Post by donatello2424 on Dec 4, 2008 21:38:21 GMT -5
1. Golden State Warriors-Can't go against the best team in the better conference. The Warriors have played themselves to a league best 34-8 record. Kimber and Trier is one of, if not the, best backcourt in the league. The biggest knock on them is their frontcourt depth, but as long as Trier and Kimber can play, then they will have no problem.
2. Brooklyn Nets-The best team in the east goes here. No one on the team averages over 20 ppg, but that isn’t needed due to their outstanding team defense. McLeary is a stud who will only continue to get better while Standhardinger gives them youth as well. They are young and good, and should be that way for a while. However, they are not very deep. Injuries to Foster and McLeary could derail their season, especially if it is a long one.
3. Dallas Mavericks-The west scores another team. The Mavs, who have a solid inside scoring core, are leading the Midwest by a large margin. Morgan, Crowder, and Harrison are an insanely good frontcourt rotation. They also have Lebron who is still a stud at 41. Depth of course is san issue at their guard positions, but their frontcourt can make up for it,
4. Indiana Pacers-Again with the east. The Pacers rely on their scoring to come from two players. Rubio and Trier challenge each other for the best PG role. Rubio, who is 35, can score, dish, and handle the rock. The other scorer is Reese, but he is never healthy. They have defense to defend against the stud wings with Reese and Velasco. Green and Reik do the dirty work in the middle. If Reese can stay healthy they are a title contender….IF he can stay healthy.
5. Sacramento Kings-Yeah I put my team here, so what? Ferrell is having a career year with his 34 ppg. Sulaimon and Thomas provide scoring as well. Tastch, who is 34, is still a dominate shot blocker. However, this team has no depth at the 1, 2, and 3. That is their weakness. If they can find a solid backup, then they will make a splash. If not, then a injury will derail their team.
6. Los Angeles Clippers-West go back-to-back here. Danos leads this team and he deserves to. He is a stud scorer. Roberts is a solid point as well. Wright can score when needed. Williams can defend, but isn’t a great rebounder. Cousins can rebound, but isn’t a defender. They will have trouble if they go up against a scoring shooting guard due to Dano’s lack of a great defense, or a team that can focus on exploiting their post defense with Cousins.
7. New Orleans Hornets-Do what? The Hornets in the top 10? The Hornets are lead by Kyle Anderson who was acquired via the Knicks. Seaberry and Bell provide more scoring as well. Their weakness is that they have no frontcourt. They have no double-digit rebounders. Whiteside is a solid defender but is not that great, though he is solid. They need another big man to be a threat.
8. Memphis Grizzlies-The Grizz also got a player from the Knicks. Dawkins is a great player and will combine with Utis is provide a great 1-2 punch at the guard positions. Davis can score and defend and gives them a very solid 1-2-3. However they don’t have much of a frontcourt (seems to be a common trend). Perdue is their only real shot blocker, but he doesn’t start (almost 3 bpg in under 25 mpg is amazing). Campbell and Alexis can rebound, but can’t block. They need a starting caliber shot blocker who can rebound to contend in the west.
9. Los Angeles Lakers-Having some trouble with Calhoun being out, the Lakers fell. That shows their weakness right away with not much depth at the point. However they have some bright spots. Calhoun is having a great year manning the point, a job he seemed to have the tools for, just never played there. Price is a stud scorer and Washington plays a good 2nd fiddle. Sampson is old, but can still block shots. Watkins is a solid big man as well. They need for Calhoun to stay healthy though, and their frontcourt needs to stay it as well.
10. New York Knicks-Trading two of your best players will cause you to fall some. The Knicks are rebuilding (I guess) and have some solid pieces. They should be lower with their talent, but they are still winning games. Towns is a great defender. Veesly is the stud of this team. He had 21 boards against the Grizzlies. Add some pieces to him and they will be a title contender once again.
11. Phoenix Suns-The Suns are sitting at .500 in the deep west, and you probably be higher if they weren’t playing in the Pacific. They are lead by Ross and Turner, both 20 ppg wings. Their big men can rebound the ball and block shots. Garrett is still a turnover whore, and that will limit what the Suns can do. The biggest weakness the Suns have is that they play in a division with 4 of the top 10 teams, and as a result they will not shoot up in the standings. But they can be a playoff sleeper team.
12. Atlanta Hawks-The Hawks are a team that is finally starting to win some games. Led by the surprising Dorsey, who is putting up almost 27 ppg quietly, they are contending in a weaker east. Wills is their other wing who helps Dorsey in the run and gun offense the Hawks have. Ragland and Johnson are good big men who can clean the glass and block shots. Their weakness is a position they have had troubling filling for a while. Right now they are starting a sg at the point, and while he is a decent stopgap, they need a full-time point to take them to the next level.
13. Boston Celtics-Luca! He is the guy who is carrying this team. He is along the lines of Rubio and Trier in the upper level of point guards. The problem with Boston is that Luca is about it. Cabbagestalk is an okay, but probably shouldn’t be a starting sg in the league. The front court of this team sucks. No big men averaging over 8.5 rpg and no one averaging over 1.5 bpg. They need to try and gain pieces to build around, but to do that they need to tank. Luca isn’t letting them tank though.
14. Detroit Pistons-This team was considered a top one when they have Rubio, Stephenson, Taco, and some others. None of these guys are still on the team and the Pistons are still winning, just not as much. Bacote is probably their best piece, with him being a solid rebounder and defender. Outside of that, no one stands out. They run a very balanced team with no one getting over 34.5 ppg. They need a full rebuild mode to contend, and luckily they have their picks next year.
15. Philadelphia 76ers-The east is going on a run here. Lead by Overlander, who is a solid scorer and defender, the 76ers have some solid pieces. They have a pair of defensive and rebounding big men in Taco and Jenkins, with Taco being the better of the two. Jackson is their point who has a solid assist to turnover ratio; however his defense isn’t up to par. Doerman could be a solid bench player; however as a starter he isn’t amazing. This team isn’t a top tier east team, and unless they tank they won’t get that big free agent piece. However they won’t be able to do that with Jenkins and Taco’s monstrous contracts on their payroll. In 3 years they should have a lot of cap room, but is that too long to tank for?
16. Cleveland Cavaliers-More east teams? I’m not a fan of the Cavs because they stole Winston from me. Led by 3 guards, the Cavs are not going to put up a ton of points. Their franchise players are Mbemba and Paolisso. Paolisso is a stud defender. If he can get his inside up he will be a beast. Mbemba is a great young point. If he gets that inside up as well he will be a beast. The Cavs weakness if their post play. They star a big bust in Dre Kalo. He can score, but is a liability on defense and rebounding. Roger Wood out performs his ratings, but isn’t a stud. If they can get rid of Kalo’s contract then they should. They need a big man to pair with their stud guards.
17. Utah Jazz-Nova is rebuilding this team very well. They have a lot of point guards though. Gerbaudo can score and can dish it out some. Ballentine might be the better true point, and Love might end up being a better point than both of them. In terms of big men, they don’t have much. Peters is an A+ defensive big man who isn’t a shot blocker. Guess he is good against dominate big men, but if you have your dominate big man lined up against the power forward, you can beat them.
18. Houston Rockets-Rivera. And that’s about it. He is a stud. He can score and defend. He isn’t a great shot blocker but that can be worked on. Outside of him they don’t have much. Billy Ray Clark is a good young point who needs to develop. The Rockets need more to pair with Rivera. They will have cap room with Boynton’s huge deal coming off the books, so they might be able to grab a solid piece. Can they grab 3 starters? Not likely, which is what they need.
19. Charlotte Bobcats-A very interesting team. They got Pinson and Golden from the Jazz last year when they decided to rebuild, and they have been shit ever since. That is all they have. Johnson might develop into a solid point guard, but those turnovers are HORRIBLE. The rest of the big men are not worth mentioning and his small forwards are power forwards playing the 3. They have their picks, but they need more. Pinson and Golden are not getting younger, and by the time the bobcats rebuild, it will be too late.
20. Portland Trailblazers.-Poor Portland. They play in an insane division. Dillard is a solid big man, but he isn’t great. Landry can score and dish it, but is a defensive liability. Brooks has bad ratings, but produces. Gunther and Marshall are defensive outside shooters, but that is about it. Outside of that they either have defenders who aren’t great scorers, or great scorers who can’t defend. Dillard and Brooks locked up to big deals handicap this team in free agency. Atleast they have their picks.
21. Toronto Raptors-The Raptors will be shooting up the east soon. They have a great young core. Iruko can’t handle the ball, but can rebound and block shots. Wright is going to be sick as well. That combo will be nasty. If Thornwell can develop some range, he will be solid as well. Hollman can score, but sucks at defense. Sledge is a great point guard, but is getting old. The Raptors are lucky that their top young guys don’t expire soon. However if Sledge rides his contract out, it will be interesting to see how the Raptors work around 2 guys making max and Sledge’s 32 million dollar deal.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves-A recent trade of Stephenson pushes them up the rankings somewhat. Stephenson can score, along with Battle. Rose might develop into something, and the same with Walker. Jones is their only real big man, and he is “so-so”. Not much else to say except that this team is an average team in the west, which makes them a bad team. Stephenson’s contract is brutal though, and they need him to retire so they have some cap room and some flexibility.
23. Miami Heat-They have some solid youth. Drew needs some defense and a true inside game to be a true threat. Agosto has the talent, but can’t defend at all. Will Mack can defend and rebound. Outside of those 3 no one really jumps out. They have their pick so if they can tank they can get another solid piece to put in this system. They need a SF and maybe a big man if the 19 year old Robinson doesn’t develop.
24. Seattle Sonics-I could have put them higher because of who they have, but they fall here because of their record. Artis is a stud, plain and simple. Okoro is a solid big man with room to improve. Ogbueze could develop into a solid player if his potential is right. Arop isn’t playing much but he should be. Good ratings and had good stats as a rookie. If Walker improves his scoring he will be a nice piece. However, the Sonics do have something horrible about them: Trashaun Carroll. That contract is bad. He is an A- defender, but he can’t score at all and doesn’t have handles or rebounding so he could be moved. He sucks and so does that contract. That contract will continue to hold the team down. Too bad the only option is to either give up a pick or Artis in the deal to get rid of him, or buy him out.
25. Chicago Bulls-Losing McLeary sucked for them. They do have a solid team with youth now. Valentine is a big man who can rebound and block. If his scoring had some points out into it, he could be a stud. Even if they don’t he is good big man. McDuffie is a weird player. He looks, rating wise, like a sf. He isn’t a great rebounder or shot blocker, and he has a bit of an outside game. A move might do him good. Their true scoring threat is Andrews who is an outside shooting, defense wing. He has potential to improve even further into an even bigger threat. Pellin mans the point, and is a good one at that, but he has some weaknesses. He has high turnovers for an A handling guy. He can be a legit point threat with his defense and passing/handling. They will have cap room and should use it. If they can get a legit 20 ppg threat then they will be a threat.
26. San Antonio Spurs-I really have no idea who their franchise player is if they have one. Britt and Mayfield can score, but they are not franchise or even starter type players (Britt more so but D scouted is scary). Parham is their young big man, but he doesn’t play defense. They have two overpaid points who are getting old. They need to get lucky in the lottery to land a franchise player.
27. Milwaukee Bucks-Another team without a true franchise player. Clark can rebound and defend some, but can’t block shots. McClinton is their main scorer, but he isn’t a franchise player. They need everything. A full rebuild is in order. They have their picks and some cap room. However, Andre Williams is overpaid and hinders them somewhat. They also need lottery help.
28. Orlando Magic-I could mention the fact that W draft busts, but that is getting a bit old. They have some solid players. They have their pick this year as well as their and the Spurs next year, both of which could be valuable. Fenner might be their franchise piece, but he might want a huge contract and his development might be hindered. He does look like a franchise guy though. For a small forward he is a great rebounder. He might have to make a move to a big man position though, but right now if he continues to develop he will be a stud. Novogratz can hit the 3, and is a big guy (7 feet tall), but isn’t much of a defender. Frazier is a stud rebounder. Parker might be able to develop more. Warren can dish it, but isn’t a defender. They will likely have a good pick, but may draft another bust. Maybe they can move some of their youth for some vets instead of just trying to build around the draft. This year they will also have some cap room with 2 huge contracts coming off the books.
29. Denver Nuggets-The worst team in the league and by looking at their roster one can see why. Ferguson is their best player and is a very solid point guard. They also have the 1st pick rookie in Cameron who looks like he will be a defensive/rebounding big man. Teal is raw but probably has potential. The Nuggets have some youth to build around and with another top pick they should be a solid team. They won’t have a ton of cap room with Ferguson on the books so adding through the draft and trade might be the best way for them to build.
*Note: This was done over several sims. Some team’s records have changed and the top teams may be different now than when I started it.
