Power Rankings

[lakers4sho]

power rankings go here for those who want to make one

[lakers4sho]

L4S POWER RANKINGS V1.0 - THROUGH ROUND 6

In this edition of L4S Power Rankings we shall take a look at the current PSD Lakers All-Time Redraft. The draft process is currently taking place, and we have just ended the 6th round. Since we have officially passed the halfway point of the draft, I felt that it was a great time to release the first edition of our rankings.

I have looked at the current rosters of each time through the Clubhouse page. If you haven't updated yours, I tried to my best to go through the draft board and figure out which players belonged to your team. That being said, a couple of teams have incomplete roster spots (up to Round 6), and hence I have skipped those who have significant blanks in their roster (due to being skipped multiple times or otherwise).

With that in mind, it's time to hand out the rankings. For obvious reasons I am not including my own team (Pick 3) in my rankings. Also, I will list them from the lowest ranked to the highest ranked. Also, note that these rankings are subject to change, either slightly or significantly, and it only represents the (preliminary) thoughts of one person (me).

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(cue NBA on NBC theme)

Fighting for a Playoff Spot (2 teams)

10. Hollywood

Picking 2nd to the last in a round is very tough, I must say. By the time you got to pick in the 1st round, most of the career superstars were already taken off the board. Maybe you could've sacrificed a second rounder in order to move up a couple of spots in the first. Still, you did a solid job in the early going considering your draft position. Rodman and Cooper were decent choices (although I would've picked a scoring guard in the 1st - maybe someone like Goodrich or Richmond, and THEN selected Rodman in the early 2nd - now THAT would've been something dangerous to build off of). Campbell was a nice find late in the 3rd, and Hairston late in the 4th is a steal.

However the quality of your choices started to drop off by the middle rounds. I'm not entirely sure how you intend to use Sessions and Vujacic (although chac would probably jettison his entire team to get him - take advantage). It would take something spectacular to turn this team around.

9.Chavacano

Very solid frontcourt. Everyone knows that Gasol and Bynum are a very formidable duo (but everyone also knows that it hasn't worked quite to what Laker fans expected). Rick Fox provides good perimeter D, and having a legit 7 foot rebounding and defensive monster off the bench is huge (no pun intended).

That being said, the backcourt needs help. Severely. Your starting PG is a career backup (which looks especially bad since Ron Harper was drafted right after). Charlie Scott was a prolific scorer in the ABA, but he is not a "big name", so to speak, among PSD voters.

Yet, there's still hope left, lots of it. Your lineup has plenty of potential. Take your time to find legitimate backup players to fill the rest of your roster, and maybe flip one or two of your bigs (I'm very sure that some teams are in need) for a more decent starting guard, and you're good to go.

Almost there (4 teams)

These teams are the bottom 4 seeds of an 8-team playoff setting. They feature a very solid lineup with lots of promise and potential and spring upwards to the big dogs, given a few smart maneuvers.

8. Buffalo

Magic, Mychal Thompson, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis....wait am I reading the lineup of the 80s Lakers here or what?? Magic alone lands this team a playoff spot, and with capable starters like Thompson and Byron Scott provides this team with stability to compete with other teams. A second all star player would have been ideal for this team. But with clever drafting and/or trading, this team can be made to be a legitimate title contender.

7. Santa Barbara

SB features a very good frontcourt, spearheaded by the great Elgin Baylor at the 3 spot, and Bob McAdoo in the 4. This duo can inflict major damage to any frontcourt as both guys are unstoppable. It might be a little undersized compared to more contemporary bigs, but their skills will surely compensate for the lack of size. Plus, with the footage I've seen of Lou Hudson, he's probably just as good of a scorer as anyone his size, with solid rebounding skills as well.

What I'm concerned about this squad is probably name recognition, more than anything else. There's no doubt that all of these guys are capable basketball players. But with the winners decided by a popular vote, this team might take a hit in terms of voting compared to the teams with better known players.

6. St. Louis

Building with Kobe as your cornerstone is tough, to say the least. I had first hand experience with it last year. And I will say that St. Louis is probably a better team than the one I fielded last year. Artem has done a good job surrounding Kobe with the type of players he is very comfortable with - a dependable big who can handle the share of scoring load, a big power forward who can take control of the rebounds, and a solid wing scorer in Jamaal Wilkes. Silk often times has been one of the forgotten greats in the history of Lakerland. Game 6 1980 finals has often been Magic's realm, but many seem to forget that Wilkes's great performance that game was actually the X-Factor that gave the Lakers the W.

What I like most about this team is, given the right bench players, is the potential to be a very versatile squad. Let's see how this team is built as the draft progresses.

5. Mulholland Drive

This team screams DEFENSE all across the board. The glove, Queensbridge, and Kawamayyy are possibly the 3 of the best defenders in their respective positions. With Larry Foust and Glen Rice providing the extra spark offensively, this team is certainly not lacking in that department. Although I'm not a fan of Kwame starting for an all time team, the other guys in the lineup make up for whatever weaknesses he might bring.

This team has a lot of room for improvement. Once the bench has been filled with solid rotation players, this team is capable of beating anyone at any given day.

Best of the Best (4 teams)

I had quite a bit of trouble ranking the best 4 teams in our league. Not much is needed to be said about any of them, but all four teams have the potential of being the best one of the bunch, and don't be surprised if the winner comes out from this pool of teams. Honestly, I think if you ask me tomorrow (without advancing the draft) my rankings might (will?) change. That being said, here are (in my opinion) the top 4 teams:

4. Glendale

I like this Glendale team very much. You have accomplished scorers in Worthy and Goodrich, a floor distributor in Harper, a legitimate rebounder in Leroy Ellis, and a very capable center in Divac. I envision this team to be very fluid on offense, presenting lots of problems for any defending team. Goodrich roaming the floor, and Worthy working the low block or even the high post, with Ron Harper orchestrating the offense. Divac and Ellis will be there to pick up the missed shots.

I like the structure, the system, the style, that this team is geared towards. I doubt that just making a lot of noise is what this team is aiming for. They want to go all the way, and they have the tools to do so.

3. Hawthorne

This team scares me. With Kareem anchoring the inside, Grant securing the boards, Russell and Eddie Jones being the defensive backbone, and Derek Harper providing extra scoring opportunities, Hawthorne is built to play well against any team thrown at them, and WIN. I struggle to find any weaknesses with this team, and they got all of their bases covered and secured. Not to mention that their bench is looking good so far, with Horry and Archie Clark leading the pack.

2. La Habra

That frontcourt...jesus christ. How someone else hopes to counter that massive frontline, I do not know (although I have a couple of ideas ). The big dipper, Haywood, Mikkelsen, AND you still have the scorer Ceballos off the bench. Had me drooling for a while there.

The backcourt is very good as well, with Butler and Van Exel. Scoring scoring scoring scoring scoring. This team is all about putting the ball in the bucket. From top to bottom, all of these guys can score, and there's no one stopping them. Easily a top 2 team. I think this team provides the biggest threat to our number 1 team which is...



1. South Gate

When building a team through a redraft, I believe that there should be a purpose when drafting players. Selecting the best one available everytime is definitely an option, but I always try to visualize my team and how they would perform in an actual game if we WERE to put them altogether and have them play. Of course having massive boxscore production would be nice, but a lot of times it is best to pick complementary players and try to field a team that has at least a decent shot of playing an actual game, and not a game of numbers.

With that said, I looked at South Gate's roster: McKie, Richmond, Christie, Green, O'Neal. Suddenly, very suddenly actually, something hit me: Fisher, Bryant, Fox, Green/Horry, O'Neal. I couldn't believe it. This South Gate team is very much like those early 2000s Lakers team! That team that wrecked through the NBA and won 3 consecutive championships.

This is a fundamentally sound TEAM, from top to bottom. Prolific scorers, floor spacers, defenders, rebounders, a massive superstar in Shaq,...you've got everything you need. This team might not have the "star power" that other teams have, but sometimes too much is counterproductive. South Gate has the right balance, in my opinion.

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And that concludes the first edition of our Power Rankings. Like I said, the rankings are subject to change, the teams are realistically that close to each other that it is easy to rise or drop a few spots in the future.

[lakers4sho]

hm, I guess I've only excluded Corpus Christi

[LakersMaster24]

That guy just wasted the Logo.

[lakers4sho]

yeah, the bottom 2-3 guys would've definitely benefited if this scrub didn't join to begin with

[Lakers+Giants]

Definitely glad to be 2nd but A LOT can change from now until the end of the draft. . thanks for this L4S, thanks for showing my team some love too

[LAKERMANIA]

Im glad my team was at least 4th...

[Lakers+Giants]

Im glad my team was at least 4th...

I'll have to admit, i thought your team would be top 2. IMO you're definitely top 3 as of right now.

[lakers4sho]

It was hard for me picking between hawthorne and glendale. Glendale has more offensive firepower, but having the captain tipped the scales a little bit towards Hawthorne's favor. Not a big difference though, so don't worry about it too much.

[Lakers+Giants]

It was hard for me picking between hawthorne and glendale. Glendale has more offensive firepower, but having the captain tipped the scales a little bit towards Hawthorne's favor. Not a big difference though, so don't worry about it too much.

I fully understand where you are coming from and i can't say i can argue with that.

[Avenged24]

Thanks for power rankings lakers4sho.

This is how I would have it, fairly similar.

(10) Hollywood

- Started off good w/ Rodman & Cooper then made some questionable last 2-3 picks.

(9) Chavacano

- Solid frontcourt you just need the right players to surround Pau & Drew. I see your team and I think about the current Lakers squad. Thing that might hurt you is that they currently play together and hasn't worked out too well so it's all about finding the right players to surround them with.

(8) Buffalo

- Solid all around players w/ the greatest PG of all-time. I think you picked some back-ups that could have fallen to you in later rounds though.

(7) St. Louis

- As I said, good team. You need to find a defensive big to compete with other frontcourts, though.

(6) Santa Barbara

- I see your team and all I think about is offense This is a team that's going to be able to score at will.

(5) La Habra

- Very good team. Couldn't decide where to rank you because all these team are close. I will say this, though, not sure how Caron will fit at the 2 so you will need to explain your strategy.

(4) Glendale

- Balance 1-5. I was thinking of ranking you in the top 3 that's how much I like your team.

(3) Mulholland Drive

- Great defensive team. The only hole I see is Kwame as your starting Center. He would be a serviceable backup, but then again, with the great defensive team you have, you might not need much out of him but good post D.

(2) Pick 3

- That frontcourt scares me. Theo, Odom, Woolridge, and Dantley should be able to go up against anyone put infront of them.

(1) Hawthorne

- Balance all around. Perhaps the greatest C of all-time followed by great balance on D & O. Not much needs to be said.

[LAKERMANIA]

South Gate vs. Hawthorne would be epic..

[GREATNESS ONE]

yeah, the bottom 2-3 guys would've definitely benefited if this scrub didn't join to begin with

[Chavacano]

Hypothetically, I was thinking of making Pau the go to guy, both Bynum and Smith anchoring the defense, Fox and Lue providing solid outside shooting and perimeter defense, and Scott being the outside threat a la Kobe.

Pick and roll/pop with Pau, high-low with Pau and Bynum and post-ups will be my main plays, I guess.

I do agree that the Lue pick was horrible.

But Scott was still a prolific scorer even in the NBA. Him being unknown and (maybe?) underrated sucks. :cry:

[GREATNESS ONE]

^ LOL bro, it's just some dudes opinions.

Your twin towers realistically would be a nightmare to match up with. Especially with some of these classic players.