Week 10 Power Rankings

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Where It's Never Too Early to Talk EBP

While Spud State Showdown II may be the more glamorous pick, Iguanas-Butchers gets the nod for Game of the Week. Why? Well, The Igs recently had 1st place pulled out from under them and need a win right now to stop the madness. The Butchers know the time is now to assert themselves as the class of the World.

Not since its Inaugural Season five years ago (did you know this was the league's 5th season?) has the WFBL seen such an even distribution of talent amongst its teams. In the World Conference, the fifth-place team (Udorn) is a mere 3 games out of first, and the last-place team (Bayside) was 10 points away from beating the first-place team (Zermatt). In the Wasatch, the last-place team (Nephi) has gone 13-5 on the season against the first-place team (Twin Falls), and the fourth and fifth-place teams are a mere 4.5 out of the top spot. As of our deadline, the top 11 players on the Player Rater came from 11 different teams (sorry Nephi). The weekly EBP race has yielded but two repeat winners so far (Chris Paul and LeBron James).

Whew. So what does it all mean? It means, with the announcement of All-Star teams just around the corner, we're using this week's Power Rankings as an opportunity to give an assessment of each team's first-half EBP, complete with an interesting statistic or two. Because when you boil it down, that's all we're really playing with—statistics.


Team, Rank, (Previous), Record

1 (3) 46-42-2
Chris Paul. The A-Boms find themselves unexpectedly back in the top spot, thanks in no small part to the reigning EBP. Since Paul returned from his injury, the A-Boms have won 3 of 4 series, including a league-leading three straight. It's safe to say that as Paul goes, so go the A-Boms.

2 (4) 47-41-2

Kevin Durant. Finally looking like the player who caused Dave Barton to debate making him his keeper a year ago, Durant has been on fire of late, helping the 'Dancers creep to within one game of the Wasatch lead. It's not often you face a season-defining week from LeBron and come out a winner.

3 (1) 47-39-4
Tyreke Evans. Yes Duncan is top-ten material. Yes D-Will is one of the best points in the league. But who would have thought that Tyreke Evans—drafted in the 12th round at #139—would turn into the consistent threat at the SG spot that Adams would need? Evans missed this week with injury, and the Gators lost for the first time in five weeks...coincidence?

4 (2) 45-44-1
Carmelo Anthony. Marcus Camby almost gets the vote here, but he's had top-ten seasons before. Carmelo's never even made an All-Star game (which is saying something, since the WFBL really hands out a lot of spots). Melo's scoring and percentages, both up from his career averages, have kept the Butchers near the top all season.

5 (8) 43-44-3
Steve Nash. No wonder TJ loves him so much. Nash leads the league in assists, and amongst point guards (min 16 games played) is 1st in FG%, 5th in FT%, 9th in threes, and 8th in pts. If I were TJ, I'd throw away the lock to that cage they're keeping Nash in.

6 (5) 46-42-2
LeBron James. The King has been the atop the Player Rater for almost the entire season, and is almost single-handedly turning the Trojans from a laughing stock a season ago to one of this year's top teams, three-week losing streak be darned. The Power Rankings never thought they'd say this, but boy, aren't the Trojans glad they passed on Chris Paul?

7 (9) 44-46-0
Kobe Bryant. First, a caveat. The Power Rankings have no idea why the Jai-Rai are below .500. This team should be dominating. But ever since Granger went down, the Mamba has stepped up and may be looking at his first starting spot in the All-Star Game in two years. His season averages: 49% FG, 85% FT, 1.2 threes, 5.6 rebs, 4.6 asts, 2 stls, .2 blks, 3.1 tos and a whopping 30.2 points per game.

8 (10) 44-45-1
Josh Smith. What? No Dirk? Well, the SnowBees have tried this with Dirk before, and what has it gotten them? This year, the key ingredient in the SnowBees' surprising non-suck souffle has been the addition of do-everything Josh Smith. Every year, the good teams have a guy that gives you something in every category. For Salt Lake, Smith is that guy.

9 (6) 43-44-3
Mo Williams. Who would have thought that 10 weeks into the season Mo Williams would be higher on the Player Rater than the likes of Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade and Brandon Roy? Despite losing two straight, the U-Dogs are within striking distance of that final Wasatch playoff spot thanks to the former Sundancer's stellar play.

10 (12) 41-48-1
Chris Bosh. I mean Amar'e Stoudemire. No wait, Amar'e has underachieved all year. Brandon Roy. Yeah, Brandon Roy. It's been an odd season for the Strats; the highs have been high (sweeping the Gators) and the lows have been low (1-7-1 and 1-8 losses to the 'Dancers and Jai-Rai), but Roy has been the one constant on a team full of question marks.

11 (7) 43-43-4
David Lee. Can you give a mid-season team EBP to a guy who hasn't started since Week 6? Yes, because the Igs haven't won since he was benched (which coincided with Coach Hopkin's marriage proposal..."Engagement Curse" anyone?) and are 4-2 in matchups with Lee (ranked 11th on the Player Rater) in the starting lineup, 0-3-1 without.

12 (11) 38-49-3
Chris Bosh. As bad as the Tigers have been, it's really not their worst effort. Last season after ten weeks, Bayside was 33-55-2; 36-52-2 in 2007-08; and 31-55-4 in 2005-06. In fact, Bosh's consistent play has Bayside off to their best start since their 2006-07 Championship season, when they started off 46-43-1. Go Bayside!

Who is your team's mid-season EBP? Tell us what's up in the comments. And don't forget to cast your lot on the Game of the Week and Week 10's EBP!