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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.

Season 41 All Star Break Power Rankings (continued)

5. Thunderhorse - 9-4 - CR: 300
Pre-Season Ranking: 2 - CR: 265

Salary wise, this should be a top 4 team, but management looks to be coasting and uninterested this season and that is holding this team back. With a team salary about 100k more than the team's average gate receipts, this team seems content to be hemorrahaging money. Perhaps management is hoping that their highly paid team will be able to perform to their best come playoff time, and as they have no reason to worry about not making the playoffs, they could be a sound strategy. Nothing has really changed about this team from the preseason, and despite the poor GS throughout the season, this team has put up a top 4 defense and manages to draw a fair number of fouls, but also tends to be foul prone so that ends up being a double-edged sword.

6. brooklyn knicks - 8-5 - CR: 581
Pre-Season Ranking: 7 - CR: 577

brooklyn knicks has a top 4 offense and alot of that is driven by the greatness of Eldon Cannon. Their defense and rebounding still continue to be a problem and management has not done anything to improve in that manner so far. This team is one of the few teams to manage to beat Hot Boyz, but they followed that up with a loss vs The Boxers and later had a perplexing loss to the MeHiCans. This team looks to compete for the playoffs in the Great 8, but needs to become more consistent if they hope to hold off some of the teams below them.

7. The Boxers - 7-6 - CR: 709
Pre-Season Ranking: 8 - CR: 613

The Boxers continued their plucky ways, and despite having a salary at the bottom of the league they have held their own against some of the top teams, despite not coming away with a victory. They also sacrificed some of their league games in order to focus on the cup and were rewarded with the longest cup run in the division. The Boxers rely on defense and rebounding as they have a top 3 team in both, but their offense is not consistent enough for them to be able to win more consistently. While this team looks like they could compete for the playoffs, they seem content to continue to focus on improving and might be targeting next season as their season.

8. Sinking Ships - 5-8 - CR: 850
Pre-Season Ranking: 11 - CR: 933

Sinking Ships has really turned the corner as of late and compared to the preseason, teams now should have a good feel for what to expect from this team. Aggressive maneuvers on the part of management has this team increasing their talent throughout the season and despite their middling season stats, this team has played great defense as of late. Tactically this team also is sound and their recent winning streak proves just how much this team has improved. Reaching the playoffs this season might end up being too tall of a task for them though as they currently sit in 7th and are three games out of the playoffs.

Season 41 All Star Break Power Rankings (continued)

9. TicTacShack - 8-5 - CR: 453
Pre-Season Ranking: 1 - CR: 427

TicTacShack is definitely on cruise control this season. Despite having what should be a top 4 team, they are just focused on training and not at all on competing. Perhaps they too will try to leverage their team's ability to the fullest come playoff time, but for now they seem content to coast. No real changes have been made to this team throughout the season, but through training they definitely have the potential to be a better team then they were at the beginning of the season as their training will cover their big deficiency. We will just have to wait till the end of the season to determine what this teams true intentions are.

10. Matchstick Men - 9-4 - CR: 592
Pre-Season Ranking: 5 - CR: 588

Age and inactivity has definitely caught up with this team as they definitely have been surpassed as one of the top teams in the Great 8. As their team continues to deteriorate, I would not be surprised if this team lost it's playoff spot unless management makes some moves. Kumar was injured part of this season, and neither Origo or Kumar have performed up to their typical standards. The high point for this team was the early season victory over The Golden Bricks, the only team to beat them so far this season.

11. Ghostface Killas - 7-6 - CR: 988
Pre-Season Ranking: N/A

Ghostface Killas took over for the MeHiCans just a few games ago and are still looking to get their feet under them. With the new true stars and money from the tutorial process, new teams are able to become competitive much quickly than in the past, and coming into the half bot Big 8, Ghostface Killas will make the playoffs. However, with over half of the conference schedule being bots and the rest being top salaried teams, it will be hard to determine just how much progress this team ends up making as the season goes on. This team might just be content to look forward to next season already.

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

Still being managed by that same computerized player. Shouldn't this count as one manager with multiple teams? I hear that's a bannable offense :D