Midseason Report: Southridge Defenders

The Southridge Defenders entered this season with no moves made, an interesting choice for a team that wasn't the definition of elite last year, save for their Rookie of the Year winner, Debby. This year, the players have all regressed a bit relative to the league, although they've improved on a purely points basis. Still, the Defenders are a textbook example of a streaky team, working three losing streaks of more than four games as well as a winning streak of that length into the 12-20 record that sees them in 26th across the league. They have matching records at home and on the road, both standing at 6-10 for this portion of the season. In the soft Center Division, they have been more likely to be fed on than do any feeding themselves, holding a 4-6 division mark that keeps them in line with their overall record.

The Defenders have a deep statistical problem, manifested as a pitiful 1382 points per game average. No player on the team averages over 400 a game, which is a problem in this season. The captain of the team is Boots, who is hitting 348 per game this season, good for exactly 25% of the offense. Boots is doing her part at a consistency of less than 1.4, which is serviceable but not great with her average. Behind her is the reigning Rookie of the Year, celebrity player Debby Ryan, who leads the team with an average of nearly 392 points per game, which is 28.5% of the offense. Debby is also at about 1.4 on consistency, but this works better on the higher average, making Debby a solid performer. Next up in the order is J. Garcia, who hits 332 per game to score 24% of the offense. Garcia is not spectacular, but her consistency is just higher than 1.5, so the team generally knows what to expect our of her. Rounding out the team is Shaggy, who has been borderline on staying with the team ever since she arrived. Shaggy has an average of only 309 this year, which is quite low as evidenced by her carrying 22.5% of the offense on a low-scoring team. Shaggy has a consistency just slightly more than 1.2 as well, which isn't so bad with the average. The Defenders likely already know it, but I'll say it too: It's too late for them to rally into a playoff spot. The damage is already done.