1. Enemies (2-0):
For the second straight week, Enemies blew the doors open late to win convincingly. They are now outscoring opponents 52-31 in the second half while leading the league in 3-pointers. Whether it’s Jordan Crawford or Elijah Stewart, this duo seems to be the catalysts for their late game surges while creating highlight reel moments every week. Right now, Enemies look like an unstoppable freight train ready to repeat.
2. Triplets (1-1):
Now this is the Triplets team we remember making the championship game a season ago. Joe Johnson’s dominant performance in the season opener wasn’t enough to get a win but what made this team a championship contender last year was their style of play we saw in Week 2. Johnson scored and created open looks for teammates while Jeremy Pargo assisted with the scoring load showing off his shotmaking ability. Jeremy alone went on an 11-0 run by himself after hitting on back-to-back 4-pointers in the midst of their 32-14 second half barrage. The real lesson here is the Triplets are always a contender with the three-time MVP in the mix.
3. Bivouac (2-0):
It was a weird ending to an extremely competitive game when Garlon Green knocked down the game-winning technical free throw against 3’s Company. While Bivouac sealed their victory off a technicality (3’s Company called a timeout when they were out of timeouts), they also came away with a win with Gerald Green scoring just five points. Gary Payton’s team has been strong on the offensive glass and sound defensively through the first couple of weeks. They’ve grinded out a couple of wins through pure effort and grit but don’t sleep on Corey Brewer, who’s been one of the best players in the league this summer.
4. 3’s Company (1-1):
Yes, 3’s Company moved up in the Power Rankings despite a loss this week but let’s give Michael Cooper’s squad credit where credit’s due. Timeout or not, they shot the ball effectively and played fluidly as a team. Plus, they have Michael Beasley – who’s again showing why he may be the best scorer in the BIG3. The biggest difference between this squad and their teams from the past couple of seasons has to do with their collective play. Less isolation ball and more focus on getting every player involved. This team looks to be headed in the right direction even with an addition to the loss column.
5. Ball Hogs (1-1):
After a riveting Week 1, we expected much of the same against an Aliens team that just lost their captain for the season. Instead, we got the exact opposite. Ball Hogs shot 34 percent from the field and only hit one of their 14 3-point attempts on the day. This felt like more an outlier than the norm, especially considering they made half their 3-pointers in Week 1. Plain
and simple; they just didn’t make shots. We’ll give Ball Hogs the benefit of the doubt despite the huge upset but they need to find a way to get two-time BIG3 All-Star Jodie Meeks going if they want to make their first trip to the playoffs.
6. Ghost Ballers (1-1):
Ghost Ballers look like every bit of a team that could make another playoff run but there are definitely some question marks around them. Turnovers have been an issue and the lack of size on the wing is concerning. That being said, this team is loaded with guys that have a lot of versatility. That includes Darnell Jackson who is having a stellar season despite what the numbers say. If they can cut down on the giveaways and get 2023 Rookie of the year Ryan “Hezi God” Carter going, this will be one of the better teams in the BIG3.
7. 3 Headed Monsters (1-1):
Even without Jeff Teague this week, 3 Headed Monsters looked like a force to be reckoned with. That was until the second half of their matchup against the Triplets. Look, the Monsters have had more positives than negatives through two weeks but the second chance points and the turnovers have been costly. It allowed Aliens to keep it close last week and Triplets to take the game away from them this week. The bright side here is that Jeff is expected back next week and his brother Marquis Teague showed that he can shoulder the load whenever you need him to.
8. Tri-State (1-1):
Jason Richardson turned back the clock at 43-years-old and Kevin Murphy looked like a former MVP again this past week. The two combined for 43 points in comparison to just 19 in their Week 1 loss so things are looking up for Dr. J’s squad. In a sense, we’ve seen them at their best and worst so far in 2024, so next week should be more telling. For now, they move slightly up the rankings.
9. Power (1-1):
Does Power have the potential Rookie of the Year frontrunner? Marcus Foster has come out the gates hot during the first two weeks of the season. Foster and Glen Rice Jr. look like the next best duo in the BIG3 but even after Rice Jr. was ejected, Foster showed he’s capable of taking over games already. Couple that with the fact that Power looked like they had better chemistry this week and Nancy Lieberman’s team may be more than just a team on the outside looking after Week 3.
10. Killer 3’s (0-2):
Despite having the league’s leading scorer in Donte Greene and being the top rebounding team in the BIG3, the Killer 3’s find themselves winless. They’ve lost each game by four points and struggled immensely from beyond the arc. Additionally, captain Franklin Session and reigning 4th Man of the Year Dominique Johnson have scored a combined 26 points
across two weeks. Through the eye test, you don’t see an 0-2 team but sometimes that’s just how things go. Expect them to come out with a do-or-die mentality in Week 3.
11. Aliens (1-1):
If you’re a betting man and you bet against the Aliens, we probably would have told you that was the right move considering they lost their captain in Paul Millsap. We’d also be apologizing right now after they stunned the Ball Hogs in Tampa. To a degree, the Aliens actually looked better as a team without Paul. They were efficient from beyond the arc and got everybody involved consistently. Newcomer Devin Ebanks fit the team like a glove and four of the five players scored in double digits. It’s tough to expect they can do this every weekend but we’re always down for a good underdog story.
12. Trilogy (0-2):
Feels wrong putting Trilogy dead last but this goes to show the competitiveness of Season 7 of the BIG3. Isaiah Briscoe and Earl Clark had good games Week 1 and Week 2, respectively, but as a team they’ve had issues putting it all together. In fact, they trailed by 20 points at one time in the second half against Tri-State. Briscoe and Clark have combined for 68 points while the rest of the team has scored just 19 points total. With a couple new additions, a learning curve was expected but the lack of scoring from others has forced this team to be one dimensional more often then they’d like to be. For the majority of each game, they’ve been a really good defensive team and if any coach can help right the ship it’s Stephen Jackson. All that to say it’s an early must win for Trilogy in Baltimore.