BuzzerBeater Forums

Day 7 (Saturday 26 November 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
BOBBBSBURGS 85 - Lion Rebels 123
San Dominica Warriors 92 - Linndale 82
Philly Dribble 115 - Carolina Rebels 102
BKDogs 72 - 209’s MostWanted 122
The Beer Bellys 64 - The Ashkickers 79
Motor City Waddupdoe 46 - Miami Cleo 96
The Philadelphia Spartans 102 - Sweaty Socks 44
Żubr Białystok 92 - Hustlas 101

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 123 : Lion Rebels
Rebounds : 70 : The Philadelphia Spartans
Assists : 33 : Lion Rebels
Steals : 11 : 209’s MostWanted
Block Shots : 11 : The Philadelphia Spartans

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 36 : J. Esposito (Hustlas)
Rebounds : 24 : S. Klin (Hustlas)
Assists : 10 : H. Waffi (Lion Rebels)
Steals : 4 : D. Santana (Miami Cleo), Č. Jovanoska (Hustlas)
Block Shots : 4 : B. Pimentel (Philly Dribble), S. Nitã (The Philadelphia Spartans), H. Waffi (Lion Rebels), C. Davis (Lion Rebels)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : P. Brito Gomes (209’s MostWanted) (32 Points, 3 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32
Shooting Guard : R. Sedonio (Lion Rebels) (17 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 23
Small Forward : G. Romão (The Philadelphia Spartans) (24 Points, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 28
Power Forward : B. Pimentel (Philly Dribble) (30 Points, 20 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 4 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43
Center : G. Locus (Miami Cleo) (14 Points, 12 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 24

MVP of the evening
B. Pimentel (Philly Dribble) (30 Points, 20 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 4 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 43

The bad performance of the evening
Z. Elsneris (BKDogs) (2 Points, 2 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -10

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : I. Gamón (Motor City Waddupdoe), S. Nitã (The Philadelphia Spartans), G. Taktakishvili (Hustlas), T. Hewitt (BOBBBSBURGS) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : H. Espinosa (Carolina Rebels), K. Knowles (Linndale), M. Grimm (Żubr Białystok), L. Stern (BOBBBSBURGS) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : G. Locus (Miami Cleo), W. Westmoreland (Sweaty Socks), B. Pimentel (Philly Dribble), I. Gamón (Motor City Waddupdoe), H. Waffi (Lion Rebels), C. Davis (Lion Rebels) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : D. Santana (Miami Cleo) : 6 Three points

The best performer : D. Santana (Miami Cleo), P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble), S. Klin (Hustlas) : Rating : 16.5

The worst performer : J. Aguilera (BOBBBSBURGS), S. Bryant (BOBBBSBURGS) : Rating : 3.0

FYI..."reverse patient" is not a good strategy regardless what others say in the forums. I wont make that mistake next time Ashkickers.

Yeah - I think the matchup definitely requires the right "fit" for it to work out correctly...if only your boy Segovia had shot from 3 like he has the rest of the season so far...instead of 1-7, he could have been at least 4-7 and made it tighter at the end. It was a good effort!

The owner walks into the Team President's office. Bobby Sparks, Hustlas team president, was sitting down, looking over some papers.

"Well Bobby, our first splurge of the season has ended in you grabbing up two players. You almost had the other two, but, unfortunately, we missed out on them. I hope the two newcomers really help us out. Though, one of them is injured and out for two weeks?"

"Yes. It was touch and go throughout this process. We used about 92k to add the players we added. We wanted other players, but these were the ones we were able to get," says Bobby Sparks. "And the injured player should be a very good asset once he is rehabilitated, and he gets some runs under him. He will be in our starting lineup. The other one, I think he may be starting also. If not, he will at least be 6th man. Esposito is just scoring at such a high clip that we don't think taking him out of the starting lineup will do us any favors. It's like Legkaukus all over again. It's a good problem to have."

"Okay Bobby. I will leave all of this in your hands. Last time when I got involved, you saw what happened. It all blew up in our faces. And, John Walton, he will be our GM. Coach Boone will be our coach. He's already been coaching, and Walton has been doing a good job with GM. Now I am making it official."

"That's a good move sir," says Bobby Sparks.

"We are 7-0. I am so shocked that I don't know what to do with myself," said the Owner. "Can we make it 8-0?"

"I think we can. We will be able to wear them down and then defeat them. We will grind them down till they can't do anything and will wear out. That is Coach Boone's way of play so far. And it has been working. John Walton has been behind the scenes doing some coaching and helping. But now that he is the official GM, he will leave the bench and stay in the office. Now, about our next cup game. We have no chance to win that game. No chance. But we are still alive in BBM. And we have a chance to win the next game. We are the favorites. We are looking for a bit more bench production, especially from Ozakan," said Bobby.

"But what about those on the transfer list?" asked the Owner.

"Hannes Karus is at an impossible price tag. He will never sell at the tag he is at. But we will place him on the transfer list again. Him, Elmar Jaanson and Liutauras Mikaliunas. We will sell the three of them in a salary dump. That would dump 40k in salary. If possible, down the line, we may try for another point guard. That is our objective, to find a scoring and passing point guard that is younger. Though Denkovic is playing at a high level. Higher than last season. But if we could have him come off the bench playing at this level, that will do wonders for us. We will keep at it though, and hopefully make it to the finals. At the very least, playoffs is still our goal. And we will get there," says Bobby Sparks.

I love it - you're such a wheeler and dealer! The exact opposite of me, which is why I love it - living vicariously through you! Hope it works out for you!

"Happy Ourer with Marshall Richards on the Linndale Radio Basketball Network, and first of all, welcome back. Second of all, I'm just gonna throw you right into fire here. Daniil Kamp. How did he look in his debut, and what is his role going forward?"

Marshall: Thank you; glad to be back. Throw that game out; he wasn't the only one in foul trouble and you didn't really get a good look at his game. I'm gonna tell you something that may shock you, but he's the reason they were so comfortable moving Arpad Sutori. They targeted him with a few other players, but he was the one they had to get, and they did. Now, does he slot as the best option at power forward for the team? Short term, yes. But you have to take a long view here, and that view says he takes over for Lutz at the small forward with Lutz handling the duties on the second unit."

Happy: I'm glad you said that Marshall because I figured Kamp's acquisistion meant other things were happening. I would not be shocked if they moved on from Teti as the back up option at the point and moved Lutz there.

Marshall: That's something they could and should absolutely do sooner rather than later. Art Reese, the rookie they brought in as a SF trainee is ready to play defensively. At that point, you're just waiting to see which guy moves Czagala back to his natural power forward spot. I think Datler will be the center with Jung backing him up, and that will move Nick Guevara to the backup spot at power forward. I don't think that's likely tonight, but I do expect to see that soon.

Happy: We know they've shopped Teti around and so far no takers. What if no one takes him and he's here?

Marshall: That's not a bad thing either. I would slide Nick to the 5 center spot and put Lutz in at the power forward. With Reese's defensive readiness, Brown and Lutz beside him, Nick in the middle and Teti up top, that is still a pretty strong defensive unit, though they might be a bit challenged offensively in the short term.

Happy: The offense looks like it can make up for it with that starting lineup, from what other folks are telling me. How do you view Kamp's game?

Marshall: Well the first thing I want to pint out is he has to learn his teammates and they have to learn him, so it won't click immediately. Though undersized, he's good in the paint. He can handle and drive, a very capable passer, and strange as it may sound, he's actually better defensively than Lutz, which could make them make the move sooner than I anticipate. He's got some range, and he can shoot. What may happen is you get Lutz working on his game and he turns into a power forward. If that happens, that starting five would be ridiculous.

Happy: If this goes into the postseason, remember that Coach and Pio both have no qualms about shortening the rotation. If you can't play defens, you won't play.

Marshall: And that means there's going to be some talented players not playing in the postseason if Linndale makes it. Happy, I see we have to go to break, but I have got to address my absence. People, please remember there's a reason only certain people are allowed to make the macaroni and cheese. And also, stop putting raisins in potato salad!!!

Happy: Sounds like it was a good thing I wasn't able to make it to your house for Thanksgiving, Marshall. Dinner's on me tonight! OK, folks; we'll be back after these commercial messages!"

"Boone, get in here," Coach Boone walks into Bobby Sparks office. Behind him was John Walton. "Boone, what the hell was that? You lost to someone you should have beaten, or at least it should have been a close game. What the hell happened?"

"Actually boss, that was my fault," says John Walton. "I made the lineups and forgot the new pf wasn't going to be ready. With the loss of the other two players and getting them ready after their trades, I just wasn't ready. I was going to finish out this week before fully giving Boone the reigns. He has been doing all the coaching, but this week he was working with the two new guys, especially the one injured. Just put us in a bad spot."

Bobby looked over both men. "We missed out on money with this loss. And it's impossible to know who we okay next. This win would have gone a long way if securing us a spot in the play-in. With it, hard to say if we make it. So guys, get the lineups together. The new guy is out two weeks. Just be patient. We have him mainly for the start of the second half of the season. John, look around the basketball universe to see if we can get another person. I don't know what we need exactly as the team is playing fairly well, but, after we lose this cup match, we will be able to experiment with lineups. Coach Boone, keep at it. We have some tough matchups coming up. There may be some losses. Just hang in there, do your best. We are the only undefeated team in our league. It may not be that way in a few days. That will not be a reflection of you at all. Just do your best. Get these guys to play ball and to stay on the boards."

"I will do just that," said coach Boone. "Who knows, maybe we'll get to the finals. We'll see."

"All right guys, head on out. We took it on the chin today. Let's come better prepared tomorrow," said Bobby Sparks.

Last edited by Reece at 11/30/2022 5:47:07 PM

Day 8 (Tuesday 29 November 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Lion Rebels 64 - The Ashkickers 100
BOBBBSBURGS 44 - The Beer Bellys 133
Linndale 74 - Miami Cleo 92
San Dominica Warriors 118 - Motor City Waddupdoe 48
Carolina Rebels 111 - Sweaty Socks 59
Philly Dribble 76 - The Philadelphia Spartans 82
209’s MostWanted 94 - Hustlas 108
BKDogs 68 - Żubr Białystok 114

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 133 : The Beer Bellys
Rebounds : 68 : San Dominica Warriors
Assists : 40 : The Beer Bellys
Steals : 14 : The Beer Bellys
Block Shots : 14 : Miami Cleo, San Dominica Warriors, The Beer Bellys

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 38 : P. Brito Gomes (209’s MostWanted)
Rebounds : 21 : I. Homs (The Beer Bellys)
Assists : 10 : O. Harbin (The Beer Bellys)
Steals : 5 : J. Segovia (The Beer Bellys)
Block Shots : 7 : A. Gallucci (Miami Cleo)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : P. Brito Gomes (209’s MostWanted) (38 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Shooting Guard : A. Varpukevicius (Miami Cleo) (24 Points, 12 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35
Small Forward : L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors) (24 Points, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 29
Power Forward : I. Homs (The Beer Bellys) (24 Points, 21 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 44
Center : O. Reine (The Ashkickers) (20 Points, 14 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35

MVP of the evening
I. Homs (The Beer Bellys) (24 Points, 21 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 44

The bad performance of the evening
J. Aguilera (BOBBBSBURGS) (8 Points, 1 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -10

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : B. George (Carolina Rebels) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : L. McKnight (Lion Rebels) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : A. Gallucci (Miami Cleo), B. George (Carolina Rebels), G. Ricker (Motor City Waddupdoe), D. Harden (Lion Rebels), S. Hatch (Żubr Białystok), D. Švarplys (BKDogs), Z. Elsneris (BKDogs) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : J. Glicas (Philly Dribble), M. Granja (San Dominica Warriors) : 5 Three points

The best performer : P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble) : Rating : 16.5

The worst performer : S. Bryant (BOBBBSBURGS) : Rating : 1.5

"Pio", Coach starts, "we have a nice problem but we have to address it." "Yeah", Pio responds, "great job by our GM, but not what we were led to expect."

"He addresses a big need, and give us flexibility and depth. He allows us to guarantee some playing time at natural positions. He also allows us freedom to experiment up front," Coach reminds him. Just then, a knock on the door was heard.

"Door's open", yells Pio. In walks Kevin Jung. "Hey, I thought I was playing today! I thought I was scheduled to play the whole game. No one said a word to me, a new guy shows up and gets the time me Dats were working with, we get a new small forward except he's playing power forward, and I have no idea where I fit in or what my role is. I've been backing up the 4 all season and staying ready at the 5. I've been working on my game like you wanted. What gives?"

"Kevin", Coach says, "you are a professional basketball player. You know how this business is. Yes, we do try and communicate, but this happened right before game time and we literally did not have the chance to talk to anyone. Plus, to be fair, we weren't exactly trying to land another center."

"Listen to Coach, Kevin," Pio says, "but let's objectively look at something else here. Yes, you've done what we've asked, but the GM's job is to make us better. Your new teammate is a better rebounder than Datler. He's better on offense and defense, as good a shot blocker, and a better free throw shooter ethan both of you, and he's a year younger than Datler, who happens to be a year younger than YOU."

"Kevin", Coach begins, " you're a part of our plans, but I want you to look at something. Look at the rookie, Gross. You're 3 years older. He's a better free throw shooter and as good a shot blocker as you are. He's just a step behind you on the boards and with his inside game offensively. His handle isn't as good as yours but he's a better driver and he has better shooting range. He needs to play. The new guy makes us better. We'll try and move you but we make no promises and looking long term we actually do value you. However, if other players pass you up on the depth chart, you lose what value you have to us as a player. You have to put in the work and get results."

"Kevin, consider this," Pio says. "If you and Datler were getting the results we wanted, why were we starting Czagala at the center position? Why are we looking at our new small forward addition at power forward? We told you the front court would be fluid and your development would determine our course. Well, here we are, weak rebounding the basketball, weak inside defensively, and weak scoring inside. Your new teammate stregthens us in all three areas. He's a year younger than you. Our new small forward helps addresses those weaknesses as well. Those two, in combination with Czagala and Guevara make us strong defensively inside and solid on the boards, though the inside game is still a work in progress. Our job is to make this team better and win games. The GM's job is to make this team better. That part we got done, but winning games, we've lost our last 2 season games and the BBM game. We're not winning. Changes have to be made when that happen. More are coming. Get results, or get gone. Coach might put it far nicer than I will, but that's the gist of it. If you don't produce, we will find someone who will. You're not producing. You can sulk about it, or do something about it. If you put in the work, there's a place for you here. Go do the work."

"I'm working," Kevin says as he walks out the door.

"Coach, I don't like his attitude. He's gonna be a problem now", Pio says.

"Pio", Coach says, "if he's a problem, you know what you'll have to do."

"Yeah", responds Pio. "I know."

Week Four Power Rankings & Notes
Well, we've hit the 36% mark of the season and while in Season 58 things seemed to have settled in, thanks to the transfer list movement, we're seeing some bumps along the way, at least in the upper portions of the conferences, making for some topsy turvey-ness. This week's rankings will look back to where teams were after one week in the rankings to see how things have changed since the dawn of the season.

We are down to only one remaining undefeated team as Philly Dribble suffered their first defeat at the hands of the recently reformed Philadelphia Spartans, while Hustlas is holding strong and wheeling/dealing their way to the top of the standings. Linndale with some good movement, too, while BKDogs has had a few departures.

Week 4 Player Notes & Stats
As we round into the interconference play, here are the current league leaders. Carolina's Trent Begley is neck and neck with Miami's Marko Maurin for the scoring title so far, sitting at 23.8 & 23.7 PPG, respectively. That's about 4 points less than last season's scoring leader at this time. Hustlas' Slawek Klin leads by one whole rebound over San Dominica's Jérome Bégin, with 15.6 RPG, and Trent Begley is also leading the way in assists, with 7.2 - just over 1/2 an assist more than Härmo Vaarandi of Spartan lore. Żubr Białystok's Clark Riggins leads the league in FG% with 71.1%, while Carolina's Thomas Plummer is averaging 57.9% on threes (though with only 19 shots attempted, I'd be remiss to not point out Juljonas Gilcas's (Philly Dribble) 36.4% on 20 more shots). We've got four players who've been perfect from the charity strip, but it's Zubr's Domantas Apvinis with the most at 18, though recently departed Čamil Grbac from BKDogs was on a pretty incredible run with 30-31 FT made.

With that, we'll get on to the rankings. This week's rankings will include week one's rank in parenthesis behind the team's name.

Week Four Power Rankings
1. Hustlas (7)
As mentioned, the lone undefeated team in the league, Hustlas has only one loss in all of their official BB games (we're excluding personal league games here), finally losing by 12 in BBM to a lower ranked opponent (as detailed in Reece's excellent post earlier). Three of their wins have been blow outs, but this week's matchups were closer as they defeated then seeded #5's in both conferences Żubr Białystok by 9 and 209’s MostWanted by 14. We get our epic matchup of the season this Saturday as they travel to face Philly Dribble before then playing host to the pleasantly surprising 2nd seed in the Big 8, Carolina Rebels. Depending on tactics, enthusiasm, and game shapes, both of these matchups could be tight. But all in all, Reece is proving savvy at bringing in players to compete at a high level and edge out some wins.

2. The Beer Bellys (3)
Listen. I don't know what to tell you. Yes, I know they have a 5-3 record. Yes, I know that they lost to Miami (who made an incredible leap in OPP EFFG this week), but this is how the numbers play out and as we learned in Moneyball, the numbers don't lie (they just might not win championships). This week's rankings are going to be interesting because of the effects of some of the games this last week. Because of that, the 3rd ranked EFFG & OPP EFFG team averages out to be 2nd overall according to my impeccable formula. Don't @ me. With a challenging loss to The Ashkickers (losing by 15 and scoring only 64 points against their vaunted defense) and a pleasant walk in the park blow out win against BOBBBS, they find themselves facing the suffering Lion Rebels on the road before hosting BKDogs. Am I ranking them this high so that I can cackle manically and make myself feel better about my terrible team on Saturday if my Rebels somehow win? Maybe. I'm mostly just disappointed to not be getting a free keg by being the visiting team at The Keg.

3. Philly Dribble (1)
Philly took care of business against the upstart Carolina Rebels, winning by 13 on the road and then had to "travel" across town to face the Spartans where they were upset by 6 and held to only 76 points despite technically out-rating them on the night (130-123). They appear to have suffered on the boards with a 16-rebound deficit for the game, thanks in part to new addition Sorin Nitã bringing down 18 by himself. Then the aforementioned Face Off of the Season Saturday night before traveling to take on Żubr Białystok. Despite the surprising defeat, Philly still sits pretty according to the numbers.

4. The Ashkickers (2)
Having only lost one game so far to the Hustlas, they've been fairly dominant averaging a 26-point advantage over their 7 wins and only losing by 7 in their lone loss. This last week, they beat whom I have ranked 2nd before dismantling the Lion Rebels. They take their show on the road to the DogPound to face BKDogs before heading back home to play host to 209, in what could be an interesting matchup depending on tactics.

5. San Dominica Warriors (5)
San Dom pushed up above Linndale with their 5-3 record thanks to point differential, with an impressive and curious 213 PD with 3 losses on their resume. A solid 10-point victory over Linndale last Saturday (which wasn't exactly as close as it wound up looking thanks to holding Linn to 17, 18, and 11 points in each of the first three quarters), followed by decimation of Motor City on the road again leads them into a nice easy game on Saturday against Sweaty Socks before playing host to the Spartans who bring their new entourage to town. Should be a good matchup!

6. Miami Cleo (8)
packer_22 is putting together a nice little season going 5-2 in conference, including a 50-point smackdown of Motor City last Saturday before then somewhat surprisingly beating Linndale in a game that I would've thought would've been closer than 18 points, finding themselves up 19 at the half and never letting up. While they're out of the Cup, they find a welcoming venture to BOBBBSBURGS before then playing host to my sad sack of a squad. They should be standing tall after this week, and moving up this list if all goes well.

7. Linndale (6)
Tough week for Linndale who started 5-1 before losing their third-round Cup matchup to start a string of losses that reached four (counting BBM). They dropped both league games this week in a close one against San Dominica on TV and then getting drubbed by Miami on the road. Fortunately, they see some light as they face both Motor City and Sweaty Socks this week, so they should be sitting at 7-3 and still positioned to battle for a playoff spot. They did just bring in a new, young Center, Spanish-born Ramón Sanz Garcáa, who stands 6'10 and is still just 21 years old. He's averaged a rating of 12 with 11.9 RPG and 8.3 PPG for Spain's Olimpia Dantesco in Div IV.26. He's most likely a bit of a project still, but I'd guess Speedtraps has some specific plans in mind. The bigger purchase comes in the form of Estonian SF Daniil Kamp who should be a solid improvement for them.

8. Carolina Rebels (9)
It does feel a bit blasphemous to have the 2nd seed in the Big 8 with a 6-2 record this low on the charts, and kudos to Daisy Merollin who has managed tactics to their advantage in several ways this season. They finally lost their second game, unsurprisingly to Philly Dribble before getting Sweaty Socks served up on a platter for them. They're also still alive in the Cup, but now face the 26th ranked US team. They face the turned around Philadelphia Spartans at home before traveling to take on Hustlas. Carolina ranks 5th in EFFG (122.9), but they rank 10th in OPP EFFG (96.9). Now that last number isn't terrible, but we've got 11 teams averaging less than 100 OPP EFFG and 8 of those teams are averaging 76 or less. Defense is stingy this season, and I think we're seeing that in the offensive production of each team.

9. 209's MostWanted (4)
209's settled into 4-4, and look to be a difficult matchup in most situations. They have been a bit up and down, losing to Linndale to start the season before dominating Lion Rebels and the Warriors and then losing to Carolina. Still, they're sitting at 5th after beating out BKDogs and then losing on the road to Hustlas. They had a nice Cup win last night to stay alive to the 256 round and face Żubr Białystok at home before traveling to face The Ashkickers next Tuesday. I say a chance for 1-1 to stay at .500 on the season. What say you?

10. Żubr Białystok (10)
whitestok's .500 season, landing them on the other side of the league in 5th place has been another tale of up and down. They're beating those they should clearly beat, but losing games they need to win to compete for a playoff spot (they did beat the Spartans, but that was pre-purchases). They're going to have to perform well to hold on to at least 5th, if not a playoff spot. Games this week against the aforementioned 209 before playing host to Philly Dribble. Will they land at 5-5 after this week?

11. Lion Rebels (11)
I'm really sick of training plans. I was hoping to be able to stick around in Div III while I got some new blood up to speed, but my hopes of that are waning. 2-6 feels like an injustice to Terry Armstead who’s nearing the final stages of his prime before old age takes effect (anyone have any Tom Brady serum?). It was nice to face BOBBBS this week, but I had to treat them like a Cup game to ensure I advanced to the 256 round. I knew I'd lose to The Ashkickers, but losing like that hurt (11 first quarter points and missing on GDP). We take on The Beer Bellys and Miami Cleo - games I'll need to salvage this season, but I don't know if my boys are up for it. They might just be looking ahead to Week 6.

12. The Philadelphia Spartans (14)
I expect this group to continue to rise, especially after their defeat of Philly Dribble at home this week after their dominance of Sweaty Socks. While they're still the 6th seed at 3-5, I'm guessing that will change with a tear through the Big 8. Everyone has to recalculate now, starting with Carolina and San Dominica. While they've seen a modest improvement in EFFG (13.3 points up), it's their OPP EFFG that's really moved the needle going from giving up 124 EFF in the first week down to 97.9. That's still only good for 11th in OPP EFFG, but I expect that trend to continue. Sorin Nitã has proved dominant down low in just 3 games and Florian Taylor is proving to be fairly effective at the 4 position for them, but it's Gilberto Romão who's been a delight, averaging 22.9 PPG as their scorer at the SF position which was a shift with the arrival of Taylor.