Power Rankings 7/25: Each Team’s Player with the Most to Prove

A new season has begun, and already the teams have begun to sort themselves out into contenders, pretenders and straight out rebuilders. But for each team, there are players who have something to prove, regardless of what state their franchise is in. Here, we rank the teams and list the players with the most to prove on each team. I’m Cyclops Inc., and these are the power rankings.

1. Houston Cosmos (6-0): Joseph Canny. The Cosmos paid a heavy price in the form of last year’s ROTY Polan Stronk to acquire Canny, and he frankly was a disappointment, as the Cosmos missed the playoffs. Now in the final year of his contract, the 33-year-old forward’s clock for stardom is nearing midnight, and his time with the Cosmos may come to an end if he is unable to contribute as much as is expected. Houston clearly appears to be the place where he is most likely to win that elusive title, and to his credit, he has been a big part of their surprising early season success—he has averaged 24 PPG, far improved from last year’s 11.6 mark, and leads the league in both 3PM and 3PFG% among eligible players. Nevertheless, he will have to sustain this success if Houston is to sustain its own.

2. San Diego Surf (5-1): Thomas Shoffner. The Portland Roses made a momentous decision by choosing to protect Jordan Frazier and Koality Game instead of Thomas Shoffner, leaving the 26-year-old forward with a lot to prove in the Surf’s inaugural season. Thus far, he has answered the questions regarding his ability to be the #1 option on a playoff team with an emphatic yes, averaging 21.4/4.9/1.1 for a Surf team that has exceeded even the loftiest pre-season expectations. The sweetest moment of the season for Shoffner thus far was assuredly his 39-point career game against his former team in the season opener. Shoffner will have to guide his team into the playoffs to truly silence doubters, however.

3. Los Angeles Stars (4-2): Anthony Flores. The 24-year-old guard is the oft-forgotten compliment to the incumbent superstar, Polan Stronk, in the Stars’ backcourt. How long that is to be the case, of course, depends on Flores’ performance this season. Flores has upped his averages from last year’s 3.5/1.7/0.9/1.9 to 6.3/2.7/0.1/1.3, increasing his offensive value and rebounding, but his defense has somewhat slipped and such numbers truly limit the effectiveness of the Stars’ offense. There are reasons for optimism, however—Flores hit a key game winner against Eastern rival Boston, and has upped his FG% from 33%/17% to 48.8%/28.6%. With enough improvement, he could enter the MIP race. Without enough, the Stars’ playoff hopes may stagnate.

4. Chicago Blues (3-3): Rajah Rose. Rose, just a rookie, was heralded as the guard of the future to replace the departed Leeroy Smith after his drafting. Cap issues led the Blues to shed other draftee Jason Garcia, and a desire to be a player in free agency led the Blues to sign Rose to just a 1-year deal. If Rose does not fill the 2 spot effectively enough for the Blues to be a championship team, Chicago will likely be in the market for a replacement in free agency, with their core of Fiedelak, Yensid, Jaga C and Zoulou locked up for 2 years. Given their recent struggles, this outcome seems likely, but 3 wins in a row may turn the tide.

5. Portland Roses (3-3): Jamon Alexander. Last year’s MVP runner-up needing to prove the most? Yes indeed. Alexander and Rhys Kaneko are the only players up for contract after the season for the Roses, and Alexander is left with far more to prove. If he is unable to lead the Roses back to the playoffs, and perhaps even back to the Finals, it will be hard to argue that he is worth a max deal from any team, let alone the Roses. He continues to put up Herculean numbers, averaging 24.0/6.0 plus 1.1 steals and 2.6 blocks, but the Roses are clearly a step behind other West contenders. If they continue to struggle, might Alexander be dealt?

6. Boston Charms (2-4): Tyler Moore. The Charms put a lot of faith in the 27-year-old center, who last year was a runner up for 6MOTY, by allowing him to fill the gaping void in the middle left by the departure of Maxwell Goodson. His numbers have improved some, moving from 7.2/3.9 and 1.1 BPG to 9.1/5.0 and 2.1 BPG, but they have not improved by enough to replace Goodson, and the Charms have suffered greatly as a result. Due to the weakness of the East, they may be able to scrap together another playoff run, but Moore, on an expiring contract, will have to improve his numbers for the Charms to be true contenders, and to remain the starting center.

7. San Francisco Quakes (3-3): Percy Snow. The 25-year-old guard now has offensive weapons to set up, and it has shown, as he has thrown numerous lobs to rookie star Darth Jor-El and has made the Quakes much more fun to watch. With the surprising fast start already fading, however, it is clear that the Quakes are not competitors in the tough-as-nails West, and thus the season is going to serve as an audition for Snow to be a cast member of one of the teams with the brightest futures in the league for more than just the next two seasons. Thus far, he has upped his averages from 8.8/4.1 to 14.7/5.1 (PTS/AST), but he will have to sustain this success to overcome the antipathy of star teammate Samuel Jones and thus avoid getting traded at this year’s deadline.

8. St. Louis Archers (2-4): Leeroy Smith. Smith had a hell of a season with the Chicago Blues last year, filling a role as a solid bench contributor and winning 6MOTY and a title in the process. Now, Smith faces a great challenge in leading a relatively young and inexperienced expansion franchise as its key guard. In the weak East, he may be able to lead them to a playoff spot, but given their wildly inconsistent play during the first week of action, it is hard to assess the odds of this at this point. Smith’s future depends on it—he is on just a one-year contract. To date, he has averaged 9.9/1.6/5.1, much improved from last year’s 6.4/2.9/1.4, but is it really enough to keep him around as a franchise cornerstone? Time will tell.

9. New York Empire (1-5): Francisco Gerbi. Very few players have much to prove on the middling Empire, who appear to have little to no direction as a franchise and are filled with mediocre young guards with two stars (Carl Joseph and Cedric Hardwicke) that keep them afloat. We’ll pick Gerbi, the lone listed forward on the roster, a 20-year-old who finished 2nd in ROTY voting last year by averaging 5.2 PPG and 3 RPG. He’s also on one of the cheapest expiring deals in the league ($3.5m). He will have to show improvement to get a bigger deal from any team, including NY, and he has actually taken a step back this year, regressing to 2.4 PPG and 2.6 RPG. Safe to say, Gerbi has to improve his play and improve it quickly if he wants to get a payday.

10. Miami Tides (1-5): Felipe Santos. When is the big jump coming for Santos? He remains one of the most highly touted young players in the league, but continues to play average basketball at best. After averaging 4.9/1.9/1.7 last year, many were expecting him to improve with Eddie Dale off the team, thus allowing him to get more touches. As of today, he is averaging 1.9/2.3/2.0, which is a big step back for a player known for his offense. With his contract expiring, Santos must improve rapidly or be forced to return to Miami or join some other team on a small contract at the end of the bench.