Post by sargo on Jun 25, 2020 5:31:38 GMT -8
TOPFLIGHT SIM LEAGUE MID SEASON REVIEW
Let's start by taking a look of the league's best, the power rankings of the top 10.
1. Brooklyn Nets - The Nets have a +8PPG differential right now at the All-Star break and find themselves with the league's 2nd best record. Rex has this team playing well. They have the league's best player right now (spoiler) in Kyrie Irving, a young young in Caris LeVert and the guy who catch all of those rebounds in Clint Capela. It's a win now type of squad that should make some noise in the playoffs.
2. Memphis Grizzlies - The league's best record is #2? Why? Their bigs are not good AT ALL. Aaron Baynes and Willy Hernangomez will not cut it. James Harden and Kawahi Leonard are two of the league's elites, but the team has no depth.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Steph Curry and LeBron James, playing together? oof. They, along with Kevin Love and Nurkic and Adams form a solid squad.
4. New Orleans Pelicans - The owner was fired for racist and off pudding remarks. Or was he not fired? I don't know honestly. Anyways, they have an elite young big in Ayton and solid guards, which make them a dangerous team.
5. Chicago Bulls - Any team with Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler will give you fits. Both are hard nosed, tough players who want to win at all costs. That is exactly what they are doing right now for the Chicago Bulls.
6. Phoenix Suns - The Suns are good. Simmons is interesting and the recent addition of Kevin Durant makes them contenders immediately. They have some valuable pieces on their roster and should be able to get even better by the trade deadline.
7. Boston Celtics - I think this team is interesting. Drummond can block, defend, and rebound. Klay can obviously score. The team has a nice balance and could make a surprise run in the playoffs. I would not be shocked.
8. Houston Rockets - The league starts to dip off here. Obviously they have Anthony Davis and he is elite. Harris looks like a nice wing and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a project. The rest of the team is lacking and needs improvements.
9. Cleveland Cavaliers - This is a weird roster. It's also the commish's roster after deputy left, then came back again to take over the vacant New Orleans Pelicans (i think?). The recently acquired Collin Sexton looks the part of offense. If he can control those TO's (maybe while a 1000k article like I am doing now), he can even be elite - when you add in his normal camps.
10. Miami Heat - Mike Chave stand up. I think this is your team. Lots of General Manager's shit on you for taking Joel Embiid and his 4 turnovers per game. We'll, I would do the same, but all you need to do is get your little ass to work and right a 1000k article (again, like i am). Siakam looks ok, but the rest of the roster looks like utter shit. OOF. Sorry
ALL NBA TEAM
CE: Karl Anthony Towns
PF: Anthony Davis
SF: Kawhi Leonard
SG: James Harden
PG: Kyrie Irving
Kyrie is a no brainer, as are Harden, Leonard, and Davis for me. I struggled to pick a center for this spot. I contemplated going with Whiteside, but I decided to pick Towns' scoring ability over Whiteside's defensive presence.
ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM
CE: Hassan Whiteside
PF: Anthony Davis
SF: Kawhi Leonard
SG: James Harden
PG: Frank Ntilikina
Whiteside is leading the league in rebounds and blocks, he has to be on this list. Kawhi is also a no-brainer. Frank Ntilikina?! James Harden? Yep. Harden steals the rock at a high rate and FBB loves that. Frank Ntilikina is one of the most interesting players in the league. He sits at 3.8 stocks per game, which is amazing for a PG. His handles are low. He just can't score, but the %s are not that miserable. The Orlando Magic have themselves a steal.
ALL ROOKIE TEAM
CE: Jaxson Hayes
PF: Zion Williamson
SF: Mattise Thybulle
SG: Kendrick Nunn
PG: Ja Morant
Zion, Ja, and Nunn are sure-ins for the first team. I struggled to find a solid center and small forward, but decided to go with Hayes and Thybulle. Hayes is solid, but Thybulle intrigues me. He can't score, but his stocks are high, almost 3 a game. That's nice for a wing player. He could thrive on a team with other scorers where he can focus on being the defender.
MVP - Kyrie Irving
Mr. Kyrie Irving has Rex and the Brooklyn Nets absolutely balling out this year. Irving is averaging a ludicrous 34 PPG on a slash line of .527/.851/.450. That's GOAT level. The man does it all. He holds onto the ball and rarely turns it over and can steal at an average rate. He's hands down the best player in the league right now and it shouldn't be a shocker since I believe Steve created the Nets roster and amped up Kyrie.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Ja Morant
Ja or Zion, or even Nunn? Ja is the pick. Why? Zion is a tweener. He can't block. He can't shoot. Does he play SF or PF? I don't know! We know what Ja is. He's a point guard, and a good one at that. Sure his turnovers are a little high, but that can be fixed with some camps (or a 1000 word article). His scoring is there and his potential is probably through the roof.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Frank Ntilikina
Frank gets the credit he deserves. We don't often see guards with DPOTY as it is usually an award reserved for big MAN; however, what Frank is doing this year can not be ignored. As mentioned earlier, the high stocks from the point guard position gives the Magic such an advantage over other squads in the league. It'll be interesting to see if he can develop a little more offensive game. Time will tell.
Let's start by taking a look of the league's best, the power rankings of the top 10.
1. Brooklyn Nets - The Nets have a +8PPG differential right now at the All-Star break and find themselves with the league's 2nd best record. Rex has this team playing well. They have the league's best player right now (spoiler) in Kyrie Irving, a young young in Caris LeVert and the guy who catch all of those rebounds in Clint Capela. It's a win now type of squad that should make some noise in the playoffs.
2. Memphis Grizzlies - The league's best record is #2? Why? Their bigs are not good AT ALL. Aaron Baynes and Willy Hernangomez will not cut it. James Harden and Kawahi Leonard are two of the league's elites, but the team has no depth.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Steph Curry and LeBron James, playing together? oof. They, along with Kevin Love and Nurkic and Adams form a solid squad.
4. New Orleans Pelicans - The owner was fired for racist and off pudding remarks. Or was he not fired? I don't know honestly. Anyways, they have an elite young big in Ayton and solid guards, which make them a dangerous team.
5. Chicago Bulls - Any team with Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler will give you fits. Both are hard nosed, tough players who want to win at all costs. That is exactly what they are doing right now for the Chicago Bulls.
6. Phoenix Suns - The Suns are good. Simmons is interesting and the recent addition of Kevin Durant makes them contenders immediately. They have some valuable pieces on their roster and should be able to get even better by the trade deadline.
7. Boston Celtics - I think this team is interesting. Drummond can block, defend, and rebound. Klay can obviously score. The team has a nice balance and could make a surprise run in the playoffs. I would not be shocked.
8. Houston Rockets - The league starts to dip off here. Obviously they have Anthony Davis and he is elite. Harris looks like a nice wing and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a project. The rest of the team is lacking and needs improvements.
9. Cleveland Cavaliers - This is a weird roster. It's also the commish's roster after deputy left, then came back again to take over the vacant New Orleans Pelicans (i think?). The recently acquired Collin Sexton looks the part of offense. If he can control those TO's (maybe while a 1000k article like I am doing now), he can even be elite - when you add in his normal camps.
10. Miami Heat - Mike Chave stand up. I think this is your team. Lots of General Manager's shit on you for taking Joel Embiid and his 4 turnovers per game. We'll, I would do the same, but all you need to do is get your little ass to work and right a 1000k article (again, like i am). Siakam looks ok, but the rest of the roster looks like utter shit. OOF. Sorry
ALL NBA TEAM
CE: Karl Anthony Towns
PF: Anthony Davis
SF: Kawhi Leonard
SG: James Harden
PG: Kyrie Irving
Kyrie is a no brainer, as are Harden, Leonard, and Davis for me. I struggled to pick a center for this spot. I contemplated going with Whiteside, but I decided to pick Towns' scoring ability over Whiteside's defensive presence.
ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM
CE: Hassan Whiteside
PF: Anthony Davis
SF: Kawhi Leonard
SG: James Harden
PG: Frank Ntilikina
Whiteside is leading the league in rebounds and blocks, he has to be on this list. Kawhi is also a no-brainer. Frank Ntilikina?! James Harden? Yep. Harden steals the rock at a high rate and FBB loves that. Frank Ntilikina is one of the most interesting players in the league. He sits at 3.8 stocks per game, which is amazing for a PG. His handles are low. He just can't score, but the %s are not that miserable. The Orlando Magic have themselves a steal.
ALL ROOKIE TEAM
CE: Jaxson Hayes
PF: Zion Williamson
SF: Mattise Thybulle
SG: Kendrick Nunn
PG: Ja Morant
Zion, Ja, and Nunn are sure-ins for the first team. I struggled to find a solid center and small forward, but decided to go with Hayes and Thybulle. Hayes is solid, but Thybulle intrigues me. He can't score, but his stocks are high, almost 3 a game. That's nice for a wing player. He could thrive on a team with other scorers where he can focus on being the defender.
MVP - Kyrie Irving
Mr. Kyrie Irving has Rex and the Brooklyn Nets absolutely balling out this year. Irving is averaging a ludicrous 34 PPG on a slash line of .527/.851/.450. That's GOAT level. The man does it all. He holds onto the ball and rarely turns it over and can steal at an average rate. He's hands down the best player in the league right now and it shouldn't be a shocker since I believe Steve created the Nets roster and amped up Kyrie.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Ja Morant
Ja or Zion, or even Nunn? Ja is the pick. Why? Zion is a tweener. He can't block. He can't shoot. Does he play SF or PF? I don't know! We know what Ja is. He's a point guard, and a good one at that. Sure his turnovers are a little high, but that can be fixed with some camps (or a 1000 word article). His scoring is there and his potential is probably through the roof.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Frank Ntilikina
Frank gets the credit he deserves. We don't often see guards with DPOTY as it is usually an award reserved for big MAN; however, what Frank is doing this year can not be ignored. As mentioned earlier, the high stocks from the point guard position gives the Magic such an advantage over other squads in the league. It'll be interesting to see if he can develop a little more offensive game. Time will tell.