SCOTTSDALE, AZ: Week 5 Power Rankings | Numbers Never Lie

Math can get fairly complicated. Yes you have 1 + 1 = 2, but what about

Euler’s Identity:

e^ [ i * ( pi ) ] + 1 = 0

or even my personal favorite

The Explicit Formula for the Fibonacci Sequence

F (n) = F (n - 1) + F (n - 2)


Basketball on the other hand is a beautiful game with a simple concept - make more shots than your opponent and you win. To define it in simple math terms, basketball is a zero-sum game – where there is a winner, there ultimately must be a loser. There are no ties, no moral victories. At this level, we don’t hand out blue participation ribbons.

Now I’ve heard plenty of “we should be good, but had bad breaks”, or “the refs suck”, or “the basketball we use is not the one I’m used to, can’t we use another one”. Well guess what, just like in real life, those are the breaks. Adversity is abound and this is a results-orientated reality we live in – win and you’re considered a hero, lose and you’re just another average Joe.

For the record, it’s true that I don’t’ get to watch all the games and all the teams (I wish I could because there are some really talented players in this league), but what I do is look at the stats sheets at the end of every week. More importantly, I evaluate the wins-losses and I look at the quality of the wins - beating a team that is 0-5 is not as impressive as beating a team that is 5-0. It’s that simple. And yes, I base a lot of my rankings on the standings. Why not? I would say standings speak volumes to define a team’s worth. Do any of you really expect me to put a one or two-win team in my top 4? How much credibility is there in that?

You want me to rank you higher because of the tired-out cliché of “we gave 110%” and “we had our backs against the wall and the refs were against us”? Come on man, you’re better than that. If it is the rhetoric and my blurbs on my justifications in rankings you are gripping about, then you have a fair point. I’m guilty of using tired clichés myself and I don’t call out everybody I should (again because I don’t get to see all the games), but honestly, if it was worth watching or even worth writing about, I would.

And to be clear, just because I put your team at the bottom doesn’t mean I hate you. It doesn’t even mean I think you’re a bad team, it just means that there are teams ahead of you that are playing better and their records show it. Remove that chip from your shoulder; the whole world isn’t always out to get you [ mic drops ].

And now on to this week’s power rankings...enjoy!

Week 5 Power Rankings

1. FIRE BREATHING RUBBER DUCKIES (5-0, LW 1) Man do I love watching this team play. They score 102.5 Points per Game (PPG) which ranks 1st overall. They don't just win, they are down right dominating as they are winning by an average margin of close to 20 pts. They are also 2nd in the league in Assists per Game (17.2 APG), which I suspect is due to all them alley-oops they be throwing down. Are they down right dominating? Yes. Can they sustain? I’m betting that they do.

2. XOVER (4-1, LW 2) As champions do, they’ve done just enough to pull out some good wins. Not exerting too much unnecessary energy and saving their best for the playoff run. They rank 2nd in the league in scoring (96.6 PPG) and 1st in assists (20.4 APG). You can never count them out because they’ve been there and done that. As my man Fred Dudley has pointed out many times: 6 seasons, 6 championship games, 5 championships. It’s hard to argue with those facts.

3. WE DEM BOYZ (3-2, LW 3) I picked them as my most underrated team in the league with Tristan Boone as our most underrated/least talked about player. He is their primary ball handler and he has the quickness to take it to the hoop as well as shoot it from deep. They have potent scorers all around and Nate Sanders plays rugged, stymie defense. If they can get hot, I think they have a good a shot as any to take down the top two teams above them and make it far in the playoffs.

4. TIMELIFERS (4-1, LW 4) This is my underdog team. I think teams overlook them (me included) but they just win. They are capable scorers (81.6 PPG – 5th) but they are 1st in Points Against (72.2 PA). They don’t beat themselves and it shows. I still doubt they have the size need to win the championship, but I’d be more than happy for them to prove me wrong.

5. SCOTTSDALE FA (2-3, LW 5) After a hot start, they’ve dropped their last two games as teams have figured out that they need to stop Nick Tomsick. They’ve averaged close to 98 PPG since Nick’s joined this team and Zach Shea has been the 2nd scorer they needed supplying the deep threat, but Calvin Glen has been a bit quiet on the offensive end. I expected him to be more of a factor on offense (though he has been a rebounding force 11.1 RPG). I like what they are doing and they look to be moving the ball better, I just don’t expect this to be effective in the long run.

6. PHX BALLAS (1-4, LW 6) I picked this team as my most disappointing team so far this season because I’ve seen what they are capable of by watching them last year, and I had high expectations of them coming into this year. They have struggled to find that magic and their record shows it. They are scoring at a good clip (84.0 PPG – 4th), but their defense has let them down – they’ve allowed 102.2 PA – last in the league. I have a feeling they’ll find a groove soon and they'll make a nice run in the 2nd half.

7. SUPERSONICS (1-4, LW 8) Good win for them last week to start the 2nd half of the season. This may help propel them on a good run and build that confidence up. They’ve been in the middle of the pack in scoring (80.4 PPG – 6th) but I expect them to pick it up a bit as they figure out their strengths and continue to incorporate Brad Carroll and Jordan Teed into their potent scoring rotation.

8. DOG GOES WOOF, CAT GOES MEOW (0-5, LW 7) They are last in the league in scoring (67.6 PPG) which is has contributed to their winless season. The biggest stat for me is the lack of assists (5.4 APG) which is good for dead last in the league. I root for this team, they’ve got some really good players I like watching, but things are starting to fall apart for them. I don’t see them having fun when I watch them.

Again, this is makes for a fun way to see how teams stack up. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, if you are unhappy with where I placed you, I’d love to discuss, but don’t whine to me (or to Twitter) or even say that I don’t put any effort into this (I’ve been doing basketball stats and evaluations for close to 20 years my friend). Just because you think you should be better doesn’t make it so. Show me you deserve a higher ranking by proving it where it matters the most to me, on that hard wood floor.

Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/ultimatehoopsAZ


Watch the UH Scottsdale staff (Borin Ngov, Donald Dangmuk, and Brandon Walker) discuss the season to date and what to expect going forward.