The Gems' hands were forced after a poor season in 2014-15, losing arguably their best player, Olivia, to retirement. In the draft, the Gems took a flyer on rookie Pedey, but their results are still not where the Gems would like them to be, and further rumors about the future of Cassandra with the team plague a once-proud franchise clearly in the middle of a rebuild. The Gems enter the midpoint of their season at 14-18, a sub-par record that sees them to 20th in the league. This is far from out of the running, but their recent form doesn't suggest much hope. At home, the Gems are an acceptable 8-7, but their road mark of 6-11 weighs them down in the standings significantly. In the extremely brutal East Division, the Gems hold a 3-4 mark, treading water as they battle a good mix of teams.
The team's average offense is a bit on the paltry side at 1430 points per game. This low mark is somewhat offset by the captain, Smokey, pounding out 410 points per game, contributing to 28.5% of the offense at a consistency of about 1.3, right around league average. Behind him in the order is the longtime Gem, Citrus, whose third year with the team sees her hitting 360 per game for an even 25% share of the offense, which is pulling her own weight well. Citrus is at about 1.3 for consistency as well, making her a reasonably viable option for the team. The rookie Pedey is the third player in the order, and he hits around 351 per game, which is good for 24.5% of the offense. Pedey is showing good consistency in his first season, ranking around 1.4 in that particular metric, which is certainly just fine for someone who doesn't have a lot of expectations for the season. Rounding out the roster is Cassandra, two years removed from her MVP campaign in the inaugural year of cricket. Her close friend Olivia left last season, and now Cassandra is at 308 points per game, only 21.5% of the offense. The disturbing part of her season is a consistency around 1.6, which isn't good given her extremely low offensive numbers. While the league has grown, Cassandra has remained largely stagnant, and she's expected to depart after the season. With the poor record and vulnerability late in the lineup, the Gems should not expect to see playoff cricket this season.
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