Post by 👨🏼⚕️delapandemic🚑 on Mar 29, 2020 21:24:23 GMT
State of the East
Last Season: 68-14, Lost in the TMBSL Finals
Key Departures: Roy Hamilton, Jerry Lucas
Key Arrivals: LaPhonso Ellis, Acie Law
Outlook: After yet another disappointing Finals defeat, it looks like the Hawks are giving it one more swing at the fences for 2035. Trading 2 1sts to (upgrade?) to LaPhonso Ellis from Jerry Lucas (definite defensive upgrade) and signing savvy veteran Acie Law to manage the offense, the Hawks look to be overall similar to the team they were last season. Their wing trio of Hill, Worthy, and Beal is elite and Joel Embiid continues to be one of the best in the league. The organization is incredibly excited about Larry Wright and his ascendance could be the boost the team needs to get past Oscar and the Bulls. I don’t see any major regression candidates in the lineup, so I expect them to replicate their success with some ease.
2035 Prediction: 66-16, 2nd in the Division, Reach the TMBSL Finals
Last Season: 63-19, upset in the 1st Round by the #6 Orlando Magic
Key Departures: None
Key Arrivals: Bob Lanier
Outlook: Almost the same team running it back for 2035 that lost in a shocker to the Magic last year. Magic with another year of growth, along with Maravich and Richmond, the Globes have an elite guard/wing rotation that is all on the right side of the age curve. The bigs are a little older, but not geriatric by any stretch. This team lacks any major deficiencies and like the Hawks, are built to endure an injury at any of the 5 positions. If Horford or Howard is swapped for an upgrade on the inside, the team becomes the straight-up favorite to win it all.
2035 Prediction: 67-15, 1st in the Division, Win the TMBSL Title
Last Season: 39-43, missed the playoffs
Key Departures: Kyle Korver, Tom Abernethy, Luol Deng, Josh Smith
Key Arrivals: John Havlicek, Corey Brewer, Purvis Short (R)
Outlook: The out-goers and in-comers are roughly the same. Purvis Short doesn’t look like an instant impact guy (though the potential is there down the road beyond 2035). I don’t see much reason to be expecting a big leap for the team. Greg Oden returning to his early career form is really the only way this team could get back into the playoff mix…. And I don’t anticipate that happening. For the rest of the league, watching Short will be the most intriguing part of the team.
2035 Prediction: 39-43, tied for 4th in the Division
Orlando Magic
Last Season: 54-28, lost in the TMBSL Semi-Finals to the eventual champion Bulls
Key Departures: Joakim Noah, LaPhonso Ellis, Jerry West, Mike Conley
Key Arrivals: Maxi Kleber, Jim Jackson
Outlook: With a major exodus of talent from the Magic Kingdom, GM Skrousey Mouse has clearly signaled that this is a rebuilding year to all of the cast members. After swapping Ellis for Jerry Lucas, he immediately shipped Lucas off to San Antonio all for the price of 2 1st round picks in the future. The bright side here is for 2036… where the Magic will almost have triple MAX space. The team for this year will likely just be a gigantic green light for Thunder Dan and Walt Williams to shoot… which is not a recipe for success.
2035 Prediction: 33-49, 6th in the Division
Charlotte Hornets
Last Season: 26-56, missed the playoffs
Key Departures: Hal Greer
Key Arrivals: Reggie Theus (R), Michael Ray Richardson (R)
Outlook: This team was dismal… and now they’ll be slightly better than dismal. However, their books are clean and there is hope in the rookie class. Michael Ray Richardson could possibly be a decent PG as he grows and gets some GM love, but the real start of the show is Theus. He has posted a fantastic pre-season (before upgrades) and can really be a star in the league with a little TC luck. However, there is some concern that neither will reach full potential because of the hands-off approach since Muzunga bought the 51% share of the team from Fecta. That said, Theus will likely win the ROTY in a narrow vote over Larry Bird.
2035 Prediction: 32-50, 7th in the Division
Detroit Pistons
Last Season: 44-38, lost in the 1st Round to the Hawks
Key Departures: Alonzo Mourning, Cazzie Russell
Key Arrivals: Nate Thurmond, Bernard King, Jim Paxson
Outlook: As Russell approaches the end of his career, GM Mike has put together one last swing at a title-run, adding seasoned veterans Thurmond and King along with potential spark-plug Jimmy Paxson. The offense will surely be better, but the defense may take a step-back without Mourning/Russell and their veteran influence. The books are super clean for next year, but that doesn’t help the record this year. Look for them to ultimately struggle because of their lack of solid PG play, as their group lacks anything noteworthy or praiseworthy. That said… they will be better than last year.
2035 Prediction: 46-36, 3rd in the Division
Washington Bullets
Last Season: 21-61, missed the playoffs
Key Departures: Will Perdue, Harvey Grant, Ramon Sessions, Hutch Jones
Key Arrivals: Kyrie Irving, Phil Ford (R)
Outlook: kn88 can’t log on for a season to set a DC, but then remembers to bid for Kyrie? Very suspicious if you ask me. This team will improve substantially if their best 5 actually play… making them incredibly difficult to gauge. I’ll lean toward kn88 setting a DC and assume that Wade, Howard, and Kyrie will have the chance to give it one good go to celebrate the Irving career in style… leading them to be almost average!
2035 Prediction: 39-43, tied for 4th in the Division
Indiana Pacers
Last Season: n/a (Expansion)
Key Departures: n/a (Expansion)
Key Arrivals: Everyone! Notably: Robert Parish, Alonzo Mourning, Sidney Moncrief, Calvin Natt, Jared Sullinger
Outlook: Sullinger and Natt had good Pre-Season showings with Mourning/Parish on the IR and the Pacers looked somewhat competent. However… they probably have the worst PG rotation in all of TMBSL, so they will really struggle to rack up wins. They won’t make the playoffs, but could sneak in and score an upset or two along the way… enough to get the fans in Indiana excited about basketball for the first time since January 2019.
2035 Prediction: 31-51, 8th in the Division
