Full Court Press: January 2009 Cover

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Full Court Press: Off The Bench - Week 6

Have the defending champion Death Piggys finally learned how to actually defend this season? Kevin Garnett and company have made it back near the top of the EHBA standings, for now, but have they done enough to propel them to the top of the Full Court Press Power Rankings?



Power Rankings - Week 6
By Courtney Hysocs; Full Court Press


Five weeks down, sixteen to go before fans find out if their team is for real or just showing off for a limited time. The EHBA is starting to find its shape after 5 weeks of play, and teams are starting to show their true colors. There's no way to tell which colors will stay and which will change, but trends thus far can help paint the picture of what's to come. Full Court Press ranks the 12 teams based on how they've been doing lately and how tight a grasp they have on their current trend of winning or losing.

*denotes a team under .500 heading into Week 6, thus is a more significant loss
**denotes a team over .500 heading into Week 6, thus is a more significant win

12.) Colorado Bears (0-5)
Losses vs Peoria, Tokyo, South Carolina, Montreal, Rakeville*
Wins vs None
It's all gotta start with the Bears. They have the core of a team that should succeed, but injuries have been holding them back, not to mention the most difficult schedule through the first 5 weeks of play. However, until things start turning around, and the team wins a game they've gotta be at the bottom of this list.

11.) Dublin Bar Brawlers (1-4)
Losses vs Tokyo, South Carolina, Montreal, Las Vegas*
Wins vs Rakeville
The Irishmen were able put up their first win this season (vs RAK in week 4), but another weak performance against Las Vegas in Week 5 brings them right back down to earth.

10.) Las Vegas Lizards (2-3)
Losses vs South Carolina, Montreal, Rakeville*
Wins vs Bridgewater**, Dublin
After losing their first three straight games of the season, the Lizards put together a pair of impressive victories in weeks 4 and 5. It's enough to bump them up one spot, but let's wait to see what this team can do when the rest of the roster gets healthy before we push them any further.

9.) Weymouth Dumpsta Divers (2-3)
Losses vs Fitch, Tokyo, Peoria
Wins vs Tijuana, Bridgewater**
A big win in week 1 against Tijuana helped put Weymouth basketball in the sights of most pundits, but they quickly fell to the wayside, soring just 16 out of 36 possible points in the past 4 weeks. They haven't had the easiest of schedules thus far, many say that they've have a much better record based on their play on the court if they just had a break here or there. keep an eye on Weymouth to move up the rankings drastically if they can pull off a big win in South Carolina in Week 6.

8.) Tijuana Matadors (2-3)
Losses vs Weymouth*, Tokyo, Montreal
Wins vs Peoria**, South Carolina**
The Matadors, though they sit near the bottom of the standings, have put together two very impressive wins on the road in Peoria and at home against South Carolina. The talent on the court deserves a better spot in the standings and fans should expect good things from Tijuana as they face a fairly easy schedule in the coming weeks.

7.) Peoria Bricklayers (2-3)
Losses vs Tijuana, Fitch, Bridgewater
Wins vs Colorado, Weymouth
Here's the thing with Peoria: They may siting 5th place, just 2.5 games back from first place heading into Week 6, but they rank 5th from the bottom in overall production. Both of their wins come against teams currently under .500 and all three of their losses come at the hands of teams above .500. If they keep this up all season they'll be the most predictable team in the EHBA.

6.) Bridgewater Phenoms (3-2)
Losses vs Weymouth*, Las Vegas*
Wins vs Fitch**, Rakeville, Peoria**
Bridgewater losses to teams they should beat, and they beat teams they should lose to. Fans just don't know what to expect each week. Two losses in a row to sub .500 teams pushed them down in the rankings (and standings), and then out of nowhere they beat a sturdy Peoria team in week 5 to boost up not only their rankings but their spirits as well. The Phenoms have a bumpy schedule ahead of them, facing off against two bottom feeders (Dublin and Colorado) and two upper tier teams (South Carolina and Tokyo) in the next 4 weeks.

5.)Rakeville Crows (3-2)
Losses vs Bridgewater, Dublin*
Wins vs Montreal**, Las Vegas, Colorado
The Crows got some revenge against Montreal in Week 1, but it didn't help the sour taste left in their mouth after last year's finals defeat. The crows win more often than they lose, but many feel its a matter of luck as they boast the 2nd worst production rankings int he EHBA (only Colorado has put up worse numbers so far this season). They rank last in the league in both points and assists, and only the Lizards are worse as rebounding. We'll keep Rakeville at #5 for now, just because they put up more W's than L's, and they beat Bridgewater earlier in the season, but a loss in Tijuana could really shake things down for the Crows.

4.) Fitch Foo Fighers (3-2)
Losses vs Bridgewater, South Carolina
Wins vs Weymouth, Peoria**, Tokyo**
Fitch currently sits in the middle of the standings, less than 5 games away from first. They've had some impressive victories against Peoria and 1st place Tokyo. They've had the most difficult schedule to start the season - their competitor with the worst current record was Weymouth, who currently is just 1 game under .500. They're holding their own thus far, but the road doesn't get any easier with defending champs Montreal coming into town in Week 6.

3.) South Carolina Rebels (4-1)
Losses vs Tijuana*
Wins vs Las Vegas, Dublin, Colorado, Fitch**
The expansion Rebels have put up some impressive numbers rankings them 5th in total production, but some critics credit it to their easy schedule through the first five weeks of play. Thus far South Carolina has only faced one team currently above .500. They keep winning however and until they stop that trend they'll stick around the top of the rankings.

2.) Montreal Death Piggys (4-1)
Losses to Rakeville*
Wins vs Las Vegas, Dublin, Colorado, Tijuana
The defending champs are back, but they couldn't quite crack the top of the rankings just yet. The difference between Montreal and Tokyo is simply their schedule. They've beaten 3 of the same teams so far this season and they currently sit just one game apart in the standings and 1 spot from each other in total production (MON is 2nd and TKO is 3rd, separated by just .5 points). Montreal is going to have to push themselves above the pack in order to overtake 1st place in these rankings.

1.) Tokyo Vegans (4-1)
Losses to Fitch
Wins vs Dublin, Colorado, Tijuana, Weymouth
Tokyo has sat in 1st place all season. Even after a loss they held onto the top of the standings. The rank 3rd in overall production and lead the league in free throw percentage, total points scored, assists, and steals. Right now they're the team everyone is gunning for. They haven't had a difficult schedule thus far, but they've won each game handily. They face off against four teams in a row that currently sit above .500. If there was a time to prove they deserved the number 1 rankings, this will be it.

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