Team Moose looks to stay undefeated when they play fellow undefeated team Shocker City in next week’s heavyweight battle.
2
(5-0)
Shocker City showed no mercy in their 123-79 smearing over the Head Hunchos. When leading scorers Michael Davis (24.3 points per game) and Troy Brunson (18.3 points per game) continue to perform up to par and the team gets support from its bench players, it’s a consistent recipe for success. Mind you too, Tarell Vargas, who recorded 22 points and seven rebounds in his only game this season, did not play again this week. The team’s depth was apparent in its win over the Head Hunchos and it’s a huge reason why they are one of two teams with a goose egg in the losses column.
3
(4-1)
After a close-call, three-point win last week against Nothing Easy, a motivated Throne team took it to formerly undefeated Run TMC in Week 5. The big three of Jason Hernandez, Erick Langston and Russ Payton were on fire on both ends the court. While crucial Run TMC players Reggie Stewart and Kayjuan Bynum did not play the entire game, The Throne was able to effectively contain them. The ability to not just win, but win with authority (80-53) in their Week 5 game was a big proving point for The Throne after an atypical Week 4.
4
(4-1)
Run TMC was the clear inferior team against The Throne and the team deservedly takes a hit in the power rankings in Week 5 as a result. With a strong top half of the league, it isn’t going to be good enough for Run TMC to win in general, but they have to win the big games first. While Eric Singleton’s 22 points led the way offensively for TMC in his first game back in the lineup, the depth was lackluster in comparison to past weeks. They have a chance to get back into the wins column next week with a determined effort against Sportslook in Week 6.
5
(4-1)
Last call to hop on the Rim Breakers bandwagon! After a convincing 91-76 win over Dinner’s Served without key players like Keivon Turnbull and Richard Brunson in the lineup, the Rim Breakers are establishing themselves as a true force to be reckoned with. While the one in the loss column is a bit of a blemish from afar, it’s important to know that it was by a mere four points and came at the hands of Shocker City. Led by Gerald McLease (24.5 points per game), this team can compete and win on any night and the rest of the league should be making note of this. The best part of it all is that they have fun doing it too.
6
(3-2)
NickStrong earned a 73-55 win in Week 5, however, it came against a rudderless Above the Rim team. Both Anthony Vessicchio (28 points) and Michael Vessicchio (19 points) led the offense, but NickStrong failed to close out on guarding shots from above the arc. Above the Rim drained a decent amount of three-pointersmto keep them within arms-reach of the game, so playing consistent is a much-needed area of improvement if NickStrong wants to become a constant top-tier team.
7
(2-3)
After getting to .500 in Week 4, Sportslook mustered just 36 points total in its loss to the Blue Devils in Week 5. While they only had four players, second-leading scorer Dan Kokkoros (19 points per game) being one of the crucial guys missing, it was not nearly enough to compete with a statistically superior team. It’s going to be tough for Sportslook to get a win against a motivated Run TMC team, but if they can live up to the task it will be telling to say the least.
8
(1-4)
Don’t let the 1-4 record fool you, Nothing Easy is a sneaky underrated team in this league. Just like the name, their schedule up to this point in the season has not been easy, but games in which you’re losing by three points to the no. 3 Rim Breakers and no. 4 The Throne, take down a beattable Young Kings team and then keep it pretty competitive against a powerhouse Team Moose isn’t indicative of their record. Both Brian Lilly and Joe Capodagli carried some of the scoring load on Monday, after he is coming off a week in which he did not play. In the near future, an easier schedule for Nothing Easy will likely boost them in the standings if they continue to compete as well as they have.
9
(2-3)
J’s, Treys and Fadeaways is rolling after a solid 70-62 showing against the Young Kings. They broke out of their three-game losing skid and posted a win from the hands of leaders Joe Nemchek and Eddie Giovannini – both recorded 24 points. While it was against a team that had just four players, the J’s were effectively able to shut down all of the Young Kings’ offense (36.9 percent from the field) and score enough to earn a victory.
10
(1-4)
Although they lost by 21 points, Dinner’s Served makes an ascension in the power rankings, some due to other team’s errors, but a lot had to do with a relatively good performance against the Rim Breakers. Most notably, Kyle Coniglio (37 points and 10 rebounds) really showed why he is his team’s most important player,, while Matt Terrassi (15 points and six assists) provides reliable support. Yes, Dinners Served has some work to do as a whole, but it’s not so unfixable that they are a definite bottom-four team in the league at this point.
11
(1-4)
After starting the season with a win, the Young Kings have now lost four-straight games, the most recent one coming at the hands of a middle-of-the-pack team in J’s, Treys and Fadeaways. While Myles Raymond (27 points and 11 rebounds) and Eddie Whitman (20 points) were contributors on Monday night, there is only so much a team can do with only four players. The Young Kings haven’t had any luck getting a win over the last month, but will receive a chance in a more equal matchup against the Head Hunchos next week.
12
(1-4)
The Blue Devils took full advantage of a depleted Sportslook team and really showed no mercy in their first win of the season. An 85-32 victory showcased five scorers in double figures as well as a team field goal percentage of 58.6 percent. It’s the first time this season the Blue Devils have truly clicked and it was against a team with just four guys, so there needs to be a lot of improvement as a whole in order to make a more significant jump in the power rankings.
13
(2-3)
Although Brett Cody (23 points on Monday and an average of 24.8 points per game on the season) continues to perform well, there is work to be done with the Head Hunchos. It doesn’t help that they were trying to shake off a two-game losing streak against an undefeated powerhouse, but if the Head Hunchos want to be known as one of the more competitive teams relative to the rest of the league, they have to put up a more convincing performance than losing by 44 points.
14
(0-5)
Another week goes by and Above the Rim adds yet another loss to their season. As said above, the best word to describe this team is rudderless. While players like Percel Boyd, Eric Windley and Eddie Caesar possess some individual talent, the team has to find chemistry to string a few wins together in order to climb back up the standings in this league. There’s no way to sugar coat it: Above the Rim is the team that needs the most improvement at this point in the season, but they still have time to right the ship.
(4-1)
(1-4)
(2-3)