Week 2
Welcome to Console Corners’ NBA2k League Power Rankings. Week 2 of the 2020 Season is now complete and we had some very exciting match ups to watch that ultimately shook up the Power Rankings a little. The teams that did not play yet will not be listed in this weeks edition of the Power Rankings since they are 0-0 as of currently. Those teams are, Celtics Crossover Gaming, Jazz Gaming, Nets GC, and Pistons GT. You can check out all of the action Live Tuesday-Friday 7 PM EDT on Youtube, Twitch, and the ESPN Watch App.
Also I have noticed the NBA 2k League website does a very poor job of keeping track of the Players and Team Stats. They currently only show the Top 5 Players in each stat average wise from 2019 and Top 30 from 2018. I am working on providing all stats from Players and Teams on this website as I have done in the past with other titles such as Paladins. Please allow me some time as I work endlessly to get this to you as soon as I can.
1. Raptors Uprising GC
The Raptors remain undefeated. First they took down Grizz Gaming and because of that we all got to watch them head into their match up with the Hornets looking to give each other their first loss. Raptors remain undefeated…again. Absolute monster play from this team as everything is clicking right now. When the Hornets kept it close the Raptors adjusted mid game very well. They looked like the Steve Nash era Suns getting great open shots and cuts to the rim within 5-7 seconds of the shot clock. Now they did lose a Game to the Hornets and were forced to play a Game 3 but again, the Hornets are a great team currently as well.
2. Warriors Gaming Squad
The Warriors are a really good team right now. I think they are flying under the radar due to the teams they have been playing as well. Maybe I am wrong and they aren’t as good but only time will tell. Both of those arguments can be made when you are facing teams such as Gen.G, 76ers, and the Cavs. Their next mattch is against a struggling Lakers Gaming as well so that is to be an expected win but if the Lakers figure some things out by Week 3 we could see something that determines if the Warriors are actually this good or the schedule has been helping them out.
3. Mavs Gaming
I almost had the Mavs coming in this Week’s Rankings at #2 but dropping 1 Game to the Kings kept them in the 3 spot. Now that isn’t as bad as I made it sound. This Team can eventually take the 2 spot over the Warriors once the Warriors face someone with a winning record. The Mavs are really good and it shows that anyone on that team can be up for Player of the Week. Dimez had a rocky Week 1 but here in Week 2 he was up for Player of the Week Polls. So they remain undefeated and a top team.
4. Hornets Venom GT
Yes the Hornets lost. They faced the Raptors however, a brilliant team and they took one game from them while they were at it. They still end up in the Top 4 in the Rankings because they are still a contender. Facing the Raptors again maybe they would come out on top and maybe not. Again, for how young this team is they are playing very well. Ultimately the defense from the Raptors became too much so if they work on the turnovers they should make their way into the Top 3.
5. Hawks Talon GC
What did I say about the Hawks? They aren’t a bad team and they can be good if they start to find a rhythm. They have found just that as they take down the Pacers and Grizz in Week 2. Kel is playing lights out and not just doing everything alone either. Each game he is getting assistance form someone different meaning everyone is finding ways to contribute no matter what the defense throws at them. The Hawks are 3-1 with their only loss coming from the Mavs so if they can look back at what happened there and find ways to prevent it from happening again they might be a contender with the Top 4 Teams sooner than later.
6. Blazer5 Gaming
Blazer5 continues to put on a show for everyone watching. Mama time happened every game, Wildnut put on amazing performances down low and they come into the Season Blazing. However they do have some kinks to work out. For one Hood has to do what he did in their second matchup every time because when he is going the team is a well oiled machine. When he isn’t they end up losing games and that also was present a few times. They were down at moments where they shouldn’t have been but were able to get things going late in games to get the wins they needed for a great start.
7. Wizards Distract Gaming
The Wizards only had one matchup in Week 2 and it was against the Heat. The Heat aren’t playing good basketball right now so if the Wizards ended up losing that they would have dropped huge in the Rankings. Their Week 1 performance keeps them in the Top 10. Week 3 they have just one match up again but it’s against Pistons GT who have not played yet so this is a big game for both teams. Pistons want to start off strong and the Wizards need to keep themselves in position to contend when they have tougher teams coming up like the Hornets in Week 4.
8. Kings Guard Gaming
The Kings played great this week despite losing 1 of the 2 matches. First they were taken to Game 3 by Gen.G but were able to tough it out and get the win. Kings so far are known for making comebacks and they continue to do so. Yusuf is putting up good numbers when he is at the Center position but again when he slides into that Power Forward spot they lose the game. No offense to Shotz either because when he is at the 5 he plays great but they need to keep Yusuf from playing the 4. No matter the match up it has shown time after time here early in the Season that they win games when Yusuf is playing Center. In their second match up they were able to take a Game off of the very talents Mavs. They still lost in 3 but showed they can contend with the big boys very early in the Season. Also yes, they lost Game 1 with Yusuf at the 5 and won Game 2 with him at the 4. However, Game 3 he was playing the 4 and they lost so technically their winning percentage with him at the 5 is still higher.
9. Bucks Gaming
Week 1 I said this team was playing awful basketball. I guess they didn’t like that, especially Regg. Week 2 it was the Regg Show and did he put on a show each time out. He put up a combined 85 points in the 2 games against the Cavs and then a combined 71 points against the Knicks. My man straight up balled in Week 2. That was not the only factor however as Arooks, Plondo and Squidris put up double digits as well. I think keeping Plondo at the Power Forward spot has helped them so far so look for them to keep that lineup moving forward.
10. Magic Gaming
Magic didn’t play in Week 2 and due to other teams improving and playing from Week 1 to Week 2 the Magic fall a bit in the Rankings. I look forward to seeing them play again and have confidence they will be moving up once again. They have a few things to work out which I mentioned in Week 1‘s Rankings. They don’t play until Day 4 of Week 3 and it’s against the Jazz Gaming squad who is yet to play this Season. Jazz do play against Heatcheck the day before so the Magic should be watching to scout, although with the Heat playing as poorly as they have been who knows what intel you can gather.
11. T-Wolves Gaming
T-Wolves had what was supposed to be an easy match up with the struggling 76ers but ended up getting taken to Game 3. This gave the 76ers their first game win although the Wolves were able to still win the match up 2-1. This has me wondering if the T-Wolves are struggling or the 76ers are finally starting to find some chemistry. Either one the T-Wolves need to step up with how well others are playing early on, but then again with how the Wolves started and ended 2019 I wouldn’t worry too soon.
12. Knicks Gaming
The Knicks started their season here in Week 2 and played awesome against Heatcheck in their first match up but then ended up losing to the Bucks 0-2. Regg seemed to be too much for Duck early on and was never able to get anything going on the defensive end. Duck did have good points throughout but nothing could be done about the bucks who just caught fire after starting the season 0-2. Knicks are still a middle of the pack team right now but I expect them to fall even further down in the standings and rankings as they go toe to toe with better and more consistent teams.
13. Pacers Gaming
Pacers starting to fall behind in every aspect. They are 1-3 with their only victory coming against the Heat. Pacers have had some problems with consistency from Jomar who has only put up 10+ points from the 4 position 2 games so far. Add in the fact that the Pacers turn the ball over on average 11 times a game and it just spells disaster. Pacers have only one match in Week 3 and it is against the 76ers who have been playing even worse so hopefully Pacers Gaming are able to squeeze out a much needed win from it.
14. Gen.G Tigers
Gen.G continues to be the “Kai orBust” show. When they win it’s due to Kai putting up monster numbers on the offensive end, and when they lose it is in large part that their opponent figured out that game plan. I will give credit to Gen.G for never giving up and pushing yet another Game 3 this week this time against Kings Guard. They ended up losing but in that Game 3 Kai was essentially shut down only putting up 15 points but man did Killey step up! Killey had his Season and career high with 32 points. This shows that moving forward Killey can step up and Kai doesn’t need to do it all time after time. Now they just need to get that kind of production from Killey on a consistent basis and for maybe Gen or Deadeye to step up. Speaking of Deadeye, Game 3, 0 PTS 3 REB 0 AST isn’t going to cut it. He did only put up 2 shots though so maybe look to get the ball to him more and see what he can do.
15. Cavs Legion GC
Man have the Cavs been falling into a slump. They beat the Pacers to open the 2020 Season and have not found any success since then. Going against the Warriors in Week 2 and Hornets in Week 1 are tough and I wasn’t expecting them win those. However when you go up against a then 0-2 Bucks who are struggling to score I would expect better results than getting 0-2’d. Problems are all over for this team. Doza cannot score no matter how many shots he puts up, Strainer is left to score all the points like a Kai and Gen.G situation, Godddof2k who was the DPOY can’t find a steal or block to save his life, and oLarry is grabbing tons of boards but cannot score either. When your Center doesn’t score it is tough to win ballgames. Cavs face Celtics Crossover in Week 3 and even though I have not seen Celtics play this season yet, I’d still pick them to win this one currently. I even live in Cleveland by the way and it pains me to say this about the Cavs but they need to step it up.
16. Lakers Gaming
The Lakers cannot catch a break in Week 2. They had to match up with both Blazer5 and Mavs Gaming. That’s not a Week 2 Schedule anyone wants to have and the Lakers gave it their best. They are still ranked so low despite the tough schedule due to them giving up a Week 1 win to the Gen.G Tigers. However you look at it the Lakers are in it every game until the 2nd half starts then they continue to give up leads. They did it 4 times in Week 1 and about 2 times in Week 2. Now them having leads against Blazer5 and Mavs may not have been as huge but still you cannot let those teams smell a comeback because they will take that and take off with a lead of their own. Things won’t get easier for the Lakers either since they their only match up in Week 3 is vs the Warriors. Tough.
17. Grizz Gaming
Grizz came into the Season hopeful like any other team, until they need to play the Raptors first, then they lose to a hot Hawks team. Grizz played well either way or should I say Vandi played well. The rest of the team was on auto pilot it seemed. If the season has taught us anything in the first 2 weeks i’s that one guy will not win games for you, especially multiple times. Goofy, Jrod, DDouble, and Authentic African all need to step up. Authentic is shooting nicely so look for him to get some more shots in games moving forward. Another thing the team needs to step up in is rebounds. They get killed down low on both sides of the court and when you cannot grab rebounds you do not win the game, in a game and in real life.
18. Heat Check Gaming
Heat Check faces good teams and bad teams but the result is always the same. A loss here and a loss there. They won Game 1 against the Wizards this Week in large part to Glennratty putting up 37 points and Hotshot with a double double. When they are struggling though they seem to not get the ball to Shiftay and Delusion which is puzzling since they both shoot so well. In that Game they won vs Wizards for instance Shiftay only had 5 points but shot 2/2 and Delusion had 6 points shooting 3/3. Give them the ball and see if they can help out Glenn and Hotshot on the offensive end. If they can take some of the offensive load off then Glenn and Hotshot can focus more on defending the their positions since most other teams rely on the point production from those PG and Center spots.
19. 76ers GC
From 2019 Finals to finally winning a Game…but still losing the set. The 76ers are 0-4 and if you look at their Game to Game Win Loss it gets even worse to look at. 1-8, they have won 1 game out the 9 they have played. Day 4 of Week 2 was the first time they didn’t get swept in a series. It is tough to watch Radiant struggle this much, to watch the entire team struggle this much especially with so much hype around the Roster coming into the season with what was supposed to be a contender with the amount of history and chemistry the players have with one another. Someone or something has got to change in order for this team to start winning games. Position changes, archetype changes, or a trade needs to happen in order for this team to start heading in the opposite direction and sooner than later would be recommended.
Blu is a senior content writer for ConsoleCorner.Co. To keep up with all things esports, check out the website or follow Console Pro News on Twitter.