The Right Way

Alright, we've taken a good hard look at some failing teams, why don't we celebrate some teams that are doing it right and getting it done? First up, there's a battle at the top of the Voltron Division between Bayside Bombadiers and Golden Dragon. Only one game separates them and they've been on winning streaks of four and six games respectively. Both of them are playing extremely well obviously but who will win the division? And after that, let's look at the best team in the Russell Conference, the Thundercats' division leader, Nande? ReBuRonSAN (who I'll refer to as "Nande" because I have no idea what the rest of that all means), who is on an astounding eight game winning streak!

Bayside Bombardiers (8-3)
Oh yes, Pierre's team is very good, as evidenced by the fact that two of their three losses have come against the Sour Snails and Korea! Korea!, who were the juggernauts of the early season. Their one other loss was a semi-flukey one to the 2-9 Pogiboys. Our preseason analysis called this team "the second bananas" for their lack of franchise players. Well, who cares? They've proven to be balanced, deep at every position, and Luol Deng has more than shored up the previously questionable small forward spot.

Overall, this team has had a very steady lineup, and have only used three waiver wire pickups all season, proving that it's not about quantity, but quality. In fact, they've had ten players log 20+ games for them, and only injuries to Pau Gasol, Jameer Nelson, and now Mo Williams have forced them to go to the reserves.

The great balance on this team is epitomized by not having any 20+ PTS guys yet ranking third overall in PTS. Quite a feat. The top ten guys on this squad all score in the mid to high teens, making any one of them hot on a given night. The starting lineup of Allen Iverson, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng (17.7 PTS, 7.3 REB, 1 STL/BLK), David West, and Pau Gasol (17 PTS, 11 REB, 1.6 BLK) provide a little bit of everything and when top sixth man Jamal Crawford comes off the bench, along with hard nosed revelation, Carl Landry, there's no drop off. Mix in Jameer Nelson, Luis Scola's yeoman efforts, and the occasional Samuel Dalembert appearance (12.2 REB, 2.7 BLK last month) and this team is well positioned for a great second half. Losing Mo Williams does hurt, as he was quietly having a very good year (17 PTS, 5 AST, 1.2 STL, 2.3 3PT), but the Bombardiers should be fine.

Areas of concern? Well, the Bombardiers are great in FG% and PTS but have some significant weaknesses too. They rank very close to last in the league in FT%, AST, 3PT, and STL. For a team that has been cruising through the regular season, that is a bit of a surprise but as Pierre proves, it's not about the numbers or the stars, it's about the wins.

Golden Dragon (7-4)
After coming out of the gates with only one win in five tries, we were a little worried about the Dragons. Well, turns out they were just coming out of hibernation and a bit sluggish. They've recently ripped off six straight wins and feasted on the competition. Their decision to go with Dwayne Wade at #3 overall has been well justified, as he's averaging 27 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB, 1.8 STL, and 1.1 3PT.

Rolling the dice with a few injury prone players was, well, dicey, but everything has been coming up aces for Thien so far. In a nice surprise, Andrew Bynum and Dwayne Wade lead the team in games played, and Chris Kaman has returned full force, averaging 20/9 with 1.2 BLK. Paired with Andrew Bynum on the blocks (17/9, 1.5 BLK), it's been quite a load down low. Kenyon Martin has been fantastic as an aggressive big off the bench, with nice rebounding numbers and a block a game. Actually, the Dragons are spectacular in blocks, as they also get one per game from SG Dwayne Wade and SF Rudy Gay.

This team does lack in the passing department, as starting PG Raymond Felton hasn't been great there, getting out-assisted by Wade. And they turn over the ball a ton, which makes them lose the TO battle most weeks. But hey, the Dragons put up points in a hurry and play a high energy style that allows them to lead the entire league in PTS. They boast five near 20+ scorers and every usable player is in double digits. The team is stacked at the forward positions, as Gay and Paul Pierce are nearly interchangeable, and Martin and Al Harrington man the PF slot providing either interior defense or outside shooting depending on the matchup.

This team can throw out a bigs lineup that is just scary featuring Wade handling the ball, flanked by Gay and Pierce, with Kaman and Bynum down low. Who can match up with that kind of height? For the past month and a half, the answer has been: Nobody! It'll be interesting to see if Thien has any moves planned as they fight for the division title against the Bombardiers.

Nande? ReBuRonSAN (9-2)
Eight wins in a row and a huge matchup with the undefeated Sour Snails in WK14 being played out right now. Nande is ripping through the competition and has defeated all the top teams on their way to the top of the Russell Conference. We've talked about how Mikey's team would be the most entertaining one to watch and it's proven to be very accurate. Sure, most of the drama has come from Gilbert Arenas but when your first round pick gets suspended indefinitely for bringing guns to the stadium and joking about shooting a teammate, you know your season is already one for the history books. Agent Zero was justifying his first round status, with 22.6 PTS, 7.2 AST, 1.3 STL and 2 3PT (albeit at 41.1 FG%) and his production will be hard to make up.

The good news is that Tracy McGrady is back! Well, for six games, and he's been promptly shelved again. In all seriousness, this team is being led into contention ex-teammates Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette. Captain Jack has spearheaded the offensive attack with 24.5 PTS, 2.3 STL, and 1.8 3PT this past month, while Maggette is at a jaw dropping 26.9 PTS, 6.9 REB and 51.4% over his past fifteen games. Serving as the glue guy is Andre Iguodala, who's been doing a bit of everything and his quick hands have been integral to helping Nande rank fourth in STL.

Ron Artest and Ben Wallace have their uses but have been disappointments for the most part, especially Artest, who's become the Lakers' version of Shane Battier. Losing Arenas will probably drop Nande out of the top 3PT rankings, so maybe we'll see some more Peja Stojakovic or Carlos Delfino (1.8 3PT each). The PF/C combo of Shawn Marion and Jermaine O'Neal would have been spectacular five years ago but is now just about average, as both guys are at around 12 PTS and 7 REB. Serviceable but nothing spectacular. The return of Kevin Love has been a huge boon as he's producing 15 PTS and 11 REB per game (and will push Nande to number one in REB soon) and only getting steadier. The big hole here is at point guard, which was already thin with just Arenas. Free agent George Hill is manning the position but he won't do and we're looking for Mikey to make a deal for a floor general soon.

Just looking at their roster, Nande doesn't seem like they should be whipping everyone in the league. But let's not overlook one thing: The role of the coach and GM, Mikey. Let's look at some numbers. While Nande's top nine guys have each played at least 30 games each, there have also been another 19 guys who have logged at least one game. With a league leading moves count of 29, Mikey is showing the league how to be a stellar owner and we're delighted he's kicking ass. Action equals success, inaction equals fail! With a three game lead in their division, look for Nande to cruise into the playoffs and continue to win with the effort of a champion.