Post by fason on Apr 17, 2018 2:22:27 GMT
Contenders in the East
1. Globetrotters
I’ve got the Trotters as the clear favorite in the East after they signed Delle Donne, Londale and Baylor in free agency. They now have a good-looking young point guard in the recently promoted Aljami Durham. Schayes had a nice TC and now has some of the sexiest grades of all-time (A- B+ B+ B+ A B) to go along with elite production. Only way this team doesn’t get the one seed is if they catch the injury bug again.
2. Knicks
To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man or have Dolph Schayes and Elvis Delle Donne as your starting forwards. We can’t really tell yet if any of their starters (besides Firsto) got better or worse since Eric used preseason to evaluate his young players. Firsto looks like he could be poised for an MVP caliber season, he put up 15 PPG on 52.8% shooting in 13.8 MPG. I’d like to see Eric make a move to get Firsto some more scoring help to keep up with the Globetrotters. But I also said last season his wings weren’t good enough to win a championship, so what do I know.
3. Pacers
Similar to the Knicks I’m not entirely sure what to make of this team yet since Heebs started his B squad. But right now, I like them to win the Central. They were much better last season than their 43-39 record indicated, Heebs was trying to tank for the 8th seed. Karim Shabazz, Keita Bates-Diop and Jan Michael Vincent were all nice additions. I really like the long-term potential of Bates-Diop since he has all of his upgrades. They have some of the most talent in the league at 2 -5, just need to find a point guard to take the next step.
*I reserve the right to claim I saw it coming if and when Heebs decides to tank again for the 8th seed during the second half of the season.
4. Hawks
As constructed right now I don’t think this team has a chance to win the east, but they should still win 50 or more and compete for the 4th seed. I am impressed with JHB’s ability to keep a really competitive team after losing his best player in Delle Donne. They’ve got good depth and Benji Hammon looked like an MVP candidate during the preseason, averaging nearly 30 PPG on 50% shooting. JHB’s always one of the more aggressive GMs and I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a move to become more competitive with Trotters, Knicks and Pacers.
T5. Magic/Wizards
The Magic and Wizards have some work to do to catch the other teams. Magic have a strong front court, but probably need better some better guards or at least a better point guard. Wizards have really good wings but need a lot of front court help and for Eavenson to get it together.
Contenders in the West
1a. Rockets
I still think the Rockets are the team to beat in the West because of the Brain Winter/Harry G duo. Harry G is still a top 5-10 player in the league and Brain is by far the best PG in the league, barring injury he should win the software’s vote for MVP. Leonard Leslie, Eligin Baylor and Bones McKinney were all tough losses, but I expect Guy Beahm to make up for much of that lost production. The rest of the lost production I expect Pete to replace by making some moves during the season to bolster his depth.
1b. Clippers
Sim Gods were very good to me this offseason with the free agent signings and kind TCs for many of my players. It has to be because of all the good karma I built up during the end of 4.0. My biggest concerns with my team are questionable depth and that there may be too many scorers, not the worst problem to have and I’ll gladly take my chances.
2. Grizzlies
I like the Grizz as the third best team in the West, they should win 60+ games and challenge for the Pacific. Templeton and Mikan are still the best front court duo in the league, Obama looks like a more willing shooter, Kevin Knox didn’t play in PS, but I think it’s fair to assume he improved. Tyler Blevins could be the weak link in their starting five if he doesn’t start getting up more shots. I don’t expect Druce to stick with him for very long if he scores 9 PPG again this season.
3. Timberwolves
Wolves quietly had a solid offseason, bringing back Mountain Dew Camacho on a nice deal, then adding Leonard Leslie and Timo Cruz in free agency. Ian’s biggest move was getting Colin Sexton PG eligible. I’d like this team a lot better if they had a real SF and not an SG averaging 4.3 RPG playing there in Jimmy Chitwood. Ian has the deepest front court in the league, I expect he’ll use one of his bigs to make a move to give him a better chance to compete in the playoffs. (I won’t shame Ian by posting his offers for Rui Hachimura,this is 5.0, I'm a new man.)
4. Kings
Billy’s got that sum is greater than the individual parts type of team. They should lead the league in shot blocking again, have nice depth, but Gragg is the only player that’s close to being elite and that is often what wins with this software. Billy seems to be a big fan on Udoka Azubuike, but I’m not sure if Azubuike is even playable if he’s going to go to the line 10 times a game and shoot 35.7%.
5. Spurs/Mavericks
MJ needs to get Neon some more help besides Nick Diaz to be considered any type of threat in the West, Laurence Jackson was a huge loss for them. Mavs have a really good backcourt with Reddish and Cortezee, but their front court is complete trashola. These teams will be duking it out for the 5th and 6th seeds unless they make a couple moves.
Players that have a chance to win the people’s MVP vote over Brain Winter
1. Firsto Picko
Put up ridiculous numbers during preseason and is far and away the number option on his team. Should live up to his name this season.
2. Steph Templeton
The top two-way big in the league and should lead the Grizz to 60 wins.
3. Benji Hammon
Averaged nearly 30 PPG in preseason on impressive shooting percentages.
4. DeAndre Ayton
Had an incredible preseason, averaging 33 and 10 while shooting better than 50%.
5. Colin Sexton
Should put up impressive scoring numbers and will lead the league in triple doubles.
6. Cameron Reddish
Dark horse to lead the league in scoring and is already one of the better two-way players in the league.
7. Neon Boudeaux
One of the best players in league, in spite of what Ian may say. Shouldn’t have to worry about teammates taking his shots.
8. Dolph Schayes
I expect the production to start matching the grades. Will probably average close to 30, 10 and 1.5 blocks.
9. Dan Taurasi
Should average 30 PPG and put up good defensive stats.
10. Brandon Griner
May average 30 PPG and lead the league in blocks. Could be the biggest climber on this list as the season goes on.
HM. ROMEO FUCKING LANGFORD
There Tim, you happy now.
I didn't include Harry G because he'll be playing second fiddle to Brain, and no Clippers because none of them will put up ridiculous scoring stats.
Rookies
(Only counting guys in the 2001 draft class)
1. Chuck Person
Ank comes in and with his first move he takes what looks like the best rookie in this class, Ank has the
2. Arvydas Sabonis
Those numbers look pretty similar to 4.0’s version of Sabonis, luckily for Shaun or whoever the next Cavs GM is, this is a new league. Sabonis is already a solid scorer and good rebounder, his FT% shows there is room for improvement on his jumper. His defense is almost nonexistent and what keeps him out of the top spot. Outside of trying to get his free throw percentage up to 80%, I’m not really sure which direction I would go with his upgrades.
3. Len Bias
I love the defense he played at SG, the 1 SPG is solid and the .8 BPG is really impressive. The 1 APG and .8 TOPG shows that he has very low passing, which helps his potential as a scorer. Buster can use all of his upgrades to improve shooting and volume to make Bias one of the better two-way wings.
4. Mark Price
Price played pretty well in limited minutes, the shooting is already there, and his handles are solid to maybe good. Once Taco throws some points into Price’s inside scoring he should have a starting quality point guard.
5. Brad Daugherty
I think Daugherty has a chance to become a George Mikan type of big, but right now his stats aren’t doing too much for me. The .1 BPG makes me think his shot blocking is a lost cause when it comes to upgrades since he has some other holes in his game. His handles and jumper need work to become respectable, then I think I would try to use the rest of his upgrades to up his volume as much as possible.
HM. Jeff Hornacek
I like him.
Seemingly Good Players Out of Nowhere
1. Grayson Allen
Of all the guys in the league to make good, Odin had to go and make this twat really good. It’s not like he was bad last year, but there were a lot of young players putting up similar type of numbers with those minutes. Now Allen is scoring with enough volume to make him one of the better young wings in the league while playing solid defense.
2. Timo Cruz
The wrong Kings guard was amnestied (looking at you, Carl Braun). Cruz looks legit AF at SG with those impressive percentages and good scoring volume. His steals suggest he’s even a decent defender. He’s only 23, if he replicates his preseason numbers he could be max worthy this offseason. Well done Billy, even Fecta would be proud.
3. Aljami Durham
I haven’t paid attention to the G-League, but apparently Durham was in it last season. He’s still a bit of a project, but has great looking grades for a 20-year-old (B- B B- B- C+ B). The turnovers should come down as he goes through more TCs, the jumper probably needs +10, then the rest of his points could be put into his inside and strength to up his scoring volume.
4. Rui Hachimura
I think Rui was on quite a few GMs’ radars as a potential LLE or even MLE, luckily, he took mine then blew up in TC. Rui’s solid all around except for three-point shooting, which should hopefully grow with TCs. I’m just going to use him as a backup forward this year, then try to groom him to take over for Jake Shuttlesworth or Jon Pierce in a couple seasons.
5. Mustapha Heron
As you can see he didn’t play a single minute last season, but still made the Rookie-Sophomore game. This preseason he was able to average 14 a game without being a scoring option, his defense and rebounding are really solid for a shooting guard. I’m going to enjoy this one season of having him as a backup SG because he’s about to get paid this offseason.
6. Isaac Bogna
Besides the shooting percentages his numbers aren’t all that different from last season’s, he's a hell of an SF prospect if continues these shooting percentages. Bonga is the third player on this list with an expiring min deal and about to be paid this offseason.
7. Elle Okobo
I’m fully expecting Eric to shit on Okob because of his turnovers and low field goal percentage. I however, like him as PG prospect because of the scoring volume, which I acknowledge is a bit inflated due to his teammates. Still though, there aren’t too many young PGs capable of scoring more than 20 a game. Taco now has a long term option at PG, or a nice asset to flip if he decides he likes Mark Price more.
