TNL Season 8 Midseason Review

Here's a look at how each team has fared so far midway through TNL's eighth season. The playoff battle is heating up, with the top five teams separated by just 63 points.

No. 32 - Oklahoma City Lightning (2-15, L3, 676 pts)

It just hasn't been Oklahoma City's season. It all started with a catastrophic free agency period. OKC lost standout Kazuhiko Akiyama '99 to Toronto. Akiyama '99 now ranks 9th on the individual points leaderboard.

But the team lost far more than that. It couldn't retain Enzo Wilson, either. Daniel Gil left as well in the offseason. OKC went from having three players in the top 100 and being a late playoff upset candidate to being last in the league with their top two players being 92nd and 93rd.

A small sliver of good news is that everyone on OKC's lineup is on a one-season contract, making them easy to jettison. The problem is that not as many free agents will be on the market this upcoming season. OKC will have an opportunity to improve, but it may come in Season 10 rather than Season Nine.

No. 31 - Indianapolis Horsepower (3-14, L5, 591 pts)

As with Oklahoma City, the Indianapolis Horsepower simply failed to retain their talent. They lost three players (Koji Hashimoto '10, RJ Roman, Matt D'Amico) to Philadelphia. And while only Hashimoto '10 has made a substantial impact for his new team, the replacements have not worked out for Indianapolis. In terms of outright talent, it may be one of the weakest in TNL history.

Like Cleveland ahead, Indianapolis doesn't have a single player in the top 100 of the MVP rankings. Its highest is Caleb Blaustein at No. 107.

The only silver lining is that no one on Indianapolis is safe past this season. Other than that, it's been all nightmares for the blue and yellow crew.

No. 30 - Cleveland Crowns (4-13, L8, 576 pts)

Cleveland has essentially the same story as the two before them: failure to maintain talent and a season as cellar dwellers ensues.

The cast may be even more dreary than Indianapolis'. The Crowns are averaging a record-low 33.9 points per game, even lower than the Season 4 Miami Blaze, who dropped the least points in a season with 789 (34.3 PPG). As with the other bottomfeeders, there's opportunity to reset but this current season likely won't see this team crack double-digit wins.

No. 29 - Baltimore Bandits (4-13, W1, 970 pts)

Despite scoring almost 300 points more than last season's midseason total of 681 (in 18 games), Baltimore is 4-13. While they haven't scored an otherworldly amount of points, ranking 16th, their opponents have scored 1,172. This is 100 more cumulative opponent points than any other team save New Jersey (1,125), Dallas (1,108) and Minnesota (1,080).

While Baltimore would only be an average team at best, they're getting very unlucky with their scheduling. Scheduling is random beyond Round One (which is set for 'rivals' to play one another) and while it plays a minor factor, Baltimore just hasn't been good enough to overcome that issue.

It's better than previous seasons and should eventually balance out for the Bandits — formerly the Orlando Waves — to capture more victories.

No. 28 - Detroit Chargers (5-12, L1, 693 pts)

After 11 rounds, it looked like everything had fallen off the rails. The Chargers were on an 11-game losing streak and had only topped 50 points once.

But then Detroit began to flourish again. It ripped off a five-game winning streak, clearing the 50-point barrier three times in that stretch. And though that win streak came to an end in Round 17, it came against No. 14 Dallas, who scored 87. Detroit scored 72 in that game.

If it can maintain the better stretch it's had, it's a good case to keep some of that talent around. But 40.8 points a game just isn't going to cut it over a full season. Detroit needs to cut some of their players loose while keeping the bits that's helped them on that win streak.

No. 27 - New York Nightmares (5–12, L3, 923 pts)

New York has endured what Baltimore's faced to a lesser extent. New York is averaging a solid 54.3 points per game, but that ranks just 20th. After a 4-2 start, New York has fallen hard, going 1-10 since Round Six. A seven-game losing streak came, even though New York topped 50 points three times.

But with the increased scoring (scoring is up 8.4 points per game from Season Seven), that's just not enough anymore. New York's opponents in that seven-game stretch averaged 58 points a game — which would equate to 16th among all teams, if for an entire season.

New York has underperformed against its competition and just hasn't done enough this season. The Nightmares have a slim chance to make the playoffs, but it would only come if the team can gain some consistency. And considering that its best player (Yamamoto Yoshiyuki) is in 49th in individual scoring, it doesn't look good.

No. 26 - Chicago Cyclones (6-11, L1, 757 pts)

Chicago's start was incredibly disappointing to begin this campaign. Though last season (16-15, P16 in final standings) was average, it's better than being at the bottom. Dropping three points a game doesn't help (47.9 to 44.5), especially with the eight and a half point increase in scoring. Losing what's in essence 12 points has set Chicago back a fair bit.

It's a team capable of winning games here and there, and it's a team with talent. But it just doesn't step up often enough. Its best player (Charlie Robbins) sits 55th in scoring. This team is just not enough. And it's a wiser idea to go for a rebuild — and to release Bryson Rosewood, who's commanding a $20M salary but sits just 71st in scoring.

No. 25 - Philadelphia Freedom (6-11, L2, 778 pts)

It seems to be the same old sad tale for Philadelphia. And unfortunately, this came after a bright preseason outlook. Slated 16th in my preseason predictions, the team has underperformed yet again. This team wasn't expected to make the playoffs — barely missing out on the services of No. 7 Ryosuke Miyaoka hurt this team a lot — but it was expected to put up more of a fight than it's shown this season. It's improved over seven points a game, but that's more down to scoring increasing across the board.

This team is in a rougher position than most, because five members of its team are locked up for two more seasons (for a total of $34M). It may just be a better idea to release some of them in the offseason to essentially start over — again.

No. 24 - Seattle Surge (6-11, L1, 850 pts)

This was mentioned before in the TNL Season 7 Midseason Review, but Seattle used to be a contender. It'd be hard to tell, looking at their past five seasons. The first three seasons of TNL all featured the Surge in the playoffs. The last five haven't, and Seattle seems to only be getting worse as time goes on.

Seattle essentially kept their entire team from Season Seven. And that was a team that finished 26th last season. The only things that changed was that it lost Ryan Stratis '11 and Araki Naoyuki to Baltimore, Nate Hansen to DC, Jacob Arnstein to London, and Lorin Ball and Sean Arms to free agency. 

It gained Sato Jun, but he hasn't done much, currently ranking 72nd in the MVP rankings. The outlook doesn't look great for this team going forward under its current setup. If it resets, it can have a chance of returning back to its glory days. But for now, there's only dark days ahead until the end of this season.

No. 23 - Charlotte Sting (6-11, W1, 942 pts)

Charlotte is only one spot above its ranking last season. And it's basically been the same as most of its seasons: not quite bad enough to be one of the league's cellar dwellers, but not good enough to be taken seriously as a contender.

It has an obvious piece to build around: No. 19 Tyler Smith. Smith has been great this season, averaging just under 17 points a game. The problem is that he can't do everything for this unit.

Charlotte's next closest in individual points is Daniel Gil at No. 53 (11.65 PPG) and then No. 70 Lucas Reale (10.43 PPG). Those are solid, but when you've only got four athletes in the top 150, that's not going to move the needle against a contender.

Charlotte has some great key pieces to build around, but it may need to retool in the offseason to shore up its weak points.

No. 22 - San Antonio Shurikens (7-10, W1, 703 pts)

Same song, different dance. San Antonio once again finds themselves on the verge of invisibility. Bar Season Five, where the Shurikens made it to the Play-In tournament, this team hasn't been relevant whatsoever. It's one of just eight teams at this point to not make a single Gauntlet, and it ranks 28th of 32 in scoring.

The saving grace for this team is its opponents' performance (876 points scored); just Miami (782), Cleveland (838), Oklahoma City (848), Alaska (866), and Los Angeles (874) have lower totals from their opponents. San Antonio just hasn't done much with the sixth-easiest road; it doesn't help when there's only three Shurikens players in the top 150.

No. 21 - Tokyo Kaiju (7-10, L1, 896 pts)

Tokyo immediately fell back to its lowlights, when it was in Phoenix and then moved. An 1-6 start seemed to put this team out of commission before the season's midpoint. But the team's gone 6-4 since then and seems to be on an upward trajectory. The team even had a five-round stretch where it hit above 50 points in each. In its past nine, it's hit 50 seven times. Discounting the Kaiju's abysmal start, they'd be averaging 57 points, good for 17th. It's just about average, but that can win most games.

Tokyo hasn't drawn an easy schedule so far, so going forward, it should be primed to capture more wins. A postseason berth may be out of the question, but this Tokyo team is starting to turn a corner.

No. 20 - New Jersey Generals (7-10, W1, 963 pts)

Contrary to Tokyo's fortunes, the Generals have been plagued this season by inconsistency. It's a team that can go from scoring 74 to 34. It doesn't help that New Jersey encountered a stretch from Rounds Five to Seven where its opponents averaged 92.3 points per game — but in those rounds, New Jersey scored 86, 14 and 25, losing all three games.

Though New Jersey's best player, No. 18 Geoff Britten, has been very good, the Generals haven't had a second reliable Stage Three option, which has been consistently contributing to their failure.

But its biggest problem has been its Stage Two. As of Round 17, the Generals' Stage Two lineup's only averaging 15.8 points a game — 25th most in the league. Fixing their tailspin has to come here first before anything else.

No. 19 - Los Angeles Eclipse (8-9, W1, 908 pts)

Though Jay Lewis has once again shined for the Eclipse, currently averaging 22.82 points a game and sitting No. 4 in individual scoring, it hasn't come to the tune of many wins. Los Angeles sits in the same seat they were last season: a team with a star, but not a team of stars.

It's got two players in the top 100 (three if No. 179 Josh Levin counts, as he's averaging 10.6 points per game but hasn't played enough games to be eligible for MVP). Their top two players are averaging 22.82 and 11.24 points a game, respectively. The next closest? 5.06. Los Angeles' road is clear: Keep their three best and jettison the rest to have any hope of contending in the future.

No. 18 - Las Vegas Jackpot (8-9, L2, 920 pts)

Las Vegas is an interesting team — it doesn't have a clear MVP-caliber gem but it's got a OK main four. Its top four are averaging 14.93 (No. 30 Lee En-Chih), 11.18 (No. 62 Moritz Hans), 10.29 (No. 73 True Becker) and 7.85 (No. 99 Colin Duffy), respectively.

The whole crew in Vegas has been just there as a whole, not ranking lower than 22nd or higher than 19th in points per any stage.

Despite a rough 2-5 start where it dropped five straight, Vegas has gone 6-4 since then and looks set to capture around 16 to 17 wins, approaching the playoff cutline.

No. 17 - London Glory (8-9, L1, 964 pts)

London has been a very interesting team. Led by No. 7 Ryosuke Miyaoka, the Glory initially stumbled out to a 1-4 start.

But since then, they've recovered to go 7-5 since then. That includes a rough patch lately where they went 1-3 in their last four games — but in those three bouts, they scored 85, 53 and 84 to their opponents' 93, 70, and 90. Sometimes there are just a couple games you can't win. 

And London is getting much better at capturing those games. This is a team that could make some noise if it can get to the playoffs.

No. 16 - Denver Dynamite (8-9, L2, 1028 pts)

Denver's fall to begin Season Eight was shocking. A 1-5 start was not what anyone expected from the defending champions, especially a team that I predicted would finish No. 1 in the overall standings.

Now sitting five games back from No. 1, it's still possible cards for Denver to make the playoffs — and a five-game win streak had this team finally back to a winning record. But after two straight losses, Denver sits at 8-9, a season removed from its first championship. It just hasn't had the explosiveness from its Stage Three as it did in previous seasons.

Last season, its two Stage Three players, Matt Bradley and Phil Folsom, finished first and eighth in scoring. This season, they're 21st and 26th, respectively. Denver's still a decent team, but it's hard to envision this team making a deep playoff run.

No. 15 - Minnesota Blizzard (9-8, W2, 1007 pts)

For a team that was one obstacle shy of making it to the finals and lost to eventual champions Denver in seven games, Minnesota hasn't been on it this season, either.

Like the Dynamite, the Blizzard also struggled out of the gate, starting 2-5. Though they've won four of their last five, the road's still murky for this team when it comes to a run in the playoffs. Minnesota hasn't been particularly special in any stage, ranking between 15th and 18th in points per stage in all three stages.

There's just not the same firepower here that was there last season. And because of that, Minnesota may not even make the playoffs this time around.

No. 14 - Dallas Wranglers (9-8, W1, 1011 pts)

For the second straight season, Dallas has an outside shot at making the playoffs. Last season, it was 16-15, but ranked 19th in points per game. This season, it's 9-8 so far and improved up to 14th. Instead of being six points a game down on the nearest playoff contenders, Dallas has closed that gap to just under three and it's shown a lot of fight.

Dallas' Stage Three has been a big reason why, ranking 4th in points per game at 34.2. On the flip side, its Stage One is averaging 9.6 points a game (19th-most) and Stage Two's only 15.1 (29th-most). The Second Stage is easily the most glaring problem for the Wranglers. If they can fix it, they could be one of the final teams in at the end of the regular season.

No. 13 - Atlanta Falconhawks (9-8, W3, 1012 pts)

Atlanta's main weakness all season has been its Third Stage; its Stage One and Stage Two both rank eighth in points per game, but its Stage Three ranks just 22nd at 24.7 points per game. Against the teams around the Falconhawks, like Dallas (34.2) or Houston (30.4), those points on the Third Stage are just sapping wins away from this unit.

It's a scrappy team riding a three-game winning streak after being projected to finish 30th in preseason, following a disastrous offseason. But a mid-season trade for No. 23 Asa Reynolds has shaken things up dramatically. If the Falconhawks can get a second running mate alongside Reynolds, they could be primed for a playoff push for the second season in a row.

No. 12 - Houston Ignition (9-8, L1, 1134 pts)

Houston seems to be struggling — but then again, that was what most people thought in Season Six. And that No. 10 Houston team made it to the finals.

The surprising thing is just how many points this team has put up. The team ranks eighth in points per game and has scored less than 50 points just twice. Yet it's only hit above 72 on four occasions. Considering that four teams (Tampa Bay, DC, Pittsburgh and Portland) are averaging over that, it's tough to beat those contenders.

Houston is in the mix, but until it's able to reach higher peaks (it ranks 12th and 11th in Stage One and Stage Three points, respectively) in its first and third segments, it may not make it to its fourth straight finals.

No. 11 - Austin Strike (10-7, W4, 1061 pts)

It was late, but Austin was eliminated from postseason contention at the 11th hour. Sitting ninth with two rounds remaining, the Strike slipped to 13th in the final rankings.

And this season, Austin initially looked to be on the same train. They started 6-2, then lost five straight. But Austin's riding a four-game win streak and might have the deepest roster in the entire league.

It's got six players in the top 115 and headlined by No. 29 Gavin Obey and No. 35 Mickael Mawem, Austin could make a run. It's peaking at the right time and could be the team to make a run this postseason — if it can make it there.

No. 10 - Miami Blaze (11-6, W4, 859 pts)

Like Austin, Miami has on a run. Unlike the Strike, the Blaze started off hot, getting off to a 4-1 start. And unlike Austin, Miami wasn't predicted to do anything this season. 

While Austin was projected seventh in my preseason predictions, Miami was slotted 26th. The Blaze currently sit with the final spot in the TNL Wildcard Clash (the new name for the play-in tournament). And while some of that is down to the team's talent, Miami has gotten luckier than most.

The team ranks just 24th in points per game at 50.5/ A lot of this comes down to the fact that the Blaze are middling in the first two stages, ranking 16th in Stage One (9.9 points per game) and 12th in Stage Two (21.7). But shockingly, Miami's Stage Three lineup (23rd - 23.3) is just 1.6 points higher than its Stage Two lineup.

It's been one of the worst in the league and lags far behind any of the other nine teams currently in the postseason. Miami's lucked out so far, but to keep their spot, they'll need more production in the stage that matters most.

No. 9 - Boston Hustle (11-6, L1, 1129 pts)

Boston has been in the mix, scoring less than 50 points just twice. But just like Houston, who's done the same thing, Boston hasn't generated the kind of scoring outbursts some of the other contenders have. The Hustle have hit over eighty points on three occasions. While some teams haven't put up a single tally that high, No. 1 Tampa Bay has hit that total seven times.

Boston can no doubt be there, but its relative stability — it doesn't have a stage in terms of points per game where it ranks higher than sixth or lower than 14th — can prove to either be its strength or undoing. Have this team as one to watch, but perhaps not one capable of going all the way.

No. 8 - Toronto Titans (12-5, L2, 1045 pts)

It's almost a complete 180-degree flip for the Titans. A lot of it has to do with its Stage Two, which ranks second in the league at 24.2 points per game. It's a dramatic change for a team that was third-to-last a season ago. But there's still reason to doubt that this team is ready for a true championship push.

Toronto is second-lowest of the playoff teams when it comes to points per game, only behind Miami, and it's below two teams currently just outside the playoff picture, No. 11 Austin and No. 12 Houston.

Some of this is because Toronto ranks behind both teams in Stage One and Houston in Stage Three (Austin is tied with Toronto). If the Titans can create some separation, then they'll be assured of their first postseason bid in franchise history.

No. 7 - Sacramento Shadows (12-5, L1, 1253 pts)

In recent seasons, a pattern has seemed to emerge: the Shadows start the season off badly before recovering to have a championship-winning stretch. Sacramento had a 14-3 stretch to end Season Six and a 9-2 stretch at the tail end of Season Seven.

But this season, the Shadows have been competitive right from the jump. The team exploded right out of the gate, winning its first six games and nine of its opening 10. Sacramento did suffer through a stretch where it dropped three straight, but in those three matches, its foes dropped 77, 101 and 107.

The charge is led by No. 3 Noah Meunier (23.18 PPG), who's having his best season yet in TNL. No. 34 Iliann Cherif (13.76) and No. 37 Sam Folsom (13.18) have also proved incredibly valuable.

And it's not entirely sure what weakness this team really has: it's a top-six team at every stage. It's got an MVP-caliber player capable of winning a round all by himself. And it's not unreasonable to say that this is the season where things finally go right for Sacramento — they could very well be the ones hoisting the championship at season's end.

No. 6 - Alaska Aces (13-4, W2, 1149 pts)

Like Sacramento, Alaska is a front-runner in almost every stage. Its main weakness right now is its Stage Three, which ranks No. 10 at 30.5 points per game. If it can get that issue fixed, it should be clear. Alaska didn't clear 65 points a single time in any of its first eight rounds — yet went 6-2. Since that stretch, it's got 7-2. Its two losses? One was to playoff-hunting No. 11 Austin and the other was to No. 3 Pittsburgh, who scored the most points in a single game in TNL history (139).

Those losses will come occasionally, where there's just nothing a team can do.  But with two players in the top 25, just four losses and a plethora of options to choose from (Alaska has four players with 5+ starts averaging 9+ points per game), this Aces squad stands a real shot of going the distance.

No. 5 - Oakland Invaders (13-4, W1, 1221 pts)

Since their inception, Oakland has been a team fighting at the very front of the TNL standings. The team immediately ripped off a 10-game win streak after dropping its Round One game to Boston. The only concerning thing for Oakland has been its slight 3-3 dip in its past six contests. But each time, it was to opponents who dropped 69 or more points.

It's not concerning yet, and every team has dropped contests like that — even the four teams ahead of Oakland. As long as Oakland gets back on track and ends the season near the top of the standings, it should be set for a potential playoff run. The Invaders top Stage Two in points per game (24.70). It's also seventh in Stage One points per game and fifth in Stage Three. But the main question remains: Can Oakland finally make that run? It's got three stud players in the top 30: No. 16 Sean McColl (17.18 points per game), No. 22 Vance Walker (16.41) and No. 28 Jackson Erdos (15.06). But can any of those three step up against the league's top 10? Only time will tell.

No. 4 - Portland Riptide (13-4, W6, 1229 pts)

After what most TNL captains believed to be a lost season for Portland, this is its true chance to follow up on its Season Six heroics. And so far, it's come out guns ablaze. Save a stretch where it dropped three of four, Portland's been on fire all season and is currently riding a six-game winning streak. What's more impressive is that it's dropped 70 or more in its past seven and has scored 90+ four times.

It's a squad peaking at the right time and it may have one of the deepest starting lineups in the league. Top-to-bottom, it might not have the best versatility, but it's got five players in the top 105 and four in the top 75.

Portland's main concern here is figuring out a suitable partner for No. 6 Yusuke Morimoto. Though No. 31 Ryo Matachi '11 has proven to be a great depth piece, coming on strong with 23 points a game in his last six games, that streak will need to be consistent for Portland to capture its second title.

No. 3 - Pittsburgh Iron (13-4, W3, 1235 pts)

Like Portland, Pittsburgh had the air of "what could've been" last season. The Iron were fourth in points per game last season — yet they finished 16-15, on the outside looking in. It was truly a tale of two halves for Pittsburgh in Season Seven, going from a five-game winning streak to a six-game losing streak back to a five-game winning streak.

But besides a 1-2 start for Pittsburgh, it's been relatively smooth sailing from there. After shaking off some cobwebs, Pittsburgh exploded for 139 points in Round Nine, the most in a single game in TNL history. That win was part of an 8-1 ongoing stretch, where Pittsburgh's averaged a jaw-dropping 84.4 points per game.

No. 2 - DC Defenders (14-3, W2, 1280 pts)

Simply put, when you've got a team anchored by Yuji Urushihara '10 (currently P2), you've always got a fighting chance. But DC has a more balanced squad than it did a season ago. Though it initially made a mistake trading Matt Bradley, it's landed a player that's been better than Bradley this season — No. 14 Katsumi Yamada '99 (18.29 PPG).

No. 43 Matthew Keller (12.47) and No. 68 Brooks Beber (10.71) have also been crucial mainstays for a Defenders unit that's only dropped three games all season. Barring a collapse, DC is locked in for the postseason — and possibly for a second title.

No. 1 - Tampa Bay Thunder (14-3, W4, 1284 pts)

In the All-Star Game, Tampa Bay captured a small victory over DC. It then subsequently took over the No. 1 spot after outscoring the Defenders. And that's a lot of what's helped the Thunder so far. It's scored in droves — its Stage Three has averaged 38.3 points a game (first). The problem for this squad is that its Stage Three prowess come at the sacrifice of balance. Its Stage One ranks ninth in points per game, while its Stage Two ranks 18th.

It's a formula that's been successful for the majority of the season, but with the top five separated by under 65 points (and No. 7 Sacramento trailing by 31 points and two wins), the Thunder should focus on improving their Stage Two first and foremost.

Round 18 is up next and will be at Australian Ninja Warrior 5 on Friday, Feb. 21.