Mid-Season Report: Russell Conference

Earlier in the week we took a look at the Chamberlain conference. Today we continue that coverage by looking at the other side. Note: There's quite a big disparity between the good teams and the bad teams so far. We have five teams with eight wins or better (Fat Jubas, Half Man Half ImAsian, 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps, Slam'N Dragon) but just one other team better than 0.500 -- defending champion Sour Snails. It's the year of the have and have nots!

VOLTRON DIVISION

Slam'N Dragon (8-2)
What happens when you add first overall pick John Wall to your roster? You become a contender, that's what. While Wall has missed a few games this season, his high rate of AST and STL has helped Thien's team vault to the top. With Raymond Felton also becoming a top flight PG, the Dragon backcourt is very strong with these two plus Dwayne Wade. The only downside for this team so far has been the injuries to big men Chris Kaman and Andrew Bynum, who have only played a combined twenty four games this season. Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan have stepped in nicely though, as the Dragons' excellent record can attest to. Last year Thien won the Toilet Bowl but this year he may be headed to the Finals!

Bayside Bombardiers (5-5)
Sure we berated Pierre's team for not having made any moves, but maybe he's participating in some grand experiment where he uses the same players all season long and still makes the playoffs? Right now his squad are poised to make the post-season, and have shown a nice consistency in beating all the lower ranked teams. Whenever they face a winning squad however, the Bombardiers suddenly go in the tank. Maybe a few moves might push them over the top? I won't harp on GM Pierre's inactivity too much though, as I'm still hoping to be invited for hot pot in Bayside... Who knew that Mo Williams was averaging 7.4 AST this season? And how about Kyle Lowry? He's averaging 6.8 AST, 1.8 STL, and 1.2 3PT. Damn! This team should be better because they seem to have all the right parts on paper.

Human Amoebas (5-5)
Eric-A's team stumbled out of the gate with three straight losses and then suffered through a few more erratic weeks before he righted the ship and won his last three games. Derrick Rose has emerged as a complete fantasy point guard,, finally, averaging 24.3 PTS, 8.1 AST, 1.6 3PT, 1.1 STL on the season. Fellow third year guard Eric Gordon is also blossoming (23.5 PTS, 4.4 AST, 1.7 3PT, 1.2 STL) and there's a reborn Michael Beasley too, who is finding all the shots he can jack up in Minnesota. There is a lot of things to like about the Amoebas, including some productive young front court guys like Paul Millsap, Andray Blatche, and rookie DeMarcus Cousins. With such an enviable lineup, we're wondering why they're only 0.500 -- but that may not be for long!

MoRRie's Pogiboys (2-8)
The Pogiboys will have trouble matching last year's seven wins. After starting off 2-2, the bottom has fallen out on Alvin's team as they've lost six games in a row. If you want a win, play the Pogiboys! What's been going on? Well, aside from MVP candidate Amare Stoudemire (26.3 PTS, 9.1 REB, 2.4 BLK) the rest of the roster has been underwhelming. Brandon Jennings is hurt, Troy Murphy has been hurt and averaging 3.6 PTS when he plays, last year's second round pick Devin Harris has lost his shine. The good news is that youngsters Mike Conley and Roy Hibbert have found themselves useful with 1.9 STL and 1.7 BLK respectively, but all these parts haven't made Alvin's team win much. If everyone can get healthy, the Pogiboys could still make a playoff push but they seem headed into the Toilet Bowl.

THUNDERCATS DIVISION

100 Acre Wood Heffalumps (8-2)
The Heffas are having another spectacular season and seem headed toward their first division title. After racking up twelve wins last year but having to enter the post-season as a wild card, Jose is not messing around this time. Despite lacking superior scoring punch, the players of 100 Acre Wood are good at just about everything else. Rajon Rondo is an AST and STL machine, Marcus Camby is healthy and contributing big REB and BLK, and Kevin Martin is leading a slew of shooters who are great from behind the arc and at the line. Jose's team is top three in FT%, REB, and AST and pretty solid everywhere else. This team will be hard to beat come playoff time.

Funk Coalition (4-6)
With just five wins all of last season, the Funk were mired in suckitude. This year they are off to a much better start, even as they struggle to close out games. A four game losing streak from WK4-7 hurt their overall record but Jon is emboldened by the progress his team has made. LaMarcus Aldridge has emerged as an all around contributer (20.5 PTS, 8.8 REB, 1.3 BLK, 1.1 STL) and Al Jefferson has found his groove out in Utah. Losing breakout player Joakim Noah has hurt, as he was contributing heavily in REB and BLK. Tony Parker is averaging a career best 6.8 AST, along with 1.4 STL and he's helped round out the backcourt next to Deron Williams and Rodney Stuckey. Can the Coalition pull it together for a post-season run? Or will all this progress just be a prelude to another Toilet Bowl?

Chunky Monkeys (3-7)
Last year, the Monkeys shocked everyone by making a surprise run to the Finals. This season however, they're entrenched in a five game slide and about to eliminate themselves from the playoff race. A full season of Chris Paul should have helped but he's barely getting any help. Brandon Roy might be done for the season and the front line of JJ Hickson, Darko Milicic, and Andrea Bargnani (who is playing well with 21.5 PTS, 1.2 3PT, 0.8 BLK) is strangely assembled. Is this team small ball or are they transitioning? Young point guard Jrue Holiday has been averaging 6.7 AST and 1.4 STL in a starting role but other players like Trevor Ariza, James Harden, and Travis Outlaw have been pretty disappointing. Evan needs to pull it together if he wants to make another post-season run. Then again, he just won a big football championship so maybe the fantasy gods have already given him too much?

Nande ReBuRonSAN (2-8)
Mikey's team, after winning this division on the strength of a great regular season record, has collapsed to the bottom of the standings. Two losing streaks of four games apiece is giving the fans reason to boo, and both of Nande's wins have come against just one team, the Human Amoebas. The good news is: Lebron James is in the house! LBJ is cranking out 25.3 PTS, 7.2 REB, 7.0 AST, 1.3 3PT, 1.5 STL per game but he's doing almost everything for this team. Nobody else on this squad scores more than sixteen points per game, there's only one other guy rebounding at more than eight per, and Andre Igoudala is the next highest assists guy. The depth of this team behind James, Igoudala, Gerald Wallace, Vince Carter, and Daniel Gibson is non-existent so Mikey will have some work to do in order to shore up his roster. This King needs help!