Post by Keyser Soze on Aug 22, 2023 10:09:37 GMT -6
Who's Hot
Who's Hot this sim? Who's levitating up the Eastern Conference standings? Who's creating a nice little buzz for themselves? Well it's the Charlotte Hornets. These aren't your grandma's Hornets. The team that lost 72 games back in the 2000 season. These Hornets got a fresh lively feel to them. They're deep. They're talented. And they're winning ball games. In fact they just had a 9 game winning streak, that was unfortunately snapped by Washington. But nevertheless, 9 wins in the last 10 games means the Hornets are HOT. They just had an impressive 138-129 victory vs Chicago. The 138 points is a new franchise record for Charlotte. Back in the early 2000s when they were being led by GUILLERMO DIAZ, the Hornets would need at least 2 combined games to crack 130 points. Sometimes 3. Because back in those days the Charlotte offense was the joke of the league. From 2000-2003 they finished dead last in the league in scoring every single season. But this year they're up to 9th (108.6 PPG). And during their 9 game winning streak, they were averaging 115.4 PPG. Their offense starts in the backcourt with Nick Van Exel (16.9 PPG 48.0/75.3/44.4 in just 28 minutes) and Devin Booker (22.2 PPG on 47.1 % FG shooting). Then they have nice complimentary glue players around them with Dieng, big Steven Adams, the crazy guy Isaiah Stewart, and the family guy Paul Peter Griffin. But their key role player has been Kyle Anderson. He's bought in his big game experience from going to back to back ITP Finals with Minnesota, and become a leader here. He's doing everything his team needs with 13.1 PPG 7.3 RPG 3.4 APG 37.8 % 3P Shot. It's a nice well rounded roster, which is starting to develop a chemistry together. That's why you're starting to see all these wins stack up. And you're probably gonna see more win stacking in the second half of the season. Because Charlotte has 25 remaining home games vs 15 road games. With a friendly 2nd half schedule and a team that's starting to click, watch out for the Hornets. Because you might end up getting stung.
Who's Not
In the Sim 7 Edition we mentioned the Rockets shocking the league and being the 8 seed in the West. Well that is nomore. The Rockets have lost 10 games straight and dropped to 14-30 on the season. They're only 3 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets, who have the worst record in the West. But interestingly enough, they're also only 3 games back of the 8 Seed. Yeah you heard that correctly. The 8th seed situation in the West is pathetic. But were talking about Houston. And the word pathetic would be an accurate description of their team effort in recent weeks. During this 10 game L-Steak they've lost 3 games by 35+ points. Even the tanking San Antonio Spurs beat them 108-73. The Rockets shot 29.5 % from the field in that one. And fellow in state rival Dallas squashed them 121-77. Even the 13-36 Indiana Pacers enjoyed a blowout victory vs Houston (117-93). Its actually been beyond pathetic. It looks like 90 % of this team has just quit. The only two guys still going are Joe Smith and TJ Ford. Smith is desperately trying to do anything possible to up his trade value and get the hell out of Houston. He's averaging 27.8 PPG and 11.8 RPG. While rookie TJ Ford is proving to be the lone long term building block on this roster. But the rest of the guys? The Cody Zellers, the Antoine Walkers, and Shannon Brown. These guys shouldn't even be on a roster, let alone be starters in this league. It's a brutal team. A brutal season. The good news? Half of the season is now over. Only 1 more half to go.
Injury Report
Chris Kaman (30) - The Orlando Magic just got some bad news. Rookie 8th overall draft choice Chris Kaman is out for the next 30 days with a torn abdominal muscle. He's one of the few bright spots on this roster. A 21 year old averaging 10.8 PPG 7.8 RPG and 1.3 APG. No Kaman, means more of Kevin Salvadori, who was their 2005 2nd round pick.
George Gervin (27) - The Warriors have been actively shopping George Gervin for over a year now. Well now it's gonna take a little longer to trade him. George has a dislocated knee, and he's out for the next 27 days. In 42 games coming off the bench Gervin is averaging 9.7 PPG 4.0 RPG 2.5 APG in just over 20 minutes per game.
Leandro Barbosa (22) - It was a rough sim for the lottery picks. First Kaman went down. And then it was Barbosa's turn. The Atlanta Hawks rookie guard will be out 22 days with a broken jaw. Barbosa averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.1 APG. Unlike Orlando and Golden State, the Hawks are actually competing for a playoff spot. So they're gonna miss Barbosa. Especially with Keith Bogans expected to join the starting unit. He stepped in for the injured Barbosa in the last game, and he scored 8 points on 3/13 FG shooting in 41 minutes of action. Overall for the season his shooting splits are 41.2/65.6/19.3. Yeah this is gonna be hard to watch Hawk fans. You guys are gonna hate Keith Bogans by Friday.
More News Around The League
- We saw some trades go down recently. And they both involved the San Antonio Spurs. The first one involved the Spurs and the Clippers. With LAC receiving Travis Best and a furure 2nd rounder. In exchange SA got Kyle Lowry, Shawn Respert, and $750 cash. Solid deal for both sides. The Clippers have been playing good basketball lately, and now they upgrade the roster with the addition of Best. As for the Spurs, This deal was all about the Benjamin's. They needed cash. It also opened up the starting PG position for Rex Walters.
- But the Spurs weren't done just yet. Next up they reconnected with the Sonics, who they previously had a deal nearly finalized with. But unfortunately that deal fell apart. This one was good to go. So lets get into the details of it: Spurs get Schroder, $500 Cash, and a Sonics 07 for Tom Barker, Rodney Rogers, and RJ Hampton. Looks like an excellent return for the Spurs. The Sonics get some much needed depth to put around Giannis and Bargnani.
- After the deal the Sonics put out a new interesting depth chart. They're going all out with shooting and spacing. Andrea is moving up to the center position. While Giannis will be moving up to the 4 spot. Rodney Rogers will take the vacated small forward position. RJ Hampton will be at the 2. And finally Malachi Flynn will be running the point. And running is exactly what this team will be doing with their new Very Fast pace. Pace and space. They're gonna play fast and they have shooting all over the court. Its gonna be fun. But is it gonna work? Will they have enough rim protection? Enough rebounding? I don't know.
- What I do know is Grant Riller was released by the Sonics, and he didn't stay unemployed for long. Hours later the Bulls scooped up the talented 28 year old guard with ratings of B B C+ A- D+. Good pickup for Chicago.
- Speaking of the Bulls, Sidney Weeks just had one of the most effienct statlines you'll ever see. He scored 27 points in 27 minutes on 11/12 shooting in a 135-132 shootout between the Bulls and the Suns. Don't you enjoy looking at the boxscores in those types of games?
- But the most important boxscore of the sim, was played on Day 60, when the Western ConferenceBozos All-stars faced off against the Eastern All-stars. And just like we All predicted, the East won 128 to 117.
- LaMelo Ball tookover the spotlight in this one. He was matched up against former Knick teammates Theo Maledon and Damon Stoudamire. And with the way they both departed NY, this one was personal for LaMelo. He wanted to make them pay. He wanted hurt them. And he did that. In only 27 minutes LaMelo scored 27 points on 12/17 shooting with 7 assists. He was named the all-star game MVP.
- LaMelo got alot of help in this one. George McGinnis (Hawks) scored 17 points with 10 rebounds. Nerlens Noel (Heat) had 15 points 7 rebounds and a game high SIX blocks. Karlton Hines (Knicks) joined the block party with 5 of his own shot swatters. The Raptors duo of Embiid and Roy were all about effiency in this one. The Canadian duo scored a combined 26 points on 10/14 shooting. And together this unit proved once again that the East is always better.
- On the loser side, Damon Stoudamire (Lakers) got cooked by LaMelo. And he got shutdown on the offensive end as well. He was limited to 13 points on 6/15 shooting from the field + 4 turnovers. But he wasn't the only one struggling. BARGNANI and Giannis must have thought this was a Supersonics game the way they were jacking up shots. They combined for 38 shot attempts, while making only 14 of them. Bad shots and missed shots was the story of this game. The West shot 43 % from the field. The East shot 52 %. And that was your ball game.
- Moving on to the JV game, the rookies vs sophomores. And we saw exactly why its the JV game as both teams combined for 150 points in this one. In the end, the rookies pulled off the 78-72 upset. D Wade (Pacers) led the rookies in scoring with 15. While Captain Kirk Hinrich (Nuggets) had a more complete game with 10 points 6 assists and 3 steals. He was named the rookie game MVP. Marcus Camby (Pacers) gave the sophomores some instant offense with 13 points (5/9) in 13 minutes. But there wasn't much offense for them outside of Camby. The rest of the team combined to shoot 24/72 from the field (33 %).
- LeBron James (Bucks) also participated in the rookie game, scoring 10 points. But where he really stole the show this all-star weekend, was when he tookover the slam dunk contest. He went up against some high flyers in David Thompson, Iceman, Dr J, etc. Unfortunately, these older guys weren't ready for what the 18 year old James had in his bag. LeBron used creativity, power, and athleticism to entertain the crowd. And when it was all over LeBron James was named the 2006 ITP Slam Dunk Champion.
- While LeBron was tearing down the rim, Bogdan Bogdanovic (Mavs) was scorching the nets. He was on fire in the 3pt competition. He had the high score in every single round, including the last one. When he defeated Stoudamire 19-14, to become the 2006 ITP 3PT Contest Champion.
- This concludes all-star weekend. Good luck to everybody in the 2nd half of the season.
Who's Hot this sim? Who's levitating up the Eastern Conference standings? Who's creating a nice little buzz for themselves? Well it's the Charlotte Hornets. These aren't your grandma's Hornets. The team that lost 72 games back in the 2000 season. These Hornets got a fresh lively feel to them. They're deep. They're talented. And they're winning ball games. In fact they just had a 9 game winning streak, that was unfortunately snapped by Washington. But nevertheless, 9 wins in the last 10 games means the Hornets are HOT. They just had an impressive 138-129 victory vs Chicago. The 138 points is a new franchise record for Charlotte. Back in the early 2000s when they were being led by GUILLERMO DIAZ, the Hornets would need at least 2 combined games to crack 130 points. Sometimes 3. Because back in those days the Charlotte offense was the joke of the league. From 2000-2003 they finished dead last in the league in scoring every single season. But this year they're up to 9th (108.6 PPG). And during their 9 game winning streak, they were averaging 115.4 PPG. Their offense starts in the backcourt with Nick Van Exel (16.9 PPG 48.0/75.3/44.4 in just 28 minutes) and Devin Booker (22.2 PPG on 47.1 % FG shooting). Then they have nice complimentary glue players around them with Dieng, big Steven Adams, the crazy guy Isaiah Stewart, and the family guy Paul Peter Griffin. But their key role player has been Kyle Anderson. He's bought in his big game experience from going to back to back ITP Finals with Minnesota, and become a leader here. He's doing everything his team needs with 13.1 PPG 7.3 RPG 3.4 APG 37.8 % 3P Shot. It's a nice well rounded roster, which is starting to develop a chemistry together. That's why you're starting to see all these wins stack up. And you're probably gonna see more win stacking in the second half of the season. Because Charlotte has 25 remaining home games vs 15 road games. With a friendly 2nd half schedule and a team that's starting to click, watch out for the Hornets. Because you might end up getting stung.
Who's Not
In the Sim 7 Edition we mentioned the Rockets shocking the league and being the 8 seed in the West. Well that is nomore. The Rockets have lost 10 games straight and dropped to 14-30 on the season. They're only 3 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets, who have the worst record in the West. But interestingly enough, they're also only 3 games back of the 8 Seed. Yeah you heard that correctly. The 8th seed situation in the West is pathetic. But were talking about Houston. And the word pathetic would be an accurate description of their team effort in recent weeks. During this 10 game L-Steak they've lost 3 games by 35+ points. Even the tanking San Antonio Spurs beat them 108-73. The Rockets shot 29.5 % from the field in that one. And fellow in state rival Dallas squashed them 121-77. Even the 13-36 Indiana Pacers enjoyed a blowout victory vs Houston (117-93). Its actually been beyond pathetic. It looks like 90 % of this team has just quit. The only two guys still going are Joe Smith and TJ Ford. Smith is desperately trying to do anything possible to up his trade value and get the hell out of Houston. He's averaging 27.8 PPG and 11.8 RPG. While rookie TJ Ford is proving to be the lone long term building block on this roster. But the rest of the guys? The Cody Zellers, the Antoine Walkers, and Shannon Brown. These guys shouldn't even be on a roster, let alone be starters in this league. It's a brutal team. A brutal season. The good news? Half of the season is now over. Only 1 more half to go.
Injury Report
Chris Kaman (30) - The Orlando Magic just got some bad news. Rookie 8th overall draft choice Chris Kaman is out for the next 30 days with a torn abdominal muscle. He's one of the few bright spots on this roster. A 21 year old averaging 10.8 PPG 7.8 RPG and 1.3 APG. No Kaman, means more of Kevin Salvadori, who was their 2005 2nd round pick.
George Gervin (27) - The Warriors have been actively shopping George Gervin for over a year now. Well now it's gonna take a little longer to trade him. George has a dislocated knee, and he's out for the next 27 days. In 42 games coming off the bench Gervin is averaging 9.7 PPG 4.0 RPG 2.5 APG in just over 20 minutes per game.
Leandro Barbosa (22) - It was a rough sim for the lottery picks. First Kaman went down. And then it was Barbosa's turn. The Atlanta Hawks rookie guard will be out 22 days with a broken jaw. Barbosa averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.1 APG. Unlike Orlando and Golden State, the Hawks are actually competing for a playoff spot. So they're gonna miss Barbosa. Especially with Keith Bogans expected to join the starting unit. He stepped in for the injured Barbosa in the last game, and he scored 8 points on 3/13 FG shooting in 41 minutes of action. Overall for the season his shooting splits are 41.2/65.6/19.3. Yeah this is gonna be hard to watch Hawk fans. You guys are gonna hate Keith Bogans by Friday.
More News Around The League
- We saw some trades go down recently. And they both involved the San Antonio Spurs. The first one involved the Spurs and the Clippers. With LAC receiving Travis Best and a furure 2nd rounder. In exchange SA got Kyle Lowry, Shawn Respert, and $750 cash. Solid deal for both sides. The Clippers have been playing good basketball lately, and now they upgrade the roster with the addition of Best. As for the Spurs, This deal was all about the Benjamin's. They needed cash. It also opened up the starting PG position for Rex Walters.
- But the Spurs weren't done just yet. Next up they reconnected with the Sonics, who they previously had a deal nearly finalized with. But unfortunately that deal fell apart. This one was good to go. So lets get into the details of it: Spurs get Schroder, $500 Cash, and a Sonics 07 for Tom Barker, Rodney Rogers, and RJ Hampton. Looks like an excellent return for the Spurs. The Sonics get some much needed depth to put around Giannis and Bargnani.
- After the deal the Sonics put out a new interesting depth chart. They're going all out with shooting and spacing. Andrea is moving up to the center position. While Giannis will be moving up to the 4 spot. Rodney Rogers will take the vacated small forward position. RJ Hampton will be at the 2. And finally Malachi Flynn will be running the point. And running is exactly what this team will be doing with their new Very Fast pace. Pace and space. They're gonna play fast and they have shooting all over the court. Its gonna be fun. But is it gonna work? Will they have enough rim protection? Enough rebounding? I don't know.
- What I do know is Grant Riller was released by the Sonics, and he didn't stay unemployed for long. Hours later the Bulls scooped up the talented 28 year old guard with ratings of B B C+ A- D+. Good pickup for Chicago.
- Speaking of the Bulls, Sidney Weeks just had one of the most effienct statlines you'll ever see. He scored 27 points in 27 minutes on 11/12 shooting in a 135-132 shootout between the Bulls and the Suns. Don't you enjoy looking at the boxscores in those types of games?
- But the most important boxscore of the sim, was played on Day 60, when the Western Conference
- LaMelo Ball tookover the spotlight in this one. He was matched up against former Knick teammates Theo Maledon and Damon Stoudamire. And with the way they both departed NY, this one was personal for LaMelo. He wanted to make them pay. He wanted hurt them. And he did that. In only 27 minutes LaMelo scored 27 points on 12/17 shooting with 7 assists. He was named the all-star game MVP.
- LaMelo got alot of help in this one. George McGinnis (Hawks) scored 17 points with 10 rebounds. Nerlens Noel (Heat) had 15 points 7 rebounds and a game high SIX blocks. Karlton Hines (Knicks) joined the block party with 5 of his own shot swatters. The Raptors duo of Embiid and Roy were all about effiency in this one. The Canadian duo scored a combined 26 points on 10/14 shooting. And together this unit proved once again that the East is always better.
- On the loser side, Damon Stoudamire (Lakers) got cooked by LaMelo. And he got shutdown on the offensive end as well. He was limited to 13 points on 6/15 shooting from the field + 4 turnovers. But he wasn't the only one struggling. BARGNANI and Giannis must have thought this was a Supersonics game the way they were jacking up shots. They combined for 38 shot attempts, while making only 14 of them. Bad shots and missed shots was the story of this game. The West shot 43 % from the field. The East shot 52 %. And that was your ball game.
- Moving on to the JV game, the rookies vs sophomores. And we saw exactly why its the JV game as both teams combined for 150 points in this one. In the end, the rookies pulled off the 78-72 upset. D Wade (Pacers) led the rookies in scoring with 15. While Captain Kirk Hinrich (Nuggets) had a more complete game with 10 points 6 assists and 3 steals. He was named the rookie game MVP. Marcus Camby (Pacers) gave the sophomores some instant offense with 13 points (5/9) in 13 minutes. But there wasn't much offense for them outside of Camby. The rest of the team combined to shoot 24/72 from the field (33 %).
- LeBron James (Bucks) also participated in the rookie game, scoring 10 points. But where he really stole the show this all-star weekend, was when he tookover the slam dunk contest. He went up against some high flyers in David Thompson, Iceman, Dr J, etc. Unfortunately, these older guys weren't ready for what the 18 year old James had in his bag. LeBron used creativity, power, and athleticism to entertain the crowd. And when it was all over LeBron James was named the 2006 ITP Slam Dunk Champion.
- While LeBron was tearing down the rim, Bogdan Bogdanovic (Mavs) was scorching the nets. He was on fire in the 3pt competition. He had the high score in every single round, including the last one. When he defeated Stoudamire 19-14, to become the 2006 ITP 3PT Contest Champion.
- This concludes all-star weekend. Good luck to everybody in the 2nd half of the season.