SCOTTSDALE, AZ: Week 5 Power Rankings | Taking it to the Next Level

The more things change, the more things stay the same. One of our biggest names in the league is overseas pursuing his dreams, but his team hasn’t missed a beat. It’s not to say they are better and that he’s replaceable, it’s just a testament to the depth of this team and this league. Other teams need to take note.

Week 5 Power Rankings

1. SPLASH BROTHERS (5-0, LW 1) – You couldn’t ask for a better first game without Nick than against an undermanned FA team. Regardless, Fred showed us why he’s one of the all-time greats in the league. He took the team on his shoulders and made it a point to be the facilitator to get everyone involved while still getting his. This newfound focus may be the key that gets this team to a championship.

2. XOVER (3-2, LW 3) – To think some had this team ranked just above the free agent team (what a fool he must be, glad I’m a much better evaluator of talent than he is). The days of overlooking this team seems like a lifetime ago and it’s hard to imagine anyone playing better than they are. They were expected to struggle early and often but oh-my has momentum been on their side, and he goes by the name Delonn. It will be interesting to see how long they can ride this high.

3. WE DEM BOYZ (4-1, LW 4) – They didn’t bring their A-game offensively but they didn’t need it last week. They played solid defense and held their opponent to a season low of only 49 points. They lacked this in the early parts of the season and hopefully this is the turning point for them. There is still a ways to go for but if they can combine their deadly offense with this defense effort, it will help to set them apart from other teams.

4. TIMELIFERS (3-2, LW 5) –The latest and maybe the most impressive thing to me about this team is that they are by far the “shortest” team in the league, with their biggest big standing a mere 6’1”, but they lead the league in rebounds per game (42.8 RPG). I attribute this to the fact that all these guys play their assess off. There may be more talented teams out there but you’d be hard pressed to find a team that plays harder for 44 minutes.

5. JAMAICAN HOPSCOTCH MAFIA (3-2, LW 2) – Have you ever just spent hours on a project trying to find the perfect word or phrase? Changing the smallest things at every available moment just to fix something that may not needed fixing at all. This is how I felt with Bret and his team. They had the right pieces and the drive to avenge last year’s championship game for day one. They played with a mission and were scoring like no one’s business. But just like what happens to most teams, the natural law of attrition hit them. He was left to scramble to fill bodies. In the attempt to find those players, he lost sight of his team’s strength and the team chemistry took a big time hit. It’s going to be tough to overcome but they have a couple of weeks left to figure it out.

6. TWISTED STEEL WITH SEX APPEAL (1-4, LW 6) – I think I’ve come to the realization that I’ve got one foot off the bandwagon. Actually I may have been the only one on it. This team has had as much potential as any other team in the league, but they have failed to live up to the hype (again mostly provided by me). One positive takeaway is that Shawn Finecey has upped his game and has become a legitimate scoring threat - he’s currently 8th in the league coming in at 25.0 PPG.

7. SUPERSONICS (1-4, LW 7) – As if things couldn’t get any worse, they score a season low 49 points last week. Nothing has gone right all season but the one good news is that they still have time to right the ship and make the playoffs if they can just find that thing that gets them over the hump. They need to find that momentum and come out firing the next couple of weeks if they plan on making that push for that final spot. It all starts with moving the ball and getting everyone involved. They can do it (the talent is there), it's just a matter of will they.

8. SCOTTSDALE FA (0-5, LW 8) – I think losing has taken a toll on this team. They all seem to want to win, but they just don’t have the talent to. They are trying to get players involved, but they just don’t know how to. They ran into an extremely motivated SPLASH BROTHERS team eager to show that they could play without Nick but every team is coming in motivated one way or another so this shouldn’t surprise them anymore. It’s going to take a miracle to find that first win but hopefully they realize how good this league really is and that there is a lot of work that needs to be put in to be good.

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