Around The League: Sim 1 Edition
Apr 17, 2023 14:13:23 GMT -6
beatonz, redrum741, and 1 more like this
Post by New York Knicks on Apr 17, 2023 14:13:23 GMT -6
Who's Hot
The Indiana Pacers? The same Pacers that went 25-57 last year, and finished with the second worst record in the Eastern Conference? Yes those Indiana Pacers are presently on top of the East with a perfect 5-0 record. And they're not beating a bunch of chumps. They just had back to back victories against the Utah Jazz, who are coming off a 65-17 season. They also defeated the Toronto Raptors, granted without Killian Hayes. But still that's a quality win for a team that was projected to be near the bottom of the East for a 2nd consecutive season. How have the Pacers been so successful so far? Defense and rebounding. They're top 5 in the league in scoring defense and they hold a +10.5 rebound per game differential. When you talk about defense and rebounding, you gotta give all the credit to that Pacers front line. Starting with the behemoth himself Moses Malone. Malone is off to a dominating start to the season with 31.0 PPG 14.6 RPG and 3.4 APG. His Right hand man George Johnson, the two-time defensive player of the year, has been great as well. He's averaging 19.4 PPG 11.0 RPG and 4.6 BPG (1st in the league). Collectlively that's over 50 PPG and 25 RPG from that center and power forward position. But they had both players on last season's team. And they sucked last season. So what's been the difference? 5th overall draft pick Jamal Mashburn. "Monster Mash" has given this team a much needed perimeter scoring option. He's scoring 14.6 PPG on 50 % shooting from the field. Strong start for the rookie. It's early but he's been more productive than other high lottery picks like Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway, who we'll talk about in just a bit. Getting back to the Pacers. They're dominating up front, they're getting an infusion of outside scoring, and they're playing well. Will it continue? We'll find out in the coming sims.
Who's Not
We're taking the elevator from the top floor of the Central Division (1st Place Pacers) all the way down to the basement, where we find the Last Place 0-6 Chicago Bulls. It's obviously been a rough start in the hometown of Chief Keef. Sosa would not be proud of this. They opened the season with a 19 point loss vs Philly. Then the Sonics beat them by over 30 points. Philly beat em again by 17. That was proceeded by losses vs Toronto, Phoenix, and even the Lakers. The two Philly losses is what really caught my eye. Philly got a strong offensive front line (Ostertag, Joe Smith, Neal, Rasheed). Chicago does NOT have a strong defensive front line. That was on display in these two games, as Philly got to the free throw line a combined 80 times. Rim protection is a major issue with the Bulls. They're tied with the Lakers for dead last in blocks (4.0). The result of that is a defense that gives up the third most points in the league (111.2). Nikola Jokic is one of the most skilled big men in the game. Through 6 games he's scoring 15.8 PPG 4.2 APG and has already made 6 three pointers. But they call him Dorito Boy for a reason. He's fat and slow, and struggles to get into proper position on defense. Renaldo Balkman is a nice energy player, but he's a small forward playing the 4. Dwight Powell is an instant offense spark plug off the bench. But his defense sucks. They need SOMEBODY to provide them with interior defense. Because right now they have NONE. They also need to stop turning the basketball over. They're 26th in the league in turnovers per game (13.8). This brings us to rookie 2nd overall pick Penny Hardaway. Penny is a versatile player. He can score, playmake, defend, and rebound. But those 3.5 TPG from the shooting guard position is an ugly number. He gotta work on that. Bulls GM Penny Sr just gave Penny Jr a handling camp. Hopefully that helps reduce the turnovers. And hopefully the Bulls get this thing turned around, because if the don't, they might be sending a very high draft pick to the Toronto Raptors next off-season.
Injury Report
Tyrus Thomas (29) - The first major injury of the 2003 season occured in Phoenix, as the Suns will lose Power Forward Tyrus Thomas with a torn hamstring. Hes expected to be out for 29 days. The athletic shot blocking Thomas signed a two year free agent contract in the off-season with Phoenix, after spending the first three seasons of his career in Charlotte. Tyrus made a nice little debut for the Suns with 3 blocks in the season opener vs Utah. Then in 2nd game of the season vs Boston, he got off to a great start with 11 Points 8 Rebounds off the bench. Unfortunately that's when he got hurt.
Randy Smith (5) - Portland got a jampacked schedule to begin the year. They play 14 straight games without a single day off. With so many consecutive games comes the high probability of injuries. They've been playing good basketball with 5 wins in 7 days. But for the next 5 days they're gonna be without star point guard Randy Smith (21.4 PPG 9.0 APG 6.4 RPG). Smith suffered a sprained Wrist vs San Antonio. He's missed the last two contests. David Thompson has started in both and has played well (15.5 PPG 6.5 APG 5.5 RPG). Expect Thompson to continue to start while Smith heals.
Phil Smith (3) - Call this an act of karma. The Houston Rockets actually started the year with Earl Monroe on the BENCH. Their best player...on the bench. That's crazy. In the first two games of the year he played 14 and 11 minutes (12.5 MPG). Then in the third game Phil Smith, who was starting in place of Monroe, began to suffer from blurred vision and was sent home. The next game Monroe scored 33 points in his return to the starting lineup. Will Joshhouston stick to Monroe when Smith returns? With Joshhouston you just never know what's gonna happen next.
New Faces In New Places
Swen Nater
Old Team: San Antonio Spurs
New Team: Toronto Raptors
Swen Nater was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs via trade in the off-season. Nater had a tremendously impressive career with the Spurs. In 3 seasons he made 2 all-star appearances, an All League Second team in 01, and he was All League First Team last season. And of course he also won a championship with S.A in 01. He accomplished a lot. But now he begins a new chapter in a new country as a member of the Toronto Raptors. It's been a bumpy ride through the first 5 games with the Raptors. He's been limited to 26 MPG due to foul trouble, and as a result he's averaging just 11.4 PPG 8.8 RPG. But it's not an easy adjustment going from a slow paced inside heavy offense like San Antonio ran, and then transition to more of a run n gun style like in Toronto. I expect Nater to eventually figure it out and be a perfect fit for this team.
Joe Smith
Old Team: Boston Celtics
New Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Joe Smith is one of the young ascending forwards in this league. He improved all 3 years he was in Boston. But as the Celtics have struggled in recent years, Smith decided to hitch his wagon to a hotter ride. Which is the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly already had one of the best front lines in the east. Greg Ostertag is the reigning DPOTY. Rasheed averaged 22/10 last year. Lloyd Neal averaged 20/9. With that much talent already on board, Joe Smith was gonna have to take a lesser role on this team. And he's done exactly that. He's coming off the bench and he's thriving. 16.7 PPG 7.7 RPG 54.9 FG% in 25.7 MPG.
Bryant Reeves
Old Team: Seattle Supersonics
New Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Bryant Reeves was the jewel of last off-seasons free agent class. A monster of a man standing at 7 feet tall and 275 pounds. He averaged nearly 23/11 with Seattle last season. The big interior game of Reeves and the endless potential of Giannis, gave Sonic fans visions of a young Shaq and Penny. Unfortunately, that ended with Shaq leaving. Just like Reeves did. Reeves took his big country ass to Memphis. Where he joins forces with fellow off-season acquisition Mickey Johnson, and Pistol Pete Maravich. Forming a nice big 3 in the Midwest division. Reeves has been doing his part in this trifecta. He's averaging 20.8 PPG 11.0 RPG. Problem is he's turning it over 4.2 times per game and the Grizzlies are 2-3. But it's early, and I think the Grizzlies got a great team this year.
Bob Lanier
Old Team: Memphis Grizzlies
New Team: Dallas Mavericks
Bob Lanier used to be apart of that Memphis crew, but he switched allegiances to the Mavs in the off-season, signing a 2 year contract worth 37.5 million dollars. Lanier has helped replace some of the production the Mavs lost with Mickey Johnson. Lanier is averaging 21.5 PPG 10.8 RPG and a 57.3 FG %.
Billy Knight
Old Team: San Antonio Spurs
New Team: Miami Heat
Billy Knight, like Swen Nater, was a casualty of the Spurs rebuilding purge, he was showcased on the trade block throughout the off-season. And after the Miami Heat lost shooting guard Jimmy King in free agency (to Toronto), Miami was in the market for a Two Guard. So they came knocking on the Spurs door and landed themselves Knight to replace the departed King. But just like in Chess, the Kings more valuable than the Knight. Jimmy gave Miami that outside scoring dimension alongside MCW. Providing Miami with one of the most dynamic backcourts in the East. Knight does not have that same outside scoring ability. He's more of an inside scorer. But so far he's been very efficient in his role. Scoring just under 15 PPG on 58.5 % shooting. He was a solid pickup. But he's not Jimmy.
The Indiana Pacers? The same Pacers that went 25-57 last year, and finished with the second worst record in the Eastern Conference? Yes those Indiana Pacers are presently on top of the East with a perfect 5-0 record. And they're not beating a bunch of chumps. They just had back to back victories against the Utah Jazz, who are coming off a 65-17 season. They also defeated the Toronto Raptors, granted without Killian Hayes. But still that's a quality win for a team that was projected to be near the bottom of the East for a 2nd consecutive season. How have the Pacers been so successful so far? Defense and rebounding. They're top 5 in the league in scoring defense and they hold a +10.5 rebound per game differential. When you talk about defense and rebounding, you gotta give all the credit to that Pacers front line. Starting with the behemoth himself Moses Malone. Malone is off to a dominating start to the season with 31.0 PPG 14.6 RPG and 3.4 APG. His Right hand man George Johnson, the two-time defensive player of the year, has been great as well. He's averaging 19.4 PPG 11.0 RPG and 4.6 BPG (1st in the league). Collectlively that's over 50 PPG and 25 RPG from that center and power forward position. But they had both players on last season's team. And they sucked last season. So what's been the difference? 5th overall draft pick Jamal Mashburn. "Monster Mash" has given this team a much needed perimeter scoring option. He's scoring 14.6 PPG on 50 % shooting from the field. Strong start for the rookie. It's early but he's been more productive than other high lottery picks like Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway, who we'll talk about in just a bit. Getting back to the Pacers. They're dominating up front, they're getting an infusion of outside scoring, and they're playing well. Will it continue? We'll find out in the coming sims.
Who's Not
We're taking the elevator from the top floor of the Central Division (1st Place Pacers) all the way down to the basement, where we find the Last Place 0-6 Chicago Bulls. It's obviously been a rough start in the hometown of Chief Keef. Sosa would not be proud of this. They opened the season with a 19 point loss vs Philly. Then the Sonics beat them by over 30 points. Philly beat em again by 17. That was proceeded by losses vs Toronto, Phoenix, and even the Lakers. The two Philly losses is what really caught my eye. Philly got a strong offensive front line (Ostertag, Joe Smith, Neal, Rasheed). Chicago does NOT have a strong defensive front line. That was on display in these two games, as Philly got to the free throw line a combined 80 times. Rim protection is a major issue with the Bulls. They're tied with the Lakers for dead last in blocks (4.0). The result of that is a defense that gives up the third most points in the league (111.2). Nikola Jokic is one of the most skilled big men in the game. Through 6 games he's scoring 15.8 PPG 4.2 APG and has already made 6 three pointers. But they call him Dorito Boy for a reason. He's fat and slow, and struggles to get into proper position on defense. Renaldo Balkman is a nice energy player, but he's a small forward playing the 4. Dwight Powell is an instant offense spark plug off the bench. But his defense sucks. They need SOMEBODY to provide them with interior defense. Because right now they have NONE. They also need to stop turning the basketball over. They're 26th in the league in turnovers per game (13.8). This brings us to rookie 2nd overall pick Penny Hardaway. Penny is a versatile player. He can score, playmake, defend, and rebound. But those 3.5 TPG from the shooting guard position is an ugly number. He gotta work on that. Bulls GM Penny Sr just gave Penny Jr a handling camp. Hopefully that helps reduce the turnovers. And hopefully the Bulls get this thing turned around, because if the don't, they might be sending a very high draft pick to the Toronto Raptors next off-season.
Injury Report
Tyrus Thomas (29) - The first major injury of the 2003 season occured in Phoenix, as the Suns will lose Power Forward Tyrus Thomas with a torn hamstring. Hes expected to be out for 29 days. The athletic shot blocking Thomas signed a two year free agent contract in the off-season with Phoenix, after spending the first three seasons of his career in Charlotte. Tyrus made a nice little debut for the Suns with 3 blocks in the season opener vs Utah. Then in 2nd game of the season vs Boston, he got off to a great start with 11 Points 8 Rebounds off the bench. Unfortunately that's when he got hurt.
Randy Smith (5) - Portland got a jampacked schedule to begin the year. They play 14 straight games without a single day off. With so many consecutive games comes the high probability of injuries. They've been playing good basketball with 5 wins in 7 days. But for the next 5 days they're gonna be without star point guard Randy Smith (21.4 PPG 9.0 APG 6.4 RPG). Smith suffered a sprained Wrist vs San Antonio. He's missed the last two contests. David Thompson has started in both and has played well (15.5 PPG 6.5 APG 5.5 RPG). Expect Thompson to continue to start while Smith heals.
Phil Smith (3) - Call this an act of karma. The Houston Rockets actually started the year with Earl Monroe on the BENCH. Their best player...on the bench. That's crazy. In the first two games of the year he played 14 and 11 minutes (12.5 MPG). Then in the third game Phil Smith, who was starting in place of Monroe, began to suffer from blurred vision and was sent home. The next game Monroe scored 33 points in his return to the starting lineup. Will Joshhouston stick to Monroe when Smith returns? With Joshhouston you just never know what's gonna happen next.
New Faces In New Places
Swen Nater
Old Team: San Antonio Spurs
New Team: Toronto Raptors
Swen Nater was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs via trade in the off-season. Nater had a tremendously impressive career with the Spurs. In 3 seasons he made 2 all-star appearances, an All League Second team in 01, and he was All League First Team last season. And of course he also won a championship with S.A in 01. He accomplished a lot. But now he begins a new chapter in a new country as a member of the Toronto Raptors. It's been a bumpy ride through the first 5 games with the Raptors. He's been limited to 26 MPG due to foul trouble, and as a result he's averaging just 11.4 PPG 8.8 RPG. But it's not an easy adjustment going from a slow paced inside heavy offense like San Antonio ran, and then transition to more of a run n gun style like in Toronto. I expect Nater to eventually figure it out and be a perfect fit for this team.
Joe Smith
Old Team: Boston Celtics
New Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Joe Smith is one of the young ascending forwards in this league. He improved all 3 years he was in Boston. But as the Celtics have struggled in recent years, Smith decided to hitch his wagon to a hotter ride. Which is the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly already had one of the best front lines in the east. Greg Ostertag is the reigning DPOTY. Rasheed averaged 22/10 last year. Lloyd Neal averaged 20/9. With that much talent already on board, Joe Smith was gonna have to take a lesser role on this team. And he's done exactly that. He's coming off the bench and he's thriving. 16.7 PPG 7.7 RPG 54.9 FG% in 25.7 MPG.
Bryant Reeves
Old Team: Seattle Supersonics
New Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Bryant Reeves was the jewel of last off-seasons free agent class. A monster of a man standing at 7 feet tall and 275 pounds. He averaged nearly 23/11 with Seattle last season. The big interior game of Reeves and the endless potential of Giannis, gave Sonic fans visions of a young Shaq and Penny. Unfortunately, that ended with Shaq leaving. Just like Reeves did. Reeves took his big country ass to Memphis. Where he joins forces with fellow off-season acquisition Mickey Johnson, and Pistol Pete Maravich. Forming a nice big 3 in the Midwest division. Reeves has been doing his part in this trifecta. He's averaging 20.8 PPG 11.0 RPG. Problem is he's turning it over 4.2 times per game and the Grizzlies are 2-3. But it's early, and I think the Grizzlies got a great team this year.
Bob Lanier
Old Team: Memphis Grizzlies
New Team: Dallas Mavericks
Bob Lanier used to be apart of that Memphis crew, but he switched allegiances to the Mavs in the off-season, signing a 2 year contract worth 37.5 million dollars. Lanier has helped replace some of the production the Mavs lost with Mickey Johnson. Lanier is averaging 21.5 PPG 10.8 RPG and a 57.3 FG %.
Billy Knight
Old Team: San Antonio Spurs
New Team: Miami Heat
Billy Knight, like Swen Nater, was a casualty of the Spurs rebuilding purge, he was showcased on the trade block throughout the off-season. And after the Miami Heat lost shooting guard Jimmy King in free agency (to Toronto), Miami was in the market for a Two Guard. So they came knocking on the Spurs door and landed themselves Knight to replace the departed King. But just like in Chess, the Kings more valuable than the Knight. Jimmy gave Miami that outside scoring dimension alongside MCW. Providing Miami with one of the most dynamic backcourts in the East. Knight does not have that same outside scoring ability. He's more of an inside scorer. But so far he's been very efficient in his role. Scoring just under 15 PPG on 58.5 % shooting. He was a solid pickup. But he's not Jimmy.
