A Separation

Eleven games in and The “Division of Death” has fallen upon some hard times as two teams have sunk to the bottom. Still, there are two true blue contenders within Thundercats and the class of the Russell Conference probably lives in this division. Let’s take a look. [Pre-season Thundercats look]

Spade (9-3)
We knew Spade would be good but they exceeded all expectations by jolting out of the gate with nine straight wins. Fellow owners were a bit worried that Spade might not lose all season, but rookie owner Randall has hit his first speed bump and is on a three game losing streak as injuries continue to pile up -- Kobe Bryant, Al Horford, Eric Bledsoe are all out for extended stretches. Of course, Spade is still not an easy out, as they’ve lost their last two games -- both versus playoff contenders -- by only two STL one week and three REB/PTS the next. Even without three of their top players, Spade still boasts a roster that features Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, Arron Afflalo, Kevin Martin, and Kawhi Leonard. Afflalo is averaging a mind boggling 20.9 PTS, 4.6 REB, 3.9 AST, 2.1 3PT this season, and has to be the fantasy surprise of the year.

There was a time when Spade was tops in many categories but injuries have sunk them down across the board. Still, they are ranked third in PTS and 3PT, second in STL, strong in FG%, and only have a consistent weakness in BLK, where they are ranked second-to-last. While we’re not sure the status of Bryant, Horford, and Bledsoe, it looks like Spade has plenty of gas to get them into the playoffs. They won't be the absolute favorites anymore, but should still be strong contenders. The rest of the league breathes a sigh of relief as Spade falls a bit back to the pack. Whew!

NJ All-Stars (9-3)
While Eddie’s team doesn’t have a gaudy win streak to their name, they’ve been winning consistently and look like they could be primed for a nice stretch run. They only have three games left versus winning opponents and one of them is versus the hobbled Spade team this week. GM Eddie hasn’t made many roster moves this season but that’s because they've turned a lot of straw into gold. Second round pick Reggie Jackson now has the starting job in Oklahoma City, Lance Stephenson averages 13.9 PTS, 6.8 REB, 5.2 AST, 1.1 3PT on 50.1 FG%, and Kyle Lowry is back to being a fantasy beast. Not having Ryan Anderson around has been a bit of a disappointment but Channing Frye bombs 2.2 3PT per game, while Jose Calderon drops in 2.6 3PT per. Also, is J.J. Hickson the quietest almost double-double guy around? He’s at 11.5 PTS and 9.2 REB, with almost a STL and BLK per game.

NJ All-Stars play a fast paced open style, and are first in 3PT, second in PTS, third in AST/STL -- while turning the ball over a lot, and not really defending the rim. If they weren’t second-to-last in FG%, we could call them the SlamNation version of the Miami Heat. Then again, with LeBron James and Paul George leading the way, along with a talented and deep supporting cast, they’re basically our favorites right? Watch out for the All-Stars come the playoffs!

Chunky Monkeys (4-8)
After two strong winning seasons, Evan opted for a rebuild this time around. A bold move to ship off Chris Paul had pundits suggesting they were going into tank mode. Sure, Jeff Teague has been pretty good — 16.6 PTS, 7.6 AST, 1.3 STL but on 41.4 FT% — and Marc Gasol is back after a long injury break, but a five game losing streak from WK5-9 indicates that Monkeys are right on track for the lottery. When Wesley Matthews has played the most games for your squad, that’s probably not great. There are some bright spots for Evan though. Take Terrence Jones, who is averaging 15.0 PTS, 9.6 REB, 1.9 BLK during the past month. Also, Goran Dragic has been stellar all year long. And while James Harden seems to have lost some of his luster, he’s still an incredible fantasy asset, and he has Teague, Dragic, and the recently injured Jrue Holiday paired with him to form an incredible backcourt.

For Monkeys, the transition away from a small ball team has been tough, but they’ve got Gasol, Jones, and Taj Gibson helping a little bit around the edges. Sure, they’re still second-to-last in REB, but that’s okay, they’re growing. Right now the Monkeys are middle of the pack statistically in most places, with strenghts in FT% and AST, but horrible in the aforementioned REB and also TOs departments. This season isn’t about wins and losses for Evan though, as he navigates his team through an overhaul and focuses on which Toilet Bowl position he can achieve.

Funk Coalition (3-9)
Joining Chunky Monkeys in the Toilet Bowl will be the mess that is Funk Coalition. While they weren’t planning on tanking, it turns out that Jon’s team is ill conceived and don’t play well together. For most of this season they have been the worst team in the league and they suffered a seven game losing streak after starting off 2-1. Now they are staring at a long off-season and aren’t quite sure what direction the roster should go in. Their big ball strategy has resulted in being number one in FG% and REB, plus second in STL and TO. The problem is they are dead last in AST, FT%, 3PT, while ranking near the bottom in PTS and STL as well. That’s a recipe for a lot of losses.

Some nice things: Andre Drummond has fulfilled expectations with 12.6 PTS, 12.7 REB, 1.8 BLK and 1.4 STL per game. Dwight Howard has returned to healthy Dwight and is averaging 18.0 PTS, 12.6 REB, 1.8 BLK. Plus Al Jefferson has returned to form as a 20-10 guy. Also, Avery Bradley has inexplicably become a great shooter and averaged 17.1 PTS over his last month. The bad news is this roster is always one player short -- even with Rajon Rondo making his return -- and they are often playing one player down anyway as Josh Smith seems hellbent on being horrible with his 40.6 FG%. J-Smooth still has nice AST/STL/BLK for his position but his shooting and slip in REB, plus his high TO hurt this team. So far it’s looking like Funk is headed for a high draft pick irregardless of how they perform in the Toilet Bowl. Maybe with Rondo back they can up their marks in AST but it’s looking like team success is unlikely in the near future. Wah wah.