Power Rankings after 6 games
General notes about the power rankings:
- I rank teams 1 to 16 but also slot them into tiers. The tier is a more accurate representation of how I view team quality than the direct ranking. As an example, I believe the gap between 1 and 4 is much smaller than the gap between 4 and 5 in this edition.
- I use game results, team salary, player skills, enthusiasm management and more to determine the rankings. They are inherently objective. I anticipate some will be unhappy with where their team ranked, do not refrain from responding and telling me how stupid I am. I welcome your criticism, I thrive on it
- Given the importance of home court, I include home losses and away wins with the team scores. However, away wins against a tanking team are not included as these are not impressive
Tier 1: Contenders
#1 Stark Contrast
6-0 record | 0 home losses | 2 away wins (10inch, Kings)
#2 Visionaries
5-1 record | 0 home losses | 1 away win (Cavaliers)
#3 Mill City
3-3 record | 0 home losses | 0 away wins
#4 Splash Gang
4-2 record | 0 home losses | 1 away win (Human Fund)
Stark has to get the top spot with an undefeated record and 2 away wins against .500 teams. Also beat Splash Gang with a starter injured, albeit at home. They have two older starters, so will have to see if they make any upgrades but they are threatening. Visionaries is showing that a top heavy roster with 0 bench pieces can succeed well enough. I am obviously biased, but Mill City going 3-3 while having their top 2 salary players injured for the first 4-5 games was impressive and keeps them afloat in the title race. Splash Gang swapped out their Italian SF for a US version and will always be a threat with their elite scoring guards backed up by multiple SBers
Tier 2: Playoff Teams
#5 Tar Team
5-1 record | 0 home losses | 0 away wins
#6 Flashover
4-2 record | 0 home losses | 1 away win (Silverbacks)
#7 Human Fund
3-3 record | 1 home loss (Splash) | 1 away win (ETBU)
Tar Team may take offense given their 5-1 record but their 2 actual away wins are against Beware and Mos Eisley, so not super impressive. I chalk 5-1 up more to their schedule so far, but they'll have plenty of chances to prove me wrong and show they can take down the top dogs. Flashover has an opposite schedule, where 2 of their home games are against tanking teams yet they still got an away win and manage to be 4-2. They've made a bunch of moves during the early season tho, so need to see where their roster shakes out
Tier 3: Relegation Battle
#8 Silverbacks
2-4 record | 2 home losses (Visionaries, Flashover) | 0 away wins
#9 Virginia Cavaliers
3-3 record | 1 home loss (Visionaries) | 0 away wins
#10 10 Inch Vertical
3-3 record | 1 home loss (Stark) | 0 away wins
#11 Kings Knights
3-3 record | 1 home loss (Stark) | 0 away wins
#12 LA Lions
3-3 record | 0 home losses | 0 away wins
#13 ETBU
2-4 record | 1 home loss (Human Fund) | 0 away wins
I almost put Silverbacks in the playoff tier given their roster and US NT prospect guards. But losing 2 home games this early in the season is not a good sign, and is making me rethink their ability. Cavaliers results to date aren't impressive but they've added a few big pieces and could jump to the next tier. I did not intentionally put 10 inch vertical at #10 but it feels fitting. Slots #10 to #14 feel super interchangeable to me. Maybe it's because they are the other conference and I haven't scouted them as thoroughly, or maybe the Big 8 is in for a parity filled season
Tier 4: Tankers
#14 Mos Eisley Imperials
#15 Beware of Dogs
#16 Resurrected Fury
You could maybe convince me to move Mos Eisley up to the next tier but they are at the salary floor and in the discord have mostly admitted to this being a tanking season to make money. So they go here with