Power Rankings 6/12: Destiny Awaits

The regular season has finally drawn to a close, and now the playoffs await us. But before we get to them, it's time to check in with the all the league's teams, even the ones who will be golfing whilst the others duke it out for the title of Hoops League Champion. In this edition of the Power Rankings, we take a look at what lies ahead for each team.

1--Portland Roses (19-9)

Streak: L3 | Last 5: 2-3

What's Next: The playoffs, in which they will face a scrappy LA Stars squad vying for the Western Conference crown. With stamina fully restored to start the playoffs, the Roses should have no trouble dispatching the Stars back from whence they came thanks to Portland's vastly superior experience and talent. The greater challenges lie beyond the Conference, in the form of the championship and the off-season.

First, Portland will likely face a revamped Blues team that boasts 3 of the league's best players in Walter Yensid, Tshaka Zoulou and Jaga C. Even with Portland at full strength, the Blues will be one tough out. Regardless of the outcome of that series, Portland may face a challenging off-season as well. The expiring contracts of starting G Vun Brunson and Fs Thomas Shoffner and Jordan Frazier, plus the potential retirement of the aging Koality Game, mean Portland may be heading into year 2 without four of its previous five starters. Nevertheless, Portland still has $50m in cap space available at the end of this year, and its most important player in Jamon Alexander is locked in for another year. But the Roses will likely need to add some depth in addition to keeping together their current core, and it may be a challenge to do so.

2-- Chicago Blues (20-8)

Streak: W1 | Last 5: 2-3

What's Next: The playoffs, in which they will face a Boston Charms squad sans its best player, Anthony Bridges. It's quite likely that Chicago takes the first series, but Boston has proven quite resistant in the past and is inarguably a tougher out than Portland's Western foe, the Stars. As such, the Blues, though sporting a better record, home court advantage and a recent victory over the Roses, likely face an uphill battle in their quest to win a title.

The Blues, however, have an expiration date on their team that reads 'Season One' that the Roses simply do not. The need for the Blues to win now cannot be understated: all three of Zoulou, C and Yensid are up for a new contract at the end of this season, with Chicago only sporting $23m extra cap space at present for deals to extend. Chicago has also greatly proved a need for depth off the bench, as Leeroy Smith was an inconsistent bench piece and Andrew Heldt and Ryan Calleyway were subpar substitutes at best. It is possible that the Blues keep all three pieces; nevertheless, the clock is ticking on this team, and it would be better to win now as opposed to later.

3-- Boston Charms (18-10)

Streak: L1 | Last 5: 3-2

What's Next: The playoffs, where they will surely make the Blues work very hard to advance to the Finals. This Charms team has greatly exceeded expectations in the wake of the injury to Anthony Bridges, and their success has been largely due to their incredible depth. Tyler Moore, Kyle Mason and Maxwell Goodson have all proved worth their weight in gold for Boston. Even so, they face an uphill climb to a championship, and though they have proven that they can beat Chicago, beating the Blues at 100% will be one daunting task.

The off-season for the Charms will be transformative-- each piece of their Big 3 (Goodson, Bridges and Jaos) will be up for contract, plus role player Joao Botelho. With $20m to spare in cap space as of now, odds are Boston can keep at most 2 of the Big 3 plus Botelho. Just Jaos likely played himself into a lower price-tag than he would have had at the beginning of the season, as did Bridges via his long absence, but Goodson undoubtedly raised his price with superior play in the absence of Bridges. There can be arguments made for and against each combination, but one thing is certain: the Charms will be good next year, but they will look different.

4-- Los Angeles Stars (11-17)

Streak: W1 | Last 5: 2-3

What's Next: The playoffs, where they are all but certain to be dismantled by a greatly superior opponent in the Portland Roses. Even so, that they have made it this far is a great accomplishment, and a testament to the grit of this young team. The season has gone better than anyone at its midpoint could have ever hoped it would for the Stars: they have acquired arguably the best young star in the league in Polan Stronk, they've managed to make the playoffs in their first year, and they've got a solid supporting cast of mostly young talent around him. Regardless of the result of their playoff bout, they can hold their heads high.

LA has one of the brightest futures in the league, but it depends greatly on this off-season. Only Jasper Calandra IV and Sebastien Trident are up for contract, and both should be able to be resigned while keeping them well under the cap limit. They are poised to have about $25m to spend after taking care of these two, leading many to believe they will target one (if not more) of the league's brightest stars in free agency. A sharpshooter in the vein of Anthony Bridges, Walter Yensid or Cacio Way would make particular sense for the Stars. Time will tell who they can acquire, but regardless, Los Angeles has one of the best futures in the league.

5-- New York Empire (13-15)

Streak: L2 | Last 5: 2-3

What's Next: The off-season. The Empire, faced against much stiffer competition in the East, failed to make the playoffs, though they showed great promise towards the end of the season. With multiple incredible scorers in Scottie Thompson, Cedric Hardwicke and Carl Joseph, the Empire scored the second-most points in the league this past season, but untimely injuries and a lack of consistent defense doomed them.

If Los Angeles has the brightest future in the league, New York assuredly has the second-brightest. Only Scottie Thompson and benchwarmer Rusty Parent are up for contract, and NY should have plenty of cap space to sign both. After these deals, they will have somewhere in the range of $20m cap space to use, and many speculate that they will either attempt to swing a deal for the notably disgruntled Eddie Dale, a defense-first C who has made it clear NY is his preferred destination, or they may attempt to lure the defensive star Centers Jaga C or Sebastien Trident. The Empire has made it clear that they believe themselves one good defender away from contention. Time will tell whether they can acquire that defender, or if they will be contenders. Both look relatively likely at present.

6-- Miami Tides (10-18)

Streak: L2 | Last 5: 2-3

What's Next: A very important off-season. Miami never lived up to pre-season expectations, failing to make the playoffs by a wide margin. There were reasons for optimism during the season, but they were few and in between, and many in Dade County regard this as a lost season and nothing more.

Miami is ranked so high, however, because of the pure potential of its off-season. They have Cacio Way, Julius Carter and GP Wood up for contract, and while Wood and Carter likely lowered their value during the season, Way may have raised his, depending on the outcome of the 6MOTY race. Even so, they are likely to have an armada of cap space (around $25m) with or without Way, and they must use it wisely-- Eddie Dale, inarguably their best player, demanded that they get him help or they get him out. Management has made it clear that they do NOT plan to go full-rebuild, instead chasing the biggest names in free agency. Bridges-to-South-Beach has been a rumor for weeks, but so has Yensid to SB, Scottie Thompson, etc. All this, of course, ignores that the Tides hold the #1 pick in the upcoming draft by virtue of their shoddy PPG tiebreaker. There is hope that next year is the Tides' year, but it all hinges on success in a big way this off-season.

7-- Houston Cosmos (11-17)

Streak: W3 | Last 5: 4-1

What's Next: A long off-season. The midseason gamble on Joseph Canny backfired, as they watched the traded Polan Stronk carry the Stars to the playoffs, while likely winning ROTY on the way. Heads may roll in management, and Houston may be headed towards a long and bleak rebuild.

There is some hope for the off-season, though. Only Piotr Vesely is up for contract, and after resigning him, they will likely have the most cap space in the league, with around $40m to offer to prospective free agents. But Houston is not a big free agent destination when compared to LA and Miami, and those teams arguably look closer to contention as is (at least LA does). They may be able to attract a less high-profile player such as the perpetually underrated Tshaka Zoulou, or Just Jaos, who is unlikely to receive a max deal anywhere else, but it will be an uphill climb. They must choose wisely with both their copious cap space and the #3 pick-- their management's jobs depend upon it.

8-- San Francisco Quakes (10-18)

Streak: W2 | Last 5: 3-2

What's Next: A confusing off-season. Harangued by injuries more than any other team this season, the Quakes' true ceiling is unknown, and it may never be known-- star forward Samuel James has demanded a trade, and seems unlikely to budge. Their stellar scoring also played them out of the #1 pick, as they instead have the #2. The direction of the team is unknown to anyone outside of management, and perhaps it is unknown to management themselves.

Only Marcus Nobles and the ROY candidate Daws 20 are up for contract, and both should be resigned fairly easily, leaving them with roughly $25m in cap space. SF is not known as an attractive locale for free agents, but they may do their best to lure some in the hopes of keeping Samuel James. They've also made it clear that they plan to keep Tyrone Jackson, but as long as they do, they had better contend, as Jackson would likely keep them from tanking effectively, as would Percy Snow. SF is ranked so low because no one really knows what's next. Conventional wisdom would suggest that they need defensive help, but it would be challenging to incorporate any of Eddie Dale, Sebastien Trident, Jaga C or Tshaka Zoulou into their scheme, and they appear hellbent on acquiring more offensive firepower. SF enters the off-season as its biggest wildcard, and could very well end the off season near the top of this list. But at present, with so much unknown, they must remain at the bottom.

That will do it for this edition of the Power Rankings. For the Koality Times, this is Cyclops Inc, signing off.