Reigning MVP (F) Brian Law is having another worthy campaign and GUARD ME MAYBE will ride the wave. Improved play from mini-Brian Law (F) Stefan Chaplin has helped diversify GMM’s offense, and (G) Tommy Wong has been lights out from 3 all season.
2 (+1)
DPY
2-1
Two-time reigning champs, DON’T EVER PLAY YOURSELF, are right on schedule to defend their title having now given the reigns fully to (F) Tyler McFarlane who is playing out of his mind right now. Never mind the #2 ranking, this is still the team to beat until proven otherwise.
3 (-1)
MLG
3-1
MLGB has built themselves into a contender. They went toe-to-toe with DPY, which proved this team is officially a contender. (G) Jason Gu, (G) Ruoyu Chen and (F) Bowen Wang are a formidable trio, but rookie (C) Fang Jian Yuan has been a huge reason MLG has made the jump.
4 (+1)
DAW
3-1
D.A.W. (G) Jason Meija is D2’s most exciting player, and already an MVP contender. And so is his teammate (C) Lou Nikki, who has dominate the paint this season, the only big to put up 20 & 10 while shooting 65% from the field. Breaking into the Top 4 is great, but that’s not their ceiling.
5 (+2)
MIX
2-2
After an 0-2 start, MIXED BAG has bounced back to win two straight, albeit, against two teams who have yet to win a game. So, middle of the pack seems like the right place for now. Rookie (G) Effie Klein has proven to be an efficient scorer this season, we’ll see how this team evolves.
6 (-2)
NGC
1-3
NYC GRITTY COMMITTEE is struggling. (G) David Chu and (G) Ace Watanasuparp have both seen a huge drop in offensive productivity. And (G) Mark Lee is virtually non-existent. NGC has won a chip and gone to back-to-back title games just a season ago, they gotta fix this.
7 (-1)
JAM
1-3
SPACE JAM could just as easily be 3-1 but they have not quite mastered closing out games. And they have played well overall. Coming off maybe his best season, (F) J.L. Novosad has been even better this season. They have depth at every position, JAM should really be better than this.
8 (=)
UBC
0-4
At first glance, you might ask how UNCLE BOUGHT A COW, a one-time contender with a two-time D2 MVP, could fall to 0-4. The answer appears to be consistency of lineup. (F) Ben Hoynes and (F) Marco Barratta have not been there, which really hurts an otherwise undersized team.
9 (=)
TRI
0-3
TRIBE has some familiar faces on the roster, but they are largely new to each other. (F) Toko Kono, (F) Young Yu and (F) Jonathan Chen will provide consistent scoring, but they need some depth and more consistent effort on the defensive end. They’re otherwise not far away.
3RD DIVISION (WEEKNIGHTS)
Rank
Team
Record
Comments
1 (+2)
YIE
4-1
YIELDMO has the most singular player in D3 in (F) Max Paynter, and until that changes, they’ll be #1. His size, scoring, defense, and ceaseless hustle is unprecedented here. Around Paynter are role players that could star on other teams. This is the hands-down favorite to win it.
2 (+2)
NGC
2-1
NYC GRITTY COMMITTEE (F) Joey Lee is having maybe his best season and has been a key contributor in both their wins. (G) Mark Lee and (G) Teddy Oh continue to be one of D3’s best backcourts. NGC is a contender again this season.
3 (-2)
30F
3-2
After a strong 3-1 start, 30-FOR-30 looked sluggish last night in a very winnable game vs GA7. They’ll look to bounce back and finish the regular season off with a win, and go into the post-season with momentum.
4 (-2)
SNB
2-2
SMASH N BOUNCE is .500 but they’re the only team to beat the Top 2 teams on this list. Which is to say there is some inconsistency here, but when SNB is tuned in, they can win it all.
5 (+1)
HAN
2-2
The HANDEL ARCHITECTS, now in their 2nd season, have posted two impressive wins in a row. (G) Han Lee is providing a consistent source of points with 18.3 ppg, and they’re getting good all-around contributions from everyone else. Can they keep up this pace?
6 (+2)
FLA
1-2
On paper, the FLAT EARTHERS have plenty of firepower, particularly with (G) Julian Choi settling in, he’ll be one of the best scorers in D3. What they lack now is consistent rebounding and 3-point shooting.
7 (=)
GA7
2-2
GAME 7 picked up a win last night, but we’ll need to see some consistency in the lineup to move them up. Fourteen players have touched the court for GA7 so far, so there’s plenty up in the air. But one things for sure, having (G) Elliott Curtis out there will always give them a chance to win.
8 (-3)
DYN
1-3
After finally picking up their first W vs a tough SNB team, NY DYNASTY looks like they might be getting back on track. For DYN, any season short of competing for a title is wasted, so it’s about time. Adding (G) Evan Leong may be just the competitive fire they needed.
9 (-1)
TBT
0-2
At just 36 ppg, TBT needs some more scoring to really challenge opposing teams. Plenty of season left for them to work their way up the ladder, but 26% FGs and only 27.5 rpg isn’t going to do it.