Swooper Bowl Bubble Breakdown

In order to provide a picture of what's going on in our league, its leaders, and the trade market, we spend a lot of our time highlighting the best and most recognizable organizations and swoopsters in our universe. For those looking to keep up with the who's who and what's what of Swoops, they'll get daily and weekly snapshots where the battle for the top seeds, the leaderboard, and the power rankings are placed squarely in the foreground.

However, in the background there is an ongoing war among dozens of teams, each trying to leapfrog one another and break into the bracket to secure themselves a spot in Season 0's culminating event. As we continue to inch closer and closer to the date of the tournament, it's only fitting that this week is dedicated to taking a look at ten of the basketball brawlers battling the in bubble to become Swooper Bowl bound.

First up are the Rockem Siakam Robots, who are a mere 11 games out of 64th place and a spot in the Swooper Bowl. As far as teams outside the bubble go, they have some very interesting pieces in Notorious MVP and Time Lord.

Notorious MVP is a four-star prospect in their sixth who anchors the paint for RSR while putting up 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and an impressive 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks a night.

Time Lord is the team's other four-star prospect, also in their sixth season, and slots in at forward as a jack-of-all-trades type of swoopster. Robot Robert Williams is putting up 12 points a night on 47% shooting, while adding 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, a block, and only committing 2.5 fouls a night. That is an extraordinarily useful utility man to help seal up any holes a team may have.

The rest of their roster is filled with some one-star prospects of various ages, each providing a distinctly different value and weakness. 350 has distance shooting, 1234 is good at 1, 2, 3, 4 different things, 1240 leads the team in PPG, and 1237 chips in 17/7/3 as a second-option forward.

If they can find the right combination of these players along with MVP and Time Lord, they seem like a much more dangerous team than their 48% win-rate would suggest.

Will Rockem Siakam Robots be able score the final blow come tournament time to secure a spot, or will the competition tag them in their weak spots and send their head flying?

Robo Ballers are a five man team who have been pumping out a huge amount of games recently in order to punch their ticket to the Swooper Bowl and set themselves up with a chance to pull off a miracle. While they have not been winning a high percentage of their games, they do have some particularly interesting talent on their team.

LeBronze James is a four-star prospect in their fifth season, a forward who puts up 11 points and 11 rebounds a night, while chipping in three assists and 1.5 steals, and keeping fouls down to a shade over three a game. That's some pretty significant utility from the four, and while they only shoot 43% from the floor, they're shooting a staggering 90% from the line!

Another player in a similar position is AI Shooter, a four-star prospect in their third season who starts at guard for the Robo Ballers. AI is second in scoring on the team at 18 a night, only shoots 42% from the floor, but is at the top of the league at 92% from the line. I have my suspicions that he's actually a robot manufactured to only shoot free throws though, as they are currently averaging barely a single rebound, less than three assists, and a troublesome five fouls a night.

Their leading scorer is The King, who averages a respectable 19/11.5/2.5/1/1 from the center position, on 47/35/69 shooting splits. The numbers look good, but The King does prefer to defend at the level of the screen up on the perimeter, which could leave the Robo Ballers exposed defensively around the rim.

Iron Zion and James Hardreset are the other two starters for the Robo Ballers, both 14 point per game scorers averaging around 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block a night. However, they average 45% and 40% from the floor respectively, 31% and 34% from three, and Hardreset has had their free throw shooting absorbed by AI Shooter, as they're barely over 50% from the stripe on the season.

Robo Ballers are a team that struggles from the three point line, which could hurt their ability to keep up with teams that can get busy from downtown. However, if they can find a way to get AI Shooter and LeBronze into the paint and pick up some shooting fouls, their level of conversion on those is elite and can be counted on in any game.

The Camo Punks are in a very similar position as the Robo Ballers in terms of record and win percentage, but find themselves in a very different situation roster wise. With 11 different swoopsters, Camo Punks have a full service buffet to pick and choose from, and have certainly gone back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths in order to figure out what the best lineup might be.

In many cases, it seems the Camo Punks have come to the conclusion that one dish isn't necessarily better than the other. In fact, it may just be the same dish with a different name. Of the 11 different swoopsters on the roster, five are ~13ppg scorers shooting ~40% from the floor, ~30% from three, adding ~5 rebounds, and ~2 assists a night. Certainly those can be extra players for a lower seeded team, but not capable of being stars or leading scorers, nor elite roleplayers.

Four other players shoot similar percentages, but have varying degrees of rebounds and assists, and are afforded more opportunities to shoot the ball and average a higher points per game. Again, some capable glue guys in this bubble war, but not the kind of general who could cut through the fray and turn the tides in a string of skirmishes.

However, the Camo Punks do have a three-star general in their corner who has put up some very impressive numbers this season in Shade Criminal. The Big SC has anchored ~700 games for the Camo Punks and is averaging 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and a block a night. He is doing it on 47% from the floor, 38% from three (fantastic for a big), 78% from the line, and somehow only turning it over barely once a game.

That is one heck of a player right there, one that the Camo Punks can build around going forward, one who many teams would love to get their hands on, and perhaps who they can try to figure out a plan to lean on to get them into the Swooper Bowl.

Wild Aces Eth is a team that has struggled to string together some wins in Season 0, but a team that I see as a bit more valuable than their record would suggest. Composed of six players, four one-star prospects and two two-star prospects, they've had their work cut out for them.

Before we go any further into that, I do want to point out that your prospect star rating isn't an initial indication of how good you are, but rather your likelihood of growth and "goodness" as your career goes on. A one-star has a very outside shot at becoming an MVP-level player, and a five-star has a very outside shot at being a role player-at-best type of player. Everything and anything is possible, that's what Kevin Garnett told me, and perhaps that's what Wild Aces are counting on as well.

The talent on the team, I think, is better than what someone may expect it to be given those ratings and their record. Green Goblin may be shooting 40/34/60 splits, but is also pulling down 8 boards a night, tossing out a fantastic 5 assists from the forward spot, adding ~2.5 stocks while only fouling twice, and barely turning it over a single time a game. That is a high-quality role player on an excellent team, but right now the Wild Aces need them to be their second scorer at 18 points a night. Perhaps not his best role, but a great role absolutely exists for them.

Likewise, Ethmeka Okafor is only in their third season and is putting up 14/9/4.5/1/1 on 46% shooting from the F/C slot. They're a bit fouly right now at 4.8 a game, but that's a very robust stat line for a player in their third season, let alone at that position.

A lot of the players on the Wild Aces are like that. Very interesting, all-around, roleplayer or glue-guy types of players. It's hard to win a lot of games with five "others", but it's really good to have those kinds of players hanging around. Perhaps in Season 1 they grow into a star, perhaps for a few of those players the Wild Aces can make a deal for a star, or perhaps they prove everyone wrong and jump into the Swooper Bowl as the quintessential "nobody believed in us" squad.

One Point Six One Eight bounces onto the list as our first positive win% team in this bubble battle for bowl entry. 1.618 are a six player squad who, to be fair, are more of a five man squad as their swoopster Al Chemist has only played 8 games and seems to be some sort of de facto coach/mad scientist on the sideline.

Their leading scorer is Auric Rose, a G/F in their fourth season and one of the best one-star prospects in the entire league. Rose is putting up 21/8 (three offensive!)/3/1/1 on 44/40/75 splits with just over a turnover a night. Those are the kind of numbers you'd expect from a well-developing three or four-star prospect, so kudos to the organization for picking Rose, Rose on their hard work, and what an example of what's possible from a one-star. Hope you're reading this Wild Aces!

Joining Auric at guard is Dusty Sevnine, an excellent backcourt mate who is putting up 16/4/3/1.5/1 on 43/38/80, but has a bad mean streak in him and currently leads the league with an otherworldly 6.8 fouls per night.  

Their second 20ppg scorer is Dia Mande, a four-star forward in their fourth season who has struggled with their efficiency but is bringing down 10 rebounds a night, 2.5 assists, 2 stocks, only turning it over once a night, and boasts an outstanding 1.6 fouls a game so far. I have been noticing a lot of the best teams have players who keep the fouls to a minimum, and Dia Mande is the pinnacle of that. As a player with a super high coachability rating as well, going into their fifth season I'll be looking to see what kind of growth begets this swoopster.

At the four slot is Aurum, another one-star prospect success story for One Point Six One Eight, as the F/C is putting up 18/9/3/1/1 with 1.4 TOs a night on 49(!!)/38(!!)/55(??) shooting splits. Would love to get an interview with the ownership of this team, as it seems they are the one-star whisperers.

That eye for talent could lead to One Point Six One Eight making more of a shout come tournament time, as they continue to climb the leaderboard and rip through the teams above them.

Next up are the C-Town Captains, a five man squad that boasts a young five-star prospect at the forward spot named Matic Johnson.

Matic Johnson is averaging 18/10/3 and almost ~2.5 stocks with just 1.2 turnovers a night so far in their third season. Though they're only shooting 43/30/73 splits, that big prospect rating means that there could be a serious jump in production and efficiency in season 1. I am so looking forward to seeing the leaps some of these super young high prospect rating swoopsters are going to make, and MatJohn is one of I have personally marked down.

The young star-to-be is bolstered by his forward mate Captain, one of the most efficient 20+ ppg scorers in the league. Through ~400 games, Captain is putting up 23/4/2/1/1 on 51%(!!!)/38/84 as C-Town's main scoring option. Despite the team's record so far, Captain is under serious consideration for the All-Star game and should be applauded for his Season 0 so far.

Speaking of efficiency, CTC is anchored by their center Gas, a four-star big man who is putting up 14/10/4/1/1 on an impressive 54/36/84 shooting split. Just for good measure, how about some more efficiency?

Starting guard Meta Dellavedova is up to 19 points a game right now on 46% from the floor and 46% from three! That has this one-star breakout near the top of the league in distance shooting, and one of the only players who may want to start shooting from further back on their free throws as he's sitting just below 60% from the charity stripe.

Lastly, while not an efficient scorer, CTC also has BX Birdman who is one of the league's premier passers who is averaging 9.3 assists this season, and perhaps the most impressive of all the facilitators considering the absurdly low 1.5 turnovers a game.

C-Town are a seriously talented team right now who could break into the tournament and pull off some big time upsets on higher seeded opponents. Scarier than that, they're likely to be even better come Season 1 and are very high up there on the "teams to watch going forward" list.

The Swooper Sonics are our second positive win% team in this just-outside-the-bracket free-for-all, and the second team to boast a young five-star prospect among their ranks.
Swoopster-677, who I assume is awaiting the perfect name change, is a five-star forward in their fourth season and already leading a team in scoring. At nearly 24 points a night, 677 is relied upon heavily by a team that doesn't have another swoopster over 16 points a night, and has done well to take on that responsibility. While their efficiency is not great yet, they're pulling down 8 rebounds a night, a steal and a block, and the "winning player double-whammy" of just 1.3 turnovers and 2.2 fouls per contest. Scary how good 677 could become.

Shawn Hemp has anchored the team the whole season, as the three-star big man brings down 14 big boards a night and helps to keep the offense moving with a very impressive 4 assists per game from down low.

The rest of the Swooper Sonics are a mix of slightly inefficient scorers who do their best to rebound and facilitate when they can, but can get a bit fouly and have issues with turnovers. Which, while that may sound negative, both highlights how strong of a swoopsters 677 is and how well the Swooper Sonics have manufactured lineups that are able to stay at a positive win% so far, and are right there ready to punch their ticket to the Swooper Bowl.

Ah the Detroit Pizzas. What can be said about this team that hasn't already been said about Detroit's most famous pizza chain. They're not very good, they're not getting any better, but at least they provide a cheap and easy way for other teams to fill up on wins. They currently sit just one game away from 666 losses, the perfect number for the hellscape that is this roster.

Of course, the Detroit Pizzas are owned by our community manager and beloved Swoops figure Josh. If you've been in our spaces, if you've been in our discord, if you've watched our twitch streams, then you know Josh very well.

His team is mostly used for testing out certain things, this team is not of any consequential threat to beat anyone in the Swooper Bowl and are very unlikely to even earn an entry to do so.  Still, there they sit, a delivery left on the side of the road for whatever scavenging teams are out there to come pick it apart.

The Tune Squad are a team that had been sitting idle for a little while, but just came back today to start crushing some games and find their way to the Swooper Bowl. Teams should watch out, as the Tune Squad are capable of far more than their 156-194 record suggests.

They're led by G/F Cyborg Mamba, a four-star prospect in their fourth season, and a rock solid #1 option. Mamba is putting up 21 points a night on great 47/38/80 shooting splits, pulls down 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and ~2.5 stocks, with less than two turnovers a night.

The Tune Squad see the most success when Swoopster-381 is flanking Mamba. 381 is a G/F putting up 16 points on 43/39/79 shooting splits and tossing in their 5 boards, 3 assists, and ~2.5 stocks a night as well. Those two together are, simply put, a really good back court that can go toe-to-toe with pretty much any 1/2 in the league on any given night.

Heading to the front court, we first look at Mount Doom. The Tune Squad's leading center is one of the better two-star prospects in the game, putting up 10/12.5/4/1/1 from the center position on 45/40/76 shooting splits. A spooky mountain for any rim running scorer to try and climb.

Rounding out their most common starting lineup is a duo of 18 point scorers in Air Shuttleworth and 1233. Though the two aren't particularly efficient in their scoring, they seem to be solid defenders, and are capable enough to get the job done most nights.

If the Tune Squad can figure out how to get those two to score a bit more efficiently, or take a few less shots, let alone if they can pick up another player or insert another one of their other swoopsters to more effectively surround their great three-man core...I mean, the sky's the limit. They are more than capable of making it into the Swooper Bowl, and if they can tweak just a few more things, they may very well be picked to win more than just their first round bout.

Last but not least are the Arch City Flyers. I can not stress "but not least" enough, as the Arch City Flyers are clearly just waiting to buckle down and play a ton of games with their 23-man roster full of elite talent. Sporting two five-star prospects, six four-star prospects, and a full NBA  roster of one-to-three stars behind them, the Arch City Flyers are a team capable of winning the entire Swooper Bowl if they put the right lineups together and just go for it.

They have all the options in the world to choose from to put together any number of "right lineups" as well.

I mean, who do I even start to break down here among these 23 players? Is it Milkman? A guard putting up 21/6/4/1/1 on 49/38/87 shooting splits, who doesn't foul or turn the ball over? Is it Maverick? An ideal low-usage guard who shoots 42% from three, grabs 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and snags two steals and a block a night? What about The Problem? A center who puts up 15/12/3/1/1 and shoots 40% from distance? How about the oft-played The Spark, another center who is putting up 17 points on 56/54/85 shooting, while grabbing 11 reboudns a night? No, you're not reading those shooting numbers wrong.

They have elite talent at every position and will no doubt shoot up into the bracket when they're ready to. May Swoops have mercy on the souls of the teams who stand in their way when they finally suit back up.