Post by New York Knicks on Jan 25, 2023 15:33:35 GMT -6
Who's Hot
The Utah Jazz are scorching hot, winning 12 of their last 13 games. They've been dominating all season long, as they hold the league's best record at 21-3. Larry Kenon got my vote for the first half MVP award. He's scoring a league best 29.3 points per game, while also being 7th in rebounding (11.0), and 4th in steals (1.9). But it hasn't just been the Larry Show in Utah, we gotta show a little respect to John Shumate too. He's scoring 25.3 PPG (7th in the ITP) and pulling down 10.2 TPG. He's taken a HUGE step forward from last season.
Last Season - This Season
19.5 PPG - 25.3 PPG
9.3 RPG - 10.2 RPG
44.7 FG % - 49.3 FG %
With Shumate becoming a superstar robin to Kenons Batman, the Utah Jazz look they're gonna be on the "who's hot" list for many sims to come.
Who's Not
While the Utah Jazz have only lost 3 games the whole season, that's how many games the Chicago Bulls have won thus far. The bulls hold a win-loss record of 3-17 on the season. That's after making the playoffs last season. And with the same roster returning, you would assume the Bulls would be alot more competitive than they have shown. Chicago just snapped a 9 game losing streak with a 105-98 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. This was the first time they held a team under 100 points in over a month (13 straight games of allowing 100+ points to their opponents). That's been the problem. There is no D in Chicago. And no D in the Bulls neither. They're dead last in the league in points allowed (110.7) and opponent field goal percentage (48.3). Maybe they should hire the recently fired Lovie Smith to be their defensive coordinator.
Injury News
Shannon Brown - As if the Bulls don't have enough bad news. Now they're gonna have play their next 4 games without their leading scorer Shannon Brown (18.3 PPG). Off-season free agent pickup Lawrence Moten started in place of Brown in their last game, and he scored 10 points with 6 steals (setting a new franchise record for steals in a game).
Anthony Edwards - Here's an update on Ant Edwards, who suffered a broken skull in a 28 point loss vs the Utah Jazz. It wasn't enough for Peenman to beat them by 28. You had to break the guys skull too, right? Anyways, Edwards is expected to return some time after the all-star break. He's already missed 15 games, and you can add an additional 20 games to that number. It's a shame to see a #1 overall draft choice miss so much time.
Paul Silas - The 12-11 FIRST PLACE Atlanta Hawks have been playing without reserve forward Paul Silas. Silas has been sidelined the last 2 weeks with a broken jaw. He is expected to return to the Hawks lineup towards the end of Sim #7.
Roland Taylor / Len Kosmalski - The Knicks have been playing without two of their starters over the last 9 games (4-5 record during that span). Their leading shot blocker Kosmalski, and their leader in steals per game Taylor. The good news is Kosmalski is only expected to miss 1 more Game. While Taylor will miss 2.
More News Around The League
- The most recent Player Of The Week Award was just announced, and it was given to Grizzlies center Bob Lanier. Bob scored 20+ points in all 5 games this week, including a 41 point 13 rebound masterpiece vs the Detroit Pistons. On the year Lanier is putting together another dominating season with 26.3 PPG & 10.4 RPG.
- Speaking of league awards, the rookie of month #2 will be announced next sim, and I got my money on Killian Hayes. Hayes has had a great month, which he just capped off with a career best 31 point performance vs Miami. Hayes already has 1 ROM award under his belt. Looks like it's gonna be 2 in a row. And maybe it's gonna be 2 rookie of the year awards in a row for Toronto. Brandon Roy last year. Hayes this year.
- The LA Clippers have lost 4 of their last 7 games. They're now down to a 13-7 record. 7 loss through 20 games. They had only 11 losses in 82 games last season.
- We mentioned earlier that the Hawks are currently 1st place in their division despite a 12-11 record. That's because the other 7 teams in the Central division all have a losing record as of now. This is weird to watch. In ITP7 the Central division was by far the best in the league. Hoopers Marcus Smart/Randle squads. The Gordon/Redd backcourt in Toronto. The Dwight Howard led Hawks. The bulls with all their firepower (Harper, Beal, Barnes, Emeka). The Cavs were alright too. It was a powerhouse division. What the hell happened to the once proud Central?
- On the other hand the Midwest was the league's punchline in ITP7. The division was consistently a joke. Now look at them. The aforementioned Jazz are 21-3. The Nuggets are 21-5. The Spurs are 15-5. Shit the Grizzlies at 13-11 have a point differential of +7.1, which is better than ANY team in the Eastern Conference. Congrats Midwest division, you no longer suck.
- One tean that does suck in the Midwest is Minnesota. They're in last place with a 6-15 record. They're being outscored by 13.2 points per game. They're shooting under 43 percent from the field. Neither one of their starting guards are averaging double figures in points. It's been brutal everywhere you look on this roster. And there's rumors that Antonio McDyess and Michael Finley could both be on the move. But one bright spot so far has been 19 year old rookie center James Wiseman. Wiseman is averaging about 12/9 and is blocking 1.7 shots per contest. He looks like a keeper.
- Another rookie I like is Miami forward Isaac Okoro. 10.2 PPG 8.3 RPG 2.6 APG 1 SPG 1.3 BPG 38.5 3PT %. He is literally doing it all for the Heat. Miami has won 5 of their last 7 games, And have improved their record to 15-9. They got a great young core with Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Okoro, Jimmy King, and the recently acquired Michael Carter Williams. It was a great trade to get MCW from the Lakers.
- As for the Lakers, tankmode is in full service right now. They suffered a 45 point loss to the Grizz, and followed it up by losing 131-98 vs the Jazz. Cancun on 3 for the Lakers. But they do have some pieces moving forward with Antoine Walker, C.J, and Maxey. Add a high lotto pick to the mix, and you got a pretty bright future.
The Utah Jazz are scorching hot, winning 12 of their last 13 games. They've been dominating all season long, as they hold the league's best record at 21-3. Larry Kenon got my vote for the first half MVP award. He's scoring a league best 29.3 points per game, while also being 7th in rebounding (11.0), and 4th in steals (1.9). But it hasn't just been the Larry Show in Utah, we gotta show a little respect to John Shumate too. He's scoring 25.3 PPG (7th in the ITP) and pulling down 10.2 TPG. He's taken a HUGE step forward from last season.
Last Season - This Season
19.5 PPG - 25.3 PPG
9.3 RPG - 10.2 RPG
44.7 FG % - 49.3 FG %
With Shumate becoming a superstar robin to Kenons Batman, the Utah Jazz look they're gonna be on the "who's hot" list for many sims to come.
Who's Not
While the Utah Jazz have only lost 3 games the whole season, that's how many games the Chicago Bulls have won thus far. The bulls hold a win-loss record of 3-17 on the season. That's after making the playoffs last season. And with the same roster returning, you would assume the Bulls would be alot more competitive than they have shown. Chicago just snapped a 9 game losing streak with a 105-98 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. This was the first time they held a team under 100 points in over a month (13 straight games of allowing 100+ points to their opponents). That's been the problem. There is no D in Chicago. And no D in the Bulls neither. They're dead last in the league in points allowed (110.7) and opponent field goal percentage (48.3). Maybe they should hire the recently fired Lovie Smith to be their defensive coordinator.
Injury News
Shannon Brown - As if the Bulls don't have enough bad news. Now they're gonna have play their next 4 games without their leading scorer Shannon Brown (18.3 PPG). Off-season free agent pickup Lawrence Moten started in place of Brown in their last game, and he scored 10 points with 6 steals (setting a new franchise record for steals in a game).
Anthony Edwards - Here's an update on Ant Edwards, who suffered a broken skull in a 28 point loss vs the Utah Jazz. It wasn't enough for Peenman to beat them by 28. You had to break the guys skull too, right? Anyways, Edwards is expected to return some time after the all-star break. He's already missed 15 games, and you can add an additional 20 games to that number. It's a shame to see a #1 overall draft choice miss so much time.
Paul Silas - The 12-11 FIRST PLACE Atlanta Hawks have been playing without reserve forward Paul Silas. Silas has been sidelined the last 2 weeks with a broken jaw. He is expected to return to the Hawks lineup towards the end of Sim #7.
Roland Taylor / Len Kosmalski - The Knicks have been playing without two of their starters over the last 9 games (4-5 record during that span). Their leading shot blocker Kosmalski, and their leader in steals per game Taylor. The good news is Kosmalski is only expected to miss 1 more Game. While Taylor will miss 2.
More News Around The League
- The most recent Player Of The Week Award was just announced, and it was given to Grizzlies center Bob Lanier. Bob scored 20+ points in all 5 games this week, including a 41 point 13 rebound masterpiece vs the Detroit Pistons. On the year Lanier is putting together another dominating season with 26.3 PPG & 10.4 RPG.
- Speaking of league awards, the rookie of month #2 will be announced next sim, and I got my money on Killian Hayes. Hayes has had a great month, which he just capped off with a career best 31 point performance vs Miami. Hayes already has 1 ROM award under his belt. Looks like it's gonna be 2 in a row. And maybe it's gonna be 2 rookie of the year awards in a row for Toronto. Brandon Roy last year. Hayes this year.
- The LA Clippers have lost 4 of their last 7 games. They're now down to a 13-7 record. 7 loss through 20 games. They had only 11 losses in 82 games last season.
- We mentioned earlier that the Hawks are currently 1st place in their division despite a 12-11 record. That's because the other 7 teams in the Central division all have a losing record as of now. This is weird to watch. In ITP7 the Central division was by far the best in the league. Hoopers Marcus Smart/Randle squads. The Gordon/Redd backcourt in Toronto. The Dwight Howard led Hawks. The bulls with all their firepower (Harper, Beal, Barnes, Emeka). The Cavs were alright too. It was a powerhouse division. What the hell happened to the once proud Central?
- On the other hand the Midwest was the league's punchline in ITP7. The division was consistently a joke. Now look at them. The aforementioned Jazz are 21-3. The Nuggets are 21-5. The Spurs are 15-5. Shit the Grizzlies at 13-11 have a point differential of +7.1, which is better than ANY team in the Eastern Conference. Congrats Midwest division, you no longer suck.
- One tean that does suck in the Midwest is Minnesota. They're in last place with a 6-15 record. They're being outscored by 13.2 points per game. They're shooting under 43 percent from the field. Neither one of their starting guards are averaging double figures in points. It's been brutal everywhere you look on this roster. And there's rumors that Antonio McDyess and Michael Finley could both be on the move. But one bright spot so far has been 19 year old rookie center James Wiseman. Wiseman is averaging about 12/9 and is blocking 1.7 shots per contest. He looks like a keeper.
- Another rookie I like is Miami forward Isaac Okoro. 10.2 PPG 8.3 RPG 2.6 APG 1 SPG 1.3 BPG 38.5 3PT %. He is literally doing it all for the Heat. Miami has won 5 of their last 7 games, And have improved their record to 15-9. They got a great young core with Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Okoro, Jimmy King, and the recently acquired Michael Carter Williams. It was a great trade to get MCW from the Lakers.
- As for the Lakers, tankmode is in full service right now. They suffered a 45 point loss to the Grizz, and followed it up by losing 131-98 vs the Jazz. Cancun on 3 for the Lakers. But they do have some pieces moving forward with Antoine Walker, C.J, and Maxey. Add a high lotto pick to the mix, and you got a pretty bright future.
