Around The League: Sim 7 Edition
Aug 17, 2023 23:10:43 GMT -6
Michael, redrum741, and 1 more like this
Post by Keyser Soze on Aug 17, 2023 23:10:43 GMT -6
Who's Hot
There's a breath of fresh air in Washington DC. Because the dark polluted cloud that used to hover over the Wizards franchise is gone. Their disgraced General Manager was removed from the league before the start of the 2006 season, and now at 22-5, they're playing their best basketball ever. Coincidence? Hell no. Team leader Eric Money was quoted as saying "I feel alot better coming to work each day without having to deal with a fucking idiot." An increased freedom and positive attitude is obvious all over the players faces. And its showing on the court as well. As I stated they're 22-5, which is the 4th best record in the entire ITP. And they have won 11 of their last 12 games. Making them my obvious choice for the Who's Hot column. During the course of this hot streak we have watched the Wizards play lockdown defense. In their past 5 games they have held opponents to 78.6 PPG. Which included shutting down the Houston Rockets entire offensive existence. Houston scored 60 points in a 48 minute basketball game. Joe Smith, who's averaging 28.2 PPG, scored only 14 points on 3/12 shooting. As a team the Rockets shot just 19 for 74 (25.7 %). They had almost as many turnovers (18) as field goals. And this wasn't some outlier defensive performance by Washington. This has been the story of their entire season. They're #1 in the league in points allowed (95.0) and #1 in opponent field goal percentage (.400). Rudy Gobert (2.8 BPG) and Dwight Jones (3.0 BPG) have formed a brick wall in the paint. While Eric Money and the infusion of energetic rookie wing players (Paulding, Walton, Naulls, Howard) have strengthen the Wizards perimeter defense. Defense has been the story. Will the story continue to play out this way? I think so. Because guess who finally has a good basketball team? Washingtonthatswho.
Who's Not
Staying in the Atlantic, the Brooklyn Nets have NOT been hot. They have lost 8 straight games, and after a respectable 12-10 start to the season, the Nets have dropped to 12-18. Putting themselves 15 1/2 games back of 1st place in the division. Unlike the Wizards, defense is not this teams calling card. They're 28th in the league in opponent field goal percentage (46.4), only the Golden State Warriors are worse. Those defensive struggles have been on full display during the losing streak. They have surrendered 112.1 PPG over the last 8 games. They allowed the opposition to score 120+ on 3 separate occasions (Minnesota 125, New York 122, Toronto 121). In the Toronto game the Raptors shot 53.4 % from the field vs 32.6 % by Brooklyn. Which brings us to another glaring problem for Brooklyn. THEY CAN'T SHOOT THE BASKETBALL. Their team field goal percentage is only 42.8 %, which ranks 23rd out of 29 teams. You can't shoot. The other team can't miss. How are you supposed to win basketball games that way? You can't. Which is why the Nets are losing. And things are about to get even worse for them...
Injury Report
Bill Robinzine (52) - This is what I was talking about. The Nets will be without their 3rd leading scorer Robinzine for the next 2 1/2 months. Bill had been complaining about back problems earlier in the year. Now he has been officially diagnosed with a bulging disc. In 29 games this season he's averaging 15.8 PPG 6.3 RPG 1.6 SPG (1st on Team). Sam Loveday will take Robinzines spot in the lineup. He started last night, and it wasn't a lovely day for Sam. He had 0 points and 0 assists in 33 minutes at SG. If the Nets don't get better production out of Loveday, that 8 game losing streak is bout to turn into a 18 game losing streak.
Dan Roundfield (26) - What a rollercoaster ride it's been for Roundfield. He went from being unhappy and benched. Then he got re-inserted back into the Bulls starting lineup. Then he tore his hamstring. Then he got traded to the Nuggets. And that all happened within a span of 2 weeks. So now Roundfield is a Nugget. In 23.4 MPG this season he's averaging 10.7 PPG 4.7 RPG 1 BPG. When he gets healthy and returns for after the all-star break, will the Nuggets give him playing time? Dan is in a contract year, and he's trying to put up some numbers so he could get paid in the off-season. But will he receive that opportunity? Or what about the possibility of Denver dealing him to a contender once he gets healthy? That would probably be the best scenario for both parties.
Rodney Rogers (9) - Broken ribs will keep cause Rodney Rogers be out for about the next 2 weeks. In 35 games between the Clippers and Spurs Rogers is averaging 9.4 PPG 1.2 SPG 1.0 BPG. He was traded from LAC to the Spurs earlier in the month. It's nice to see Rodney baxk in San Antonio. He actually came up through the Spurs D-League system. Now he gets a chance to prove himself here as hes in a pivotal contract season. But first he gotta deal with this 9 day hiccup.
More News Around The League
- What happened to that Spurs Sonics trade? It was reported to be a done deal. Dennis Schroder, Wes Unseld, a 2009 Sonics 1st Round Pick, and cash considerations were being sent to SA. While the Sonics were receiving Travis Best and Tom Barker to strengthen their starting lineup. Seemed like a solid deal for both sides. The trade didnt pass due to salary reasons. But is there any motivation to re-work the deal? Or is it dead?
- The Sonics got a interesting ass international front court. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having himself another all-league caliber season (28.7 PPG 9.7 RPG 5.1 APG). But Andrea Bargnani is doing his thing too. He's averaging career highs in points (28.2), rebounds (9.6), and blocks (2.1). It's nice to see him get back to his old scoring champion self. And good job by the Sonics for finding a way to maximize his talents. As the talents of Bargnani and Giannis are making Italy and Greece proud.
- Speaking of international. Frenchcocksucker point guard Theo Maledon is having a sensational season with his new team Minnesota. He currently leads the ITP with 11.2 APG. While also scoring 23.1 PPG on .518/.918/.436 shooting splits. Fuck him Good for him.
- Speaking of shooting. We all knew it was only a matter of time before Ray Allen, the man with the prettiest Jumpshot ever, would start leading the league in 3pt shooting. He's upped his percentage to 53.3 % on the year. The only problem is he's not getting too many opportunities to shoot the ball because of his 14.2 MPG average. As of now Ray is stuck on the bench behind Jerry Stackhouse. You know what this situation reminds me of? The Golden State Warriors over a decade again had a scoring machine at SG by the name of Monta Ellis. 25+ PPG guy with his eyes closed. But once they traded Ellis and opened up the starting SG spot for Klay Thompson, things got alot better in Golden State.
- Those were in the NBA warriors. As for the ITP Warriors? They started the season off 5-6, and have gone 4-20 since. Reigning Rookie of the year Allen Iverson is doing his part with 20 points and 9 assists. He just needs some of these other players to step up. Like Allan Houston, who's seen a 3.2 PPG drop in his scoring. And his 3pt shooting has plummeted to 33.1 %. Will somebody please remind Allan Houston that he's in a contract season.
- Joe Smith is in a contract year and he's making the most of it. He's averaging 28.2 PPG 12.2 RPG 2.1 BPG. And he even has the sorryass Houston Rockets in the 8th seed right now. If he can lead this Rockets team to the playoffs then he's my MVP.
- 1/2 game back of the 8 seed Rockets are the...PHOENIX SUNS?? Wait could this team actually make the playoffs this year? For the first time ever? Their young players are all contributing:
Bob Cousy (21) - 16.7 PPG 7.0 APG
Kristaps Porzingis (22) - 13.3 PPG 9.0 RPG 1.8 BPG 42.9 3PT %
Chris Bosh (19) - 10.6 PPG 5.9 RPG 39.6 3PT %
Shawn Bradley (24) - 9.7 PPG 10.4 RPG 1.7 BPG
That's a pretty nice little group they got there. With some solid veterans like Mike Finley. Why can't they make the playoffs this year? Theyre no worse than Houston or Memphis. It's time for the Suns to make the playoffs.
There's a breath of fresh air in Washington DC. Because the dark polluted cloud that used to hover over the Wizards franchise is gone. Their disgraced General Manager was removed from the league before the start of the 2006 season, and now at 22-5, they're playing their best basketball ever. Coincidence? Hell no. Team leader Eric Money was quoted as saying "I feel alot better coming to work each day without having to deal with a fucking idiot." An increased freedom and positive attitude is obvious all over the players faces. And its showing on the court as well. As I stated they're 22-5, which is the 4th best record in the entire ITP. And they have won 11 of their last 12 games. Making them my obvious choice for the Who's Hot column. During the course of this hot streak we have watched the Wizards play lockdown defense. In their past 5 games they have held opponents to 78.6 PPG. Which included shutting down the Houston Rockets entire offensive existence. Houston scored 60 points in a 48 minute basketball game. Joe Smith, who's averaging 28.2 PPG, scored only 14 points on 3/12 shooting. As a team the Rockets shot just 19 for 74 (25.7 %). They had almost as many turnovers (18) as field goals. And this wasn't some outlier defensive performance by Washington. This has been the story of their entire season. They're #1 in the league in points allowed (95.0) and #1 in opponent field goal percentage (.400). Rudy Gobert (2.8 BPG) and Dwight Jones (3.0 BPG) have formed a brick wall in the paint. While Eric Money and the infusion of energetic rookie wing players (Paulding, Walton, Naulls, Howard) have strengthen the Wizards perimeter defense. Defense has been the story. Will the story continue to play out this way? I think so. Because guess who finally has a good basketball team? Washingtonthatswho.
Who's Not
Staying in the Atlantic, the Brooklyn Nets have NOT been hot. They have lost 8 straight games, and after a respectable 12-10 start to the season, the Nets have dropped to 12-18. Putting themselves 15 1/2 games back of 1st place in the division. Unlike the Wizards, defense is not this teams calling card. They're 28th in the league in opponent field goal percentage (46.4), only the Golden State Warriors are worse. Those defensive struggles have been on full display during the losing streak. They have surrendered 112.1 PPG over the last 8 games. They allowed the opposition to score 120+ on 3 separate occasions (Minnesota 125, New York 122, Toronto 121). In the Toronto game the Raptors shot 53.4 % from the field vs 32.6 % by Brooklyn. Which brings us to another glaring problem for Brooklyn. THEY CAN'T SHOOT THE BASKETBALL. Their team field goal percentage is only 42.8 %, which ranks 23rd out of 29 teams. You can't shoot. The other team can't miss. How are you supposed to win basketball games that way? You can't. Which is why the Nets are losing. And things are about to get even worse for them...
Injury Report
Bill Robinzine (52) - This is what I was talking about. The Nets will be without their 3rd leading scorer Robinzine for the next 2 1/2 months. Bill had been complaining about back problems earlier in the year. Now he has been officially diagnosed with a bulging disc. In 29 games this season he's averaging 15.8 PPG 6.3 RPG 1.6 SPG (1st on Team). Sam Loveday will take Robinzines spot in the lineup. He started last night, and it wasn't a lovely day for Sam. He had 0 points and 0 assists in 33 minutes at SG. If the Nets don't get better production out of Loveday, that 8 game losing streak is bout to turn into a 18 game losing streak.
Dan Roundfield (26) - What a rollercoaster ride it's been for Roundfield. He went from being unhappy and benched. Then he got re-inserted back into the Bulls starting lineup. Then he tore his hamstring. Then he got traded to the Nuggets. And that all happened within a span of 2 weeks. So now Roundfield is a Nugget. In 23.4 MPG this season he's averaging 10.7 PPG 4.7 RPG 1 BPG. When he gets healthy and returns for after the all-star break, will the Nuggets give him playing time? Dan is in a contract year, and he's trying to put up some numbers so he could get paid in the off-season. But will he receive that opportunity? Or what about the possibility of Denver dealing him to a contender once he gets healthy? That would probably be the best scenario for both parties.
Rodney Rogers (9) - Broken ribs will keep cause Rodney Rogers be out for about the next 2 weeks. In 35 games between the Clippers and Spurs Rogers is averaging 9.4 PPG 1.2 SPG 1.0 BPG. He was traded from LAC to the Spurs earlier in the month. It's nice to see Rodney baxk in San Antonio. He actually came up through the Spurs D-League system. Now he gets a chance to prove himself here as hes in a pivotal contract season. But first he gotta deal with this 9 day hiccup.
More News Around The League
- What happened to that Spurs Sonics trade? It was reported to be a done deal. Dennis Schroder, Wes Unseld, a 2009 Sonics 1st Round Pick, and cash considerations were being sent to SA. While the Sonics were receiving Travis Best and Tom Barker to strengthen their starting lineup. Seemed like a solid deal for both sides. The trade didnt pass due to salary reasons. But is there any motivation to re-work the deal? Or is it dead?
- The Sonics got a interesting ass international front court. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having himself another all-league caliber season (28.7 PPG 9.7 RPG 5.1 APG). But Andrea Bargnani is doing his thing too. He's averaging career highs in points (28.2), rebounds (9.6), and blocks (2.1). It's nice to see him get back to his old scoring champion self. And good job by the Sonics for finding a way to maximize his talents. As the talents of Bargnani and Giannis are making Italy and Greece proud.
- Speaking of international. French
- Speaking of shooting. We all knew it was only a matter of time before Ray Allen, the man with the prettiest Jumpshot ever, would start leading the league in 3pt shooting. He's upped his percentage to 53.3 % on the year. The only problem is he's not getting too many opportunities to shoot the ball because of his 14.2 MPG average. As of now Ray is stuck on the bench behind Jerry Stackhouse. You know what this situation reminds me of? The Golden State Warriors over a decade again had a scoring machine at SG by the name of Monta Ellis. 25+ PPG guy with his eyes closed. But once they traded Ellis and opened up the starting SG spot for Klay Thompson, things got alot better in Golden State.
- Those were in the NBA warriors. As for the ITP Warriors? They started the season off 5-6, and have gone 4-20 since. Reigning Rookie of the year Allen Iverson is doing his part with 20 points and 9 assists. He just needs some of these other players to step up. Like Allan Houston, who's seen a 3.2 PPG drop in his scoring. And his 3pt shooting has plummeted to 33.1 %. Will somebody please remind Allan Houston that he's in a contract season.
- Joe Smith is in a contract year and he's making the most of it. He's averaging 28.2 PPG 12.2 RPG 2.1 BPG. And he even has the sorryass Houston Rockets in the 8th seed right now. If he can lead this Rockets team to the playoffs then he's my MVP.
- 1/2 game back of the 8 seed Rockets are the...PHOENIX SUNS?? Wait could this team actually make the playoffs this year? For the first time ever? Their young players are all contributing:
Bob Cousy (21) - 16.7 PPG 7.0 APG
Kristaps Porzingis (22) - 13.3 PPG 9.0 RPG 1.8 BPG 42.9 3PT %
Chris Bosh (19) - 10.6 PPG 5.9 RPG 39.6 3PT %
Shawn Bradley (24) - 9.7 PPG 10.4 RPG 1.7 BPG
That's a pretty nice little group they got there. With some solid veterans like Mike Finley. Why can't they make the playoffs this year? Theyre no worse than Houston or Memphis. It's time for the Suns to make the playoffs.