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Big 8 Cup Coverage - Week 4

Allied Precise Gunmen (D IV - CR 344) @ Thunderhorse
Well, somehow, Thunderhorse managed to draw a lower ranked opponent than last week. However, an 11-day hiatus is catching up with them. Despite being the home team, they will be stuck using their default lineup and tactics, which will field a team with only two starters with DMI over 100k. Their opponent has saved minutes for their best players and will have at least three starters over the 100k with three more players in the same neighborhood available. Furthermore, Thunderhorse looks to be at a massive enthusiasm disadvantage. Look for Thunderhorse to get manhandled, or sniped as the case may be. Winner: Allied Precise Gunmen

In other news... The Boxers, will be making their exit from the tournament this week. My former team, the Drunken Clams (31708), lost its first D.IV finals series to this week's cup opponent back in Season 21. The Los Angeles Killa Beez are an outside offense team who made it to the Sweet 16 in Season 30 and have spent the last four seasons in II.1. I wish them luck in the later stages of the cup!

Good preview of these games! I agree with both of your predictions, and hats off to both you and Wartooth for making it all the way to the round of 256!

Saturday, February 10th

GAME OF THE NIGHT

3. I Volt @ 2. Thunderhorse
Thunderhorse is still easily the most talented team in the league, but poor coaching has them constantly underperforming. Thunderhorse still has one of the top offenses in the league and is one of the top rebounding teams. GS is a major thing in I Volt's favor, but I don't think it will be enough to overcome things in this case. Winner: Thunderhorse

Great 8 vs Big 8

5. The Boxers @ 1. lélé
lélé still boasts one of the top offenses in the game with the best FG% in the league, and a top three 3Pt FG%. The Boxers on the other hand have the worst TO margin of any non-bot team and that's not a good thing when going up against a FCP team. With this being a road game, I wouldn't expect any crazy CT antics from the Boxers and for lélé to win the game easily. Winner: lélé

7. Sinking Ships @ 3. TicTacShack (TV)
Sinking Ships is definitely improving as the season goes, but a road victory seems like a lot to ask. Ratings wise I would probably give Sinking Ships the slight edge from their balanced defense, but as TicTacShack is playing a PG at C, that always screws with the ratings. Since this is a TV game I can see Sinking Ships pulling out all of the stops and that being just enough to pull off the upset. Winner: Sinking Ships

5 Games, 5 bot losses

2. Hot Boyz @ 6. Bluehawks
8. Dejags @ 4. MeHiCans
6. brooklyn knicks @ 8. BuryYourDead
1. The Golden Bricks @ 7. new york celts
4. Matchstick Men @ 5. OpTic Nation

Got it done! Foul Trouble Plagued Thunderhorse and Volts pull away in the end. getting better!

Nice win! Showing the Great 8 can hang with the Big 8. Captain Mayday with a big win too!

Congrats, to my fellow Great 8ers! There seems to be a lot better parity between the conferences than salary would suggest. The Boxers nearly got it done, too. It was within 2 with 4:30 on the clock before we went downhill.

(party) Go Team Red!

Tuesday, February 13th

Adios, MeHiCans! And everybody else: Welcome to Mardi Gras!!!

2 Thunderhorse @ 2 Hot Boyz
The Great 8 has been on a tear. Thunderhorse just had their worst GS update of the season. And Hot Boyz are dripping with DMI and HCA. Look for Hot Boyz to lock up the paint and send Thunderhorse packing. Winner: Hot Boyz

3 TicTacShack @ 6 The Boxers
TicTacShack hasn’t won a game against an active manager since week 1. This is The Boxers’ last chance to take a game off an active Big 8 manager. Will The Boxers score one for the red team? Both of these teams are prioritizing training, so it’ll depend on how much funny business we see. But I’m tentatively calling this one for the home team. Winner: The Boxers

———

Six bot games and I’m out of puns and other interesting tidbits to sprinkle in, so…

7 new york celts @ 4 Matchstick Men

5 OpTic Nation @ 5 brooklyn knicks

8 BuryYourDead @ 7 Sinking Ships

1 lélé @ 8 Dejags

4 MeHiCans @ 3 I Volt

6 Bluehawks @ 1 The Golden Bricks

Welcome to flooded.ice and the Ghostface Killas! Hope you enjoy your stay here in IV.42.

Last edited by Rhyminsimon (USA NT assistant) at 2/13/2018 10:13:58 PM

Season 41 Week 6 Power Rankings

1. lélé - 11-1 Previous Ranking: 1
lélé played another close game this week but managed to continue it's winning streak, reaching 10 games. Their last 3 games in inter-conference play come against the top three teams in the Big 8 including a road TV game aginst Hot Boyz. lélé will be in a fight to maintain it's top spot.

2. The Golden Bricks - 11-1 Previous Ranking: 3
The Golden Bricks also have a 10 game winning streak going, but they are back to playing live teams now. Their defense will be put to a test soon with games against some of the top offenses in the league in the next couple of weeks.

3. Hot Boyz - 10-2 Previous Ranking: 4
Hot Boyz continues to have a great season as they beat Thunderhorse this past week. Their players are definitely playing above their pay as their team is the 8th highest paid team, and yet they beat the top salaried team.

4. I Volt - 8-4 Previous Ranking: 8
Big leap for I Volt as they had a big road win against Thunderhorse this week. Not content with being 3rd in the standings, they are still improving their team and potentially get younger with another guard purchase. Look for this team to make noise in the second half of the season.

5. Thunderhorse - 9-3 Previous Ranking: 2
Thunderhorse's poor GS proved to be too much for them to overcome this week and they fall two games behind lélé. Being out of the cup will help this team in the league, but it might not be enough for them to catch lélé at this point.

6. brooklyn knicks - 7-5 Previous Ranking: 6
brooklyn knicks beat up the bots on their schedule this week and have a higher PD than both Matchstick Men and The Boxers now which could be very valuable down the stretch in the competition for a playoff spot.

7. The Boxers - 6-6 Previous Ranking: 9
The Boxers had 2 close games this week but with the split stayed in shouting distance of the playoffs as we near the half way mark, that's a good sign for a team that's focusing on training. If management decides it is worth it to forgo training and make a push for the playoffs they have a chance still.

8. Sinking Ships - 4-8 Previous Ranking: 10
Big road victory for Sinking Ships against TicTacShack this week and they managed to double their win total this week. They have alot of ground to catch up to try to make the playoffs, but even if they cannot do that, they look more than capable to be able to play the spoiler role the rest of this season.

9. TicTacShack - 7-5 Previous Ranking: 5
Perhaps it is an overreaction to move this team this low, but having lost games to both Sinking Ships and The Boxers this week, it felt weird to put them higher than those two teams. Looking closer at their records, the last victory against a non-bot came in week 1 against lélé. Right now this team is a shell of what it was then.

10. Matchstick Men - 8-4 Previous Ranking: 7
Despite this team coming back from the brink of going bot, I think I might have overreacted last week in how high I moved them. Age and inactivity make this team worse than it's salary suggests. Their upcoming TV game against Thunderhorse in a couple weeks will be a good indicator of where this team truly is.

11. Ghostface Killas - 7-5 Previous Ranking: 11
Ghostface Killas management immediately took over for the freshly desposed MeHiCans management and immediately played a TV game that they did not have a chance to be prepared for. Early moves shows this team is hitting the ground running, but there is alot of catch up they need to do to start to be competitive.

t12. Bluehawks, BuryYourDead, Dejags, new york celts, OpTicNation
Still bots...

Saturday, February 17th

GAME OF THE NIGHT

1. The Golden Bricks @ 2. Thunderhorse
Thunderhorse's GS is in much better shape than it was last week and is a stronger team then they were just last week. The Golden Bricks look like they have the inside game to expose Thunderhorse's weakness on defense. Thunderhorse's top 4 offense will go up against The Golden Bricks top ranked defense. Thunderhorse's HCA will make this game close, but in the end I think The Golden Bricks will have what it takes to win. Winner: The Golden Bricks

Great 8 vs Big 8

3. I Volt @ 1. lélé
I Volt's is on a recent tear having won 6 games in a row but lélé is on an even bigger streak having won their last 10. lélé still has the top offense in the league while I Volt is in the middle in both offense and defense. Add on HCA and it is just too much for I Volt to handle. Winner: lélé

2. Hot Boyz @ 4. Ghostface Killas
Ghostface Killas continues to form their team, but it is still too early in their team for them to compete with one of the top teams in the Great 8. Watch for Hot Boyz offense to be way too much for Ghostface Killas to contain. Winner: Hot Boyz

5 Games, 5 bot losses

7. Sinking Ships @ 5. OpTic Nation
6. The Boxers @ 8. BuryYourDead
8. Dejags @ 3. TicTacShack
4. Matchstick Men @ 6. Bluehawks
5. brooklyn knicks @ 7. new york celts

ASG rosters are out!

Not many surprises:

Big 8 is all lélé and Thunderhorse. Looney was a landslide for SF. Zagdański is the only starter to return from last season. All of lélé's other all-stars were backups last season, except for Kilanowski, who played in Ssn 39's ASG. TicTacShack's Moore and Kneale were both on the bubble. But age and luck didn't favor them.

Great 8 is basically Bricks and knicks with Boyz and Boxers grabbing two backups each. Bricks nearly had both centers with Sakladas getting more votes than four all-star selections. Eldon Cannon makes his sixth ASG appearance in seven seasons, his fifth as starting PG. Bácsi and Chmura are the only other returnees. Last season's dominant Great 8 forwards, Origo and Nariwari both missed out.

Individual matchups, based on DMI, favor the Great 8 starters at PG and PF. The Big 8 claims SG, SF & C. Backups are essentially a wash, with guards going to the Great 8, forwards going to the Big 8, and C basically a wash. Ostensibly, this gives an advantage to the Big 8. But hell... everything is up for grabs and nothing has any meaning, because it's the ASG. Who knows, maybe the Hateful Eight end up winning.

Of the three-point contestants, Bour has been the best 3FG shooter this season (20-40, .500), with Kneale a close second (41-84, .488). The rest are Slade (23-50, .460), Mosconi (35-83, .422), Novo (30-75, .400), and Millard (31-92, .337). So, there are a number of ways this could play out. Good news is that the team formerly known as W&C Bball Club is gone, so somebody besides Wen and Cahill have a chance.

We've reached the All-star break, and I wanted the next set of power rankings to compare against the pre-season rankings. I'll be coming out with the Top 4 today, and follow up with 5-8 tomorrow and the rest on Friday.

Season 41 All Star Break Power Rankings

1. lélé - 12-1 CR: 463
Pre-Season Ranking: 3 - Preseason CR: 494

Coming into this season, I wondered if lélé could hang with the top 2 teams in the Big 8. Despite any early season loss against TicTacShack, lélé has proved they are definitely the class of the Big 8, and look to prove they are the class of the division with their next two games against the top 2 teams in the Great 8. lélé's great offense and fast pace has them leading the league in points scored by a wide margin and so far no one has really been able to slow them down. Any concerns about the defense have been masked by the great offense. At this point, anything less than making it to the division finals will be a dissapointment for this team.

2. The Golden Bricks - 12-1 CR: 524
Pre-Season Ranking: 4 - CR: 613

The Golden Bricks have proved that last season's playoff run was no fluke. If lélé is all about their great offense carrying them, The Golden Bricks is all about their great defense carrying them. They lead the league in points allowed, also by a wide margin. Their offense has improved with some of their acquisitions and they look like a more complete team then they did at the beginning of the season. No more simply relying on the GDP or enthusiasm management, this team looks like the class of the Great 8 right now. Their upcoming matchup against lélé looks like it could be a division final preview.

3. Hot Boyz - 11-2 CR: 784
Pre-Season Ranking: 10 - CR: 875

Hot Boyz has had the higher highs, without many of the lower lows that I mentioned in the preseason. This team's offense as well as tactical prowess has been more than enough to vault them from unknown into contender. They currently lead the league with the highest 3 point FG% of any team and any age on this team does not look to negatively impact them this season. They feel like a lower salaried version of lélé right now to me, so their upcoming game will be interesting to watch.

4. I Volt - 8-5 CR: 500
Pre-Season Ranking: 6 - CR: 483

Other than two early one possession losses, I Volt's only other losses come against the teams ahead of them in the rankings. They are a top 5 team in the league in points scored and have the best 3 point FG % defense in the league. They also have the best foul differential, 2nd best Turnover differential and 3rd best steal differential in the league. As I said in the preseason, this seems like a playoff team that can be dangerous come playoff time.