SCOTTSDALE, AZ: Week 3 Power Rankings | Rolling in the Deep

The depth of this league is down-right scary. It's getting harder and harder to distinguish the good teams versus the bad ones each and every week. There's a log-jam in the middle so don't look for these rankings to stay static long.

Week 3 Power Rankings

1. 20 OR BETTER (2-0, LW 1) – News Flash: This team is good. Missing Mike Bibby proved to not be a hindrance as many thought. What this does prove is that they have players that can flat out play. Oh and having 6’10” Amadou Mbodji down low protecting the rim can’t be a bad thing either. Here’s hoping they can get their full squad ready for next week’s epic battle vs Suggs and company. What’s the main prize for the winner you ask? They get to brag about being #1 in these highly prestigious rankings done by yours truly.

2. BALL SO HARD (3-0, LW 2) – News Flash 2.0: This team is good. Didn’t I say that already? Well I mean it - They might be the deepest team in the league. They aren’t just individual players brought together haphazardly. Anyone that has watched them play can see that they know how to play together. The ball movement is crisp and their efficiency around the rim is second-to-none. Next week’s matchup will undoubtedly be the matchup of the season. A few of the guys on the team gave me grief about not putting them #1 out the gate, but if they can pull out a victory, they can boast to me that they belonged there all along.

3. SPLASH BROTHERS (2-0, LW 4) – All they do win. It’s just plain and simple as that. They don’t have all their players present which makes them winning now that much more impressive. This team as it stands is still one of the best we have, but knowing that they have reinforcements coming is downright scary. It's not going to be easy, but I wouldn't underestimate what this team can do going forward.

4. MIGHTY MORPHIN FLOWER ARRANGERS (1-2, LW 3) – Bret struggled last year to find players each week to show up and this year has started out no different. It’s going to be hard enough pulling out wins in this league with a full squad and every team has experienced no-shows but no one is going to lie down and show mercy. I hate to drop this team based on this but this is a results oriented business. I still expected them to win and be in the mix come season end. Let’s just hope they are all still around by then.

5. XOVER (1-2, LW 5) - Another team that was missing a few of their players and not playing at full strength so it’s hard to drop them knowing what they can do. They have the players that can hold their own, but when you miss your leading scorer, it’s expected that there will be a slight drop in productivity - responsibilities and roles need to shift. I expect an inexperienced team to struggle for an extended period of time to figure it out but this is a veteran team and can/will adapt quickly.

6. LOCKDOWN (1-2, LW 7) – They have been in every game thus far and each game has been more competitive than I have expected. Their guard play and timely 3-point shooting will keep them in games all season long so I should stop being so surprised. They held the lead late in all their games, but have failed to hold on for 2 of them. They need to clamp down defensively come crunch time, but as stated before, their lack of size will hurt them against the bigger teams and that could ultimately cost them.

7. WE DEM BOYZ (1-2, LW 6) - I’ve watched this team play 2 out of their 3 games and I can say with 100% confidence that I have no idea what is wrong with them. They have the players that can play, they all play hard and match up well against anyone, but when you look up, they are down by 15 points. They have long lapses on defense and teams just seem to score in bunches against them. They’ve lost by 22 and 32 respectively the last 2 games. Not sure it can get any worse. For their sake and mine, let’s hope it doesn’t.

8. TWISTED STEEL WITH SEX APPEAL (1-2, LW 9) - They pulled out a nice win last week, albeit against an undermanned XOVER team, but a win is a win nonetheless. They won’t catch these kinds of breaks all season so they’re going to need to bring everything they got each and every game. Their offense is starting to come together nicely and if they can use this win as a catalyst, they can be dangerous later in the season. Unfortunately, if history is any indicator, team captain Shawn is going to have to scramble to get players to show up on a consistent basis so these wins might be few and far between.

9. SUPERSONICS (1-2, LW 10) - Another team that pulled out a good win versus a team that wasn’t at full strength. But regardless of what team they were playing, there was no way team caption Aaron was going to let this team fall to 0-3. They were going to do whatever they needed to get that win and it showed. It’s not going to get any easier, but looks like they are headed in the right direction.

10. TIMELIFERS (1-2, LW 8) - Oh how the mighty have fallen. I’ve never really put them this low in past years and it’s hard to see them ranked here but the breaks are just not going their way. They don’t have that one go-to guy that can carry them to wins. They are struggling offensively (currently last in PPG and one of only two teams that have yet to score more than 79 pts in a game). If they don’t hit on all cylinders each and every game, it’s going to be hard to get wins this season.

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