Isn’t it a grand Sunday? Mother’s Day, sun is shining, birds are chirping, the NBA 2K league 5v5 season is underway, what more could you ask for? With group play week 1 in the books, I’ve cooked up our first edition of power rankings. Now, these are incredibly subject to change and I want to make a point that this is easily the hardest 1st power rankings of a season I’ve ever had to do, so if you see your favorite team at the bottom, they could literally be in the top 10 by the end of next week. Just goes to show how important our new format makes every game! But without further ado, let’s get some groups going

Contenders

1. Warriors Gaming Squad (3-0)
2. Bucks Gaming (2-1)
3. Knicks Gaming (2-1)

Because this is the first power rankings, I’m going to keep my original 3 contenders on top FOR NOW. I think we have seen some other really good teams this week, who we will cover in a second, but these 3 teams to me still look like our best possible squads. They have ridiculous talent on paper and all 3 of them cruised to a few easy wins to open up the season. We have to talk about the Warriors who not only look like the reigning champs, but have somehow got better? They currently have a 13.4 Net Rating, #1 in the league and one of only 2 teams to be in double digits (love you Mavs Gaming). By the end of next week, I’m looking to add 2 teams to this group, so my eyes are peeled.

Damn Good

4. T-Wolves Gaming (3-0)

5. Mavs Gaming (2-1)

6. CLTX Gaming (2-1)

7. Heat Check Gaming (2-1)

8. Cavs Legion GC (2-1)

9. Hawks Talon GC (2-1)

10. Pacers Gaming (2-1)

11. Wizards District Gaming (2-1)

12. Raptors Uprising GC (2-1)

I had the most fun watching these teams this week, so they get a group of their own. They are all at least 2-1, have at least 1 impressive win, and most importantly, they seem to have found their best style of play very early in the season. A very special shoutout to 2 teams in particular, Hawks Talon and Mavs Gaming. They are currently 2nd and 3rd in Net Rating after 3 games, a very good place to be, especially for Atlanta who I’m pretty sure just had their best 3 game stretch of 5v5 games statistically in team history? The Hawks are 5th in defensive rating!! We did it Atlanta, defense!!! Mavs get the defense crown as well, #1 in defensive rating, 2nd in overall net rating. I’ll happily be wrong on the Dayfri to lockdown piece. So far so good for this group!

The “I Don’t Know What To Do With These Teams” Group

13. Nets Gaming Crew (1-2)
14. Hornets Venom GT (2-2) 
15. NBL Oz Gaming (1-2)
16. 76ers GC (1-2)
17. Jazz Gaming (1-2)
18. Pistons GT (1-2)
19. Magic Gaming (1-2)
20. Grizz Gaming (1-2)
21. Lakers Gaming (0-3)

I’m withholding the right to not really rank any of these teams since it’s too early and they’ve all shown flashes of being good. I’m keeping my mouth shut..except for the Pistons GT defense….no no no, mouth shut. We’ll come back to these team’s next week.

Quadrant of Woe

22. Gen.G Tigers (0-3)
23. Dux Infinitos (1-2)
24. Blazer5 Gaming (0-2)
25. Kings Guard Gaming (1-1)

And then…we get here. Blazer5 and Kings Guard play on Monday, so they are mostly at the bottom since they’ve only played 2 games, but those 2 games didn’t look all that good. Kings are somehow 2nd to last in Net Rating?? Despite having a win to their name?? That’s weird, also Dux and Gen.G, are you guys okay? Brutal start for both their offenses, they are last in offensive rating after 3 games. Gen.G has a 1.2 PPP mark, yuck. Blazer5…bring it in for a hug…you’ve got heart, but it’s just not your year. 

To close, I wanted to quickly touch on the discussion about nerfing the Floor-Spacing Slasher build, the key to the 5-out play style this year. First off, I think the dunk meter is a little over powered. If we’re going to nerf anything, I think giving that an added degree of difficulty is probably for the best. Evens the playing field at multiple positions, I’m on board there. But the Slasher should NOT be nerfed. Mostly because, it’s a very beatable build and playstyle! It locks the using team into an absurdly specific playstyle that is, honestly, pretty easily to gameplay against. Also, the teams that have been using it have been getting killed defensively because it forces you to use builds at other positions that aren’t good defensive builds! I’m a bit shocked by the demand to ban it to be honest, the teams that are using it not named T-Wolves Gaming are 2-5 when using the build. I get it, it’s a bit obnoxious, but it’s nice seeing teams try different things. Watch, just like the inside center build in 3v3, teams will swap to this build…and they will suffer greatly and ruin their seasons, it’s not meant for everyone. Anyway, that’s my rant, listed to the pod and I’ll see you later in the week!