Mid-Season Report: Transformers

For our last mid-season division peek, let's go see what the former, and undisputed "best division in the league" teams are up to. Suffice to say, they are no longer the scary top to bottom contenders, and in a surprise, an old division champ has risen again!

LA Buffy (11-3)
Roger's team has really fallen back to the pack eh? After a blistering 11-1 start, they've lost two in a row! Woohoo! There is hope on the horizon! Of course, one of those losses was just one block less in WK13, but for opponents of almighty Buffy, it lends some hope that someone could upset them in the Chamberlain Conference playoffs. Otherwise, the Phoenix-like rise of Roger's team has reinvigorated a fan base that thought their core was getting long in the tooth. While Buffy doesn't rank in the top three in any category, they do have tremendous balance and are average or above average in just about every category.

Despite little nagging injuries to many of his players -- and some major ones --Roger has managed to at the top of the standings. Tim Duncan's throwback year might be on hold for a bit, but Andrew Bogut's return will fill that gap nicely. And let's not forget that Danny Granger is looking to return soon too. Put him into the lineup, and Buffy will upgrade from Kyle Korver and/or J.J. Redick to Granger. And it's not like those two haven't added value, as they combine to shoot 5.3 3PT a game. With veterans stepping up like Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Jameer Nelson, and Vince Carter, there should be a run for the best record in the league and then an all out push for a championship coming from Buffy.

Squirtle Squad (8-5-1)
We haven't heard much from the defending division champs this season, as they were erratic to start the season and they got lost in the shuffle. However, they're now on a four game win streak and are in the hunt for a post-season spot. They'll need to finish strong as only a game or two separates them from three teams in the rival Silverhawks division. Overall, the Squirtles are average across most of the categories, aside from being strong in REB and BLK, and being dead last in STL. What has held this team back a little is the lack of supporting depth on the team.

Despite making the second most moves in the league, all that flipping around hasn't shored up the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Ty Lawson have been a good backcourt trio -- although all three are having slightly underachieving seasons -- and there's no arguing with what new addition Al Jefferson, Serge Ibaka, and Greg Monroe can bring to the table. But after those six, there's a big drop off. Only Emeka Okafor and Bradley Beal have played 20+ games for the Squirtles and that means Coach Brian has been short of answers. To make a real playoff push, a timely free agent or two would go a long way toward helping the Squirtles become a true threat.

Half Man Half ImAsian (4-8-2)
One silly general manager recently asked Oliver what it would take to pry Kevin Durant from Half Man Half ImAsian. The answer: "Your entire team." That might not even be enough, as Durant is averaging a mind boggling 29.4 PTS, 7.5 REB, 4.4 AST, 1.9 3PT, 1.6 STL, 1.2 BLK, while shooting 51.6% from the field. Oh, and 90.3 FT%. I don't know what else you could want in a fantasy player. However, Durant is captaining a sinking ship. Half and Half has lost seven of their last nine and will surely miss the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. We said in the pre-season that this team would be a championship contender. Whoops?

Oliver's team is second in FT% and TO but average or below average everywhere else. LaMarcus Aldridge has been strong, but with Anderson Varejao and his 14.1 PTS and 14.4 REB out for the season, Aldridge is all alone on the front line. When JaVale McGee has played the second most games for your team, that's not a good sign. Stretch big man Ersan Ilyasova took a long time to warm up, but hopefully he'll trend upward toward last season's heights. Aside from that, there's not a whole lot of other positive signs for this team. Mario Chalmers, Tony Allen, Rodney Stuckey? Poor Durant will have to wait for next season as he's headed straight for the Toilet Bowl.

Eron, Joven and Chandler (4-10)
First year SlamNation owner Chris-L is having a rough start. After inheriting a 0.500 team, Chris took the bold step of shipping out franchise cornerstone Dwight Howard for Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin. It's hard to argue that Melo's career high 28.4 PTS and 2.7 3PT haven't been worth it -- plus Griffin is at 18.5 PTS, 8.6 REB, 1.5 STL. But it's the returning players that haven't performed well. Manu Ginobili is possibly winding down, Ricky Rubio is barely stirring back to life after his knee injury, and Derrick Favors is still waiting for the Jazz frontcourt jam to clear. After starting off 2-2, EJC has gone 2-8 and will now wait for a shot in the Toilet Bowl.

For other teams, being middle of pack in every category might be a bad thing, but for this team, we think it's a positive. Aside from BLK, where they are ranked second to last, this team has some balance and no glaring weaknesses. Faced off against inferior Toilet Bowl competition, there's a chance that Melo and Blake could lead a ragtag bunch to a win or two, plus a coveted high draft pick. After all, Jeff Teague has been decent, with 13.7 PTS, 6.6 AST, 1.5 STL, 1.1 3PT, and Amir Johnson can help on the boards. We're hoping EJC gets the chance to start the rebuilding process as we like our new owners to be successful as soon as possible!