Power Rankings
1) La Familia (5-2)
Winners of their last five games, this is the hottest team in the league. Captain Yusuf has put together an amazing squad led by MVP candidate Tosin. He is putting up an amazing all around season but it is the whole team that has stepped up. They get great contributions each game from a different guy. Rahat, Ibby, Akif and Asif have all been key contributors in different games. That depth combined with a star lead guard will make this team a front runner for the championship.
2) Tigers (4-3)
This ranking is a tad misleading. Ruhel has been out of town for a few weeks and now that he is back the big three returns. When they are all clicking this team looks unstoppable. Amrit, Sy and Ruhel are the most talented trio Retro has seen. Captain Jibar clearly tapped into his Astoria buddy connection to get Commish Moody to approve. This team can get to the championship but the depth behind that top three is the question. Can Dully, Rahim and Idrees continue to contribute enough? That may be the difference.
3) Bricklayers (4-3)
Hyder has a really solid Bricklayers squad reminiscent of the OG squads of Retro’s past. He has a bunch of guys who have high basketball IQ and are winning playing good team basketball. Arvin, David and Ferrukh are the lead names but guys like Hassan, Atif and Sal all do their part to get wins for the squad. In the big moments David has stepped up as the guy for this team and the question will be can he do that in the playoffs. Guys like Arvin and Ferrukh have Crescent playoff experience and know what it takes to win those big games. That will be crucial when it comes to the big moments.
4) Primetime (5-2)
Moody’s squad is not going into the playoffs on the best swing. They struggled for two straight games and that may have shown the league how they can be beat. They like to play fast and when they are forced to go into halfcourt mode they have struggled. The upside here is that they have some of the best chemistry in the league. They added some extra talent in Umer and that should help come playoff time. The Ladak boys both know how to kick it in come playoff time and if Yahya and Aadil get their shots right. Watch out, another finals appearance may be in the future.
5) Imaan (4-3)
Faiq has a giant squad here. Dev, Umair, Riz, Isa the height is just everywhere on the floor, there is no getting away from it. This has led to a little clunkiness on offense with the pieces not always fitting together. Owais has attempted to run the point and get the offense together with some success. The truth is the team has not quite found their identity, is it still Dev’s team or should Umair be the focal point. They have a big matchup with Primetime coming up tonight that will be big for them.
6) Legend Killers (3-4)
Don’t look now but a team led by Umer is making a surge, we know what happened last year when that went down. Zia’s team is finally putting it together and it coincides with the emergence of Danyel shooting like prime Klay. He has been an impeccable shot maker these last couple of weeks and Umer is back to his old ways of dicing up defenses. The scary thing is that this winning is happening with Talha not scoring much and Fahad injured. If those things get back to normal another low seed Umer team making a run may repeat.
7) Phantoms (3-4)
The opposite of Legend Killers is the Phantoms. They have had a lot of trouble recently after soaring when Tayeb first arrived. It seems like the winning may have gotten to some players and people aren’t willing to play the roles that got them there. Guys like Hugo, Uzair and Saad were hot and seem to have come down to earth a bit. Captain Qasim has to steady the ship here and when you have a team led by Tayeb and has a champion in Haseeb you will have a shot.
8) All Day (2-5)
Aqib and his boys are back again and are hanging at their usual area in the power rankings. I would say the difference in this team is the hope. With Talha leading the pack surrounded by shooters like Tan, Syed and Jishan that is a recipe for a playoff run. It is a different Retro than the last time Talha was on this team so it may not be as easy for him to lift the team around him. Aqib will need to step up and play big and the shooters will need to knock down shots to do anything in the postseason.
9) Knights (2-6)
The boys from Brooklyn got feisty in their last game and came away with a rare win for them. It was a good way to finish the regular season before they fight for their playoff lives in the play-in game. Mohsin saw the key to winning a game and the answer is, run through Hassan. If he is clicking the rest of the team will benefit. They will always be feisty and play pesky defense, they are rarely ever out of a game. If they can take the next step and close them out is the big question.