The Evan Sports Bureau

With the release of some extensive stats by our personal Excel guru, Evan, we have some interesting figures to look at. I'm not sure what it means but each teams' points by week (statistical strength) is shown on the spreadsheet, allowing us to see weekly trends.

In addition, Evan has provided us with weekly averages over three set periods: WK 1-4, WK 5-8, and WK 9-13. Using this information, we can figure out which teams have been rising and which have been falling over the first part of the season.

Keep in mind, this is only trends statistically speaking, and not an indication of how this information correlates to actual wins and losses; that's an article for another time.

Moving on Up!
A number of teams are making a strong surge in the past few weeks. Period 3 (WK 9-13) has seen Eric-L, Evan, Jose, Brian, and even Trieu make great strides in their team's performance from the previous two periods.

Eric-L and Brian lead their respective conferences and their teams show no signs of letting up. They weren't true powerhouses in the beginning of the season (neither were the best teams statistically until Period 3) but are now squarely the two top teams in the league. The only cause for concern here is Brian's loss of Carlos Boozer for a few weeks. Will losing the Booze drop this team from the upper echelons? Or can the amazing Brandon Roy continue to dazzle and keep the Squirtles from slipping?

Evan and Jose are similar in that their teams truly sucked in the first few weeks. Injuries, inconsistencies, disappointments, and just bad mojo made both stumble out of the gate. However, look at them now! Both are displaying well-rounded games and flexing some muscle. Jose's surge is likely powered by Pau Gasol's return to the lineup while Evan's team has been steadily picking up steam all season -- behind Mo Williams, Manu Ginobili, and a resurgent Josh Smith. Time to see what heights both of these teams can reach. Hell, Jose is even challenging for a coveted playoff spot after being given up for dead a few weeks ago. Nice.

There is hope in Who-ville and it's Trieu's team stepping out of the cellars and into the spotlight -- of mediocrity. Still, there's nowhere to go but up after two periods worth of being the worst right? Allen Iverson is thriving in Denver, Ron Artest is calm and collected (and shooting well), and Stephen Jackson is on the verge of going to jail. Some things may never change but the Sour Snails are finally hitting some of the right notes and making the right moves. Congrats!

Rock Steady
A few teams have exhibited consistency week in and week out. Whether that be good or bad consistency is up for debate but nothing's more important than knowing that you'll have three squares a day and a bed to rest your head on at night, right?

Oliver and Reno have been in a peculiar position all season. Numbers wise, Oliver has stayed consistently strong all season and Reno has been consistently weak. But who's been winning? Reno's Rhythm Drive. It seems like that strange statistical anomaly might be evening itself out since Oliver is now second in the East (on a three game winning streak) while Reno has dropped behind him into third place (behind a two game losing streak). Even with the loss of Yao, Oliver's team has been deep enough to resist slippage. Meanwhile, Reno has made a trade that -- at least on paper -- should improve his rankings; and ideally, reverse his losing ways.

One team that has stayed steady as a rock -- and remained heavily attached to the bottom of the standings-- has been Alvin. Two losses away from challenging Trieu's consecutive losses record (11), the Pogiboys have been putting up a fight but it's been, in the immortal words of Jay-Z, "like bringing a knife to a gunfight." The Pogiboys have been consistently lousy (the only team to not break 500 in any of the three scoring periods) and even though they're showing signs of life, they're closer to the barely awake, walking dead, end of the spectrum than the fearsome zombie dead end.

Whee!
The one team that defies categorization is the Human Amoebas. They started off hot hot hot but then cooled off dramatically in Period 2 (WK 5-8), only to return better than ever in the last few weeks. What gives? Well, the fast start is easy to explain, as Quentin Richardson (and Zach Randolph) went wild early on. But the terrible middle period? No real explanation. Sweet shooting Q was out but can one man make such a difference? Hum, the Eric-A's Amoebas are back on top with Q in the lineup; but surely Dirk, Amare, Kidd, Zach, Rip, and Raja should determine this team's fate more right? This is a hard team to figure as Amare and Zach are both bonafide beasts (and draft day steals), while Marvin Williams and Andrea Bargnani are poised for second-half surges. What will happen next? Up or down? We don't know!

Watership Down
Injuries will kill a team. Roger and Jon both started off the season as legit contenders but injuries (and one errant punch) have derailed them both. Roger has had Chris Paul, Rashard Lewis, Joe Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and now Antawn Jamison out for extended stretches. JR Smith was an early season revelation but add in a suspension and Iverson and he's been near useless.

Jon hasn't had the same breadth of injury woes but losing Carmelo for 15 games, and then Michael Redd for six weeks has upset the Funk's fine tuned balance. Both teams are on the verge of sinking and it's only because of the weak bottom dwellers in the West that they can have playoff aspirations. Then again, both Roger and Jon have made big trades recently so that could help to stem the tide. Get the bucket and bail, bail, bail!

Injuries have decimated Ping this season. Vince Carter is the iron man on this team. Vince Carter! The Phanatics have been in steady decline since almost before the season started. Paul Pierce, Lamar Odom, Richard Jefferson, David West, and Marcus Camby have all spent significant time on the injury list. Couple that with inconsistent play from some of the other members of this roster -- put another way, until Al Harrington moved to GS and started going nuts, Drew Gooden was the top option behind Vince -- and this team has been trending down in a big way.

That's it! Where will your favorite team end up?