[Racer26]

Intra-alliance synergy is paramount in this game.

A significant portion of the points in this game are being scored in auto, and consequently rank probably tracks best with auto scoring ability. 254 had their 3 ball auto, so a reliable scoring machine in auto was not high on their priority list.

Instead, to maximize teleop points, they needed to choose a team they could build a synergy with. For that, 973 makes perfect sense. They've worked together many times before, including winning a world championship together.