Fantasy Basketball-Bloggers league-Week 5 update

We’re midway through the 5th matchup in the League of Extraordinary bloggers. It’s been a good start for some teams while others have quickly fallen out of contention. Here’s my power rankings and the standings as we get over a month into this wacky compressed schedule an figure out who’s going to do what…

Power Rankings

The team with this guy's name on their roster and his stuffed stat-lines bringing them wins gets the #1 spot in our rankings this week. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

1. Gallo’s Bombers-(Jonathan Maness  of Nugg Love): Nugg love has risen to the top of the league with the most wins despite making just 1 move. I guess we can file that under “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He leads the league in assists and blocks while ranking in the top 3 for FG%, Rebounds, Steals, and Points. His guards are sick with D-Rose, Tyreke Evans, Kemba Walker, and Jarrett Jack and he’s definitely benefited from the breakouts by big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Andrew Bynum. No discussion of his team would be complete though, without mentioning the namesake of the team Danilo Gallinari who he picked with the 58th overall pick in the 6th round and is off to a great start to the year for both Maness and the team he covers, the Nuggets.

2. FantasyCPR’s Medics-(me, Zach Thompson of FantasyCPR): I’ve shuffled people around since a draft I wasn’t thrilled with and ended up pretty solid overall. I started with a 4-4 split week but have won each week since including downing purple and blue last week 7-1.  I’ve grabbed some key additions like Sam Dalembert, Iman Shumpert, and MarShon Brooks. Right now I’m #1 overall in boards, steals, and points but I’ve struggled in percentages thanks to guys like Danny Granger, Russell Westbrook, and Brandon Knight who take plenty of shots to get their points.

3. Sixer Sense (Sean O’Connor from The Sixer Sense): Sixer sense has enjoyed the early season not just due to the surprising ris of the reality 76ers, but the fantasy Sixer Sense team has also played well. He’s had a tough schedule as he’s already played me and Campsall (#4 team) and is now matched up with the Bombers (#1 team). He’s holding his own with Gallo (3-5 so far) and could be a team to reckon with come playoff time. Like the Bombers he’s benefited from a “homer pick” that’s turned out great for him with Jrue Holiday. His Kevin Durant, Nene, and Josh Smith trio makes for a formidable imaginary front line. He’s also riding Shawn Marion’s week without Dirk. He ranks near the bottom of the league in FT%  but is top 3 in 3PM, blocks, and most importantly wins. If the playoffs started today he’d be the 3-seed and my matchup. I’d be afraid because I really like his team.

4. SDS @WillSevidalSDS (William Sevidal of Soaring Down South): Soaring down South is 14-17-1 and 4th in the West, but don’t let that fool you. SDS is having a big week right now and could get all the way to 20 or 21 wins and jump right into this final playoff spot by next week if they can hold on for the big week. He’ll get CP3 back tonight in LA; and with Paul, Ricky Rubio, Ty Lawson, Monta Ellis, and Jeff Teague this guy is loaded at the point. Greg Monroe, Roy Hibbert, and Ryan Anderson can do some nice things for him up front as well. The more I looked at this team the more I couldn’t figure out how he could be under .500. He’s somehow only had 1 winning week (6-1-1 over Pippen). He has yet to make a roster move which definitely hasn’t helped but he’s also just had rotten luck. He’s #2 in the league in steals, #3 in assists, and #4 in FT%. Those overall numbers would indicate his team’s primed for a rise in the standings, but he’s got to make sure he makes the roster moves his team needs to keep guys active daily (CP3′s on his bench as of time of writing) and add/drop the guys he needs to. The backbone of his team though, is one of the best in the league which is why he ranks this hugh despite his record.

5. Peachtree Hoops (Kris Willis of Peachtree Hoops): Peachtree is the unfortunate soul that’s been hammered by injuries the hardest. He’s lost D-Wade for the past week plus and now has Dirk out as well. He’s stayed pretty active though and has been able to stay just below .500 at 15-17. It doesn’t look good for him this week as Sevidol is up on him 7-1. If he can hang on and stay close, once his injured guys return (Dirk, Dwyane, and Davis) he’s got a solid nucleus with Joe Johnson, Ray Felton, and Luis Scola. His strength is definitely in the percentages. He sits at or near the top of the league in FG% (2) and FT% (2) while ranking 4th in points scored and dead last in boards.

6. Amar’e's Kneees-(Scott Campsall of Buckets over Broadway): Just above .500 at 16-15 Amar’e's Kneees are holding up, but just barely. He had a tough week against Sixer sense week 2 and couldn’t get more than 3 wins against bottom-dwelling Pippen. He’s my matchup this week and he isn’t all that intimdating without Zach Randolph’s imposing double-double threat although I like a lot of what his team has going on. If the playoffs started today, he’d squeak in as the 4 seed. He’s near the bottom of the league in overall scoring (9 or 10), assists (9 of 10), and fg% (last place). He doesn’t excel in one category necessarily so he could be set for a slide unless his guys pick it up… Deron Williams and Carmelo is a killer combo, but they’ve been struggling and unfortunately Amar’e's Kneees has been too.

7. Purple and Blues-Broox Anderson of Purple and Blues: Purple and Blues has made the most moves in the league but has still struggld to a 14-18 start. They started well the first 2 weeks and were 10-6, but since then they’re 4-12 including a 1-7 against Medics last week. He’s followed the plan of the real-life team of Andrea Bargnani so he should be set up for a bounceback now that the big Italian is back in the middle. In addition to Bargnani, he’s got Kobe, Dwight, Brandon Jennings, and a soon-returning Rajon Rondo. Now that his health is back, look for Broox and the boys to make a little bit of a run. They’re at or near the top of several overall categories: points (2), rebounds (3), and 3PM (1). They’ve struggled with FT% (68% and last in the league-expected with Howard).

8. Charlotte RobertoGato (Andrew Barraclaugh of Roberto Gato)-Charlotte has played well at times this year and sits in 5th for the year. They’ve excelled at FG% (2) and FT% (1) while struggling in some peripherals (last in steals). He’s got some dead weight he could trim in Jared Dudley and Nick Young (both of which will now go off since I wrote that). If he did make a move to switch either of those 2 out, it would be his first. The fact that he’s 15-17 without adding a single player is impressive. With a little tweaking, the team could be great since it has a very solid core of Kevin Love, Steve Nach, Pau Gasol, and Chris Bosh.

9. Saving The Skyhook-(Ian Segovia of Saving the Skyhook)-STS has struggled this year and was hit yet again as Luol Deng went down. Deng and Afflalo  are both in his starting lineup while Steph Curry is currently on his bench. Curry ‘s back for the Warriors and hopefully Segovia gets him back in his lineup too. He has some decent pieces but has some issues as evidenced by his ranking in overall points (8 of 10), blocks (10 almost 100 behind the leader with only 74), steals (9), assists (10), and rebounds (9). He is 2nd in 3PM and 3rd in FT%.

10. Team Pipen Aint Easy (Josh Hill of Pippen Ain’t Easy)-Their stay in the cellar may be very short-lived if they can claw back against RobertoGato. He’s got LeBron and Kyle Lowry with Al Jefferson and Carlos Boozer as helpful pieces as well. He’s got 3 Bulls in Boozer, Noah, and Hamilton and if the 3 of them get rolling like they can now that D-Rose is back he can dig out of this very quickly. His struggles are mainly in the categorie of 3PM (last in the league), blocks (2nd to last), and points (last). Those are things available on the waiver wire, so hopefully he can get things turned around.

Standings

Tags: Bloggers League, Danilo Gallinari, FanSided, Fantasy Basketball week 5