Xbox Season 20 Power Rankings Week 3

Hey there everyone. Back again with a new weekly ranking. Fun little fact every team I predicted to be in the playoffs is currently holding a spot (except for the wizards) who are tied for 4th win philly.

*Disclaimer* Some of you may be offended by this, but note this is based on my personal (and I tried to be unbiased to my team and/or friends) opinion and if I haven't played with you chances are I've got no idea who you are.

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East:

Boston Celtics: Boston continues to trudge through this season without much success rate. They did get a win this week against the Washington Wizards but it was their 2nd unit who really haven't had much (if any) success this season. Drise and Sniper continue to have a roster that haven't had any FF this season tho so that in itself is impressive.

What they need to do to win:
I honestly don't see this team able to do anything to put them in the championship conversation. If this team looks to claw back to the 4th seed in a top heavy eastern conference they are going to have to dig deep and win some big boy games against the top half.


Miami Heat: @MINICHUD MASON and @Sam F N STACKS continue to roll through the east. With things heating up between the 3 Goliaths of the east (Heat, Raps, Knicks) look for these games against each other down the stretch to be a little tighter now that they have playoff implications. With a small league you run into teams quite often which is a recipe for bad blood (and good basketball) between teams that are battling for top spot.

What they need to do to win:
I do think the Heat are a move or 2 away from being as well rounded as the raps but whether Mason can make it happen remains to be seen. I expect him to try and bring in an import or 2 before the roster freeze in 2 weeks.


New York Knicks: @Tb ToXiC and @th4 x w4ll continue to keep things tight in the east with a 4-2 record. This team has a scary good top line but I can't say with confidence this roster will be the same come playoff time. With some salary cap issues the Knicks are making it work by using TC players unlimited regular season ECU limits to their advantage but once the playoffs come this strategy won't be an option especially late in the playoffs when their top guys games are used up.

What they need to do to win:
I expect them to make some noise on the trade front to shore up that second unit and really gun for the raps so wally and @Viktomize dont have to do the heavy lifting all throughout the playoffs.



Philadelphia 76ers: The sixers went 0-6 this week and continue to lean on squid for their success and teams are catching onto that. Hinkie has done a good job rounding into his own as a go to option but on the flip side profit has seemed to cool off a little bit. The one thing the sixers have in their favor is that they are currently sporting THE BEST training camp in the league, but a team of friends with no cap space they aren't looking to trade them away to improve as they are running it back with the same OG squad they brough to Friday Night Madness. Currently in the 4th seed with the dumpster fires that are the Wizards and the Celts they may hold on to that spot but will it matter?

What they need to do to win:
This squad is EXTREMELY hindered by cap and there honestly isn't a ton they can do to improve. So that being said they need to dig deep and figure out how to WIN games when other teams shut down Squid and Hinkie.


Toronto Raptors: The Raps continue to buzz. Although they had their worst week of the season (4-2) the still hold onto that top spot in the East with a 2 game advantage. The Raps are probably the most complete team in the league currently with 2 VERY solid lines and a ton of guys who have experience on the site I expect them to continue to be the crowned jewel of the league and come playoffs you know BigJay is going to be HUNGRY after what happened last season in the playoffs against Mason and the pistons.

What they need to do to win:
Stay the course. It often becomes way to easy to make moves for the sake of making moves and unless this team is bringing in a guy who will come and be an instant upgrade at the wing on either line then they shouldn't disrupt chemistry by trying to tweak to much. Also RESIGN KAWAI LEONARD... Oh wait this is LGBA


Washington Wizards: The Wizards are struggling. They're the classic 1 line team. Their one unit lead by OG grandpapa, Schizo and TERRRRRY continue to win games and has been 4-1 since week 2 and should of had a 3-0 week after their lone loss coming against the Nuggets in overtime with 2 ecus and hellrell playing instead of witman. On the flip side of the coin GM chipskylark hasn't been anywhere to be seen since week 1 and that resulted in the other line forfeiting to the spurs which did not sit well in the locker room and then they went on to get SMASHED by the 1-16 (now 2-16) Boston Celtics in an embarrassing fashion. This team has some serious soul searching to do and if they put friendship aside and make move to improve they could be a darkhorse in the east, if they dont they may finish in the 4th seed but its tough to see that ending well.

What they need to do to win:
This team needs to go out and get some impact players for their other line. Not winning a game is 2 weeks besides by FF is NOT going to cut it in the production category for their 2nd unit.

West:

Dallas Mavericks: Dallas came out and made a STATEMENT this week. Going 6-0 helped put them firmly back into a playoff spot. Although they did beat the knicks (without wally and vik) I dont see any other high quality team they played. I'll give them full credit tho as they came out and won games that mattered with playoff implications against the clippers, spurs and Jazz (without Rickoshay). This team has some flaws but with MVP candidate @Raynor leading the way they can beat anyone.

What they need to do to win:
The western conference being as wide open as its ever been if the mavs can make some moves to give Raynor, Mark and Nekski some help they could really make some noise in the LOFFS. Maybe they can go out and fill their holes with some quality players from struggling teams.


Denver Nuggets: Denver although narrowly escaping the Wizards in OT they marched onto a 5-1 week to continue to outpace the Suns. I still am not sold that the Nuggets 2nd line is formidable enough to beat some of the beasts of the east, their top player andoo seems to be enough to be controlling the west. If nothing changes in the west and the playoffs started tomorrow I'd bet my money on a Nuggets/Suns series and it may be one of the most entertaining series this website has ever seen (competing with the Raps/Pistons of last year)

What they need to do to win:
The nuggets need to figure out their salary cap and at the same time solidify their second unit. Going in big on the BPA in bidding is a good strategy but at the same time you need to have a plan who to get with those cheaper contracts. Another team who could potentially target some cheap contracts on bad teams.

L.A Clippers: The Clips went from 0-hero this week, pulling themselves from the basement of the west to put themselves in a playoff spot. The pulled off 2 questionable trades, one sending polar to the knicks and 1 sending daffadome to the spurs. On paper it looks like they lost both those trades but locker room chemistry is huge and if they were a negative presence it could be addition by subtraction.

What they need to do to win:
The Clips need to figure out a rotation that works and then build off of that. Honestly I havent paid a ton of attention but the clamor I've heard around the league is that they dont have consistent lines. Maybe trading away players who weren't as committed to the cause helps that? Time will tell.


Phoenix Suns: Phoenix may be the most well rounded team out west. They have some real dogs out there on the roster and have 2 full lineups of guys who know their roll. Not all of these guys are go to scorers but they have enough of them to have 2 lines who can score 80 points a game if the other team isn't going to show up defensively. My question about them is do they have the commitment to becoming a GREAT defensive team or are they going to run and gun everyone. Time will tell.

What they need to do to win:
The suns likely are done making moves unless Ele and Bandana have a secret weapon they plan on making sign up late. I think this team needs to stand pat and continue to work through their 10-12 man rotation to see who fits best with who.

San Antonio Spurs: After being one of the biggest surprises of the season the spurs seemed to have fallen back to earth. Without being in the locker room I dont know exactly what happened this week but with their only win coming via FF against the mess that is the Wizards they are going to have to dig deep to fight out of this hole. Allowing 70+ppg on defense while only scoring more than 50 twice (52 + 61) isn't a recipe for success. Two Lag Shots is a smart guy and while adding Daffadome may help on both ends of the floor Im not sold that it will be enough.

What they need to do to win:
They need to round out their second unit. They seem to run a squad where anyone can play with anyone but in my experience in competitive gaming and especially LGBA I don't think this is a strategy that wins you a championship. As the playoffs get closer games get tighter and you need to know your brothers on the floor are going to preform as expected with the game on the line.


Utah Jazz: The Jazz STRULED without Rickoshay there to help carry some of the offensive load going 0-6 and management cannot be happy with the output of their squad. Tough time to go on a losing streak with the Mavs and Clips heating up but look for them to turn it around this week if he is home from his vacation and get some offense going.

What they need to do to win:
The Jazz need a 2nd unit. They have a line of friends that Rick can run the point for and they are effective but their 2nd unit needs to win games. I feel this is a common theme in the western conference (Outside of PHX) that they are all one line teams and whoever has the best 2nd line will likely come out of the west.




Till next time,
Schizostone