Post by ucfinfan86 on Jan 29, 2019 0:21:23 GMT
Rog and I are going to put out a season preview for each division over the next couple of days. We each are listing the placement within the division and if we think the team will make the playoffs:
My analysis is on top, Rog on the bottom:
Nets
(UCF: #2, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #1, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Ray Lumpp
SG Frank Ramsey
SF George Yardley
PF Irv Rothenberg
C Leroy Edwards
Key Nassir Little
Key Johnny Green
Key DJ Carton
It was a tough offseason for the Nets. We started off by reading the contract restructure rule wrong and ended up having to cut about 12 mil in salary to get under the hard cap. Unfortunately it cost the Nets Goga Bitadze and their depth with Austin Wiley and Gene Vance. 4 of the 5 starters return from last year though, with 3 of them being named to All NBN teams last year. They will need to carry the team and will need the young players to step up and provide adequate depth. Unless the team is hit hard by injuries, which they would probably struggle to overcome, this should still be a team that fights for homecourt advantage in the East. I'm expecting to go all in once again this season to try and win back to back and then tear it down next offseason and rebuild.
The Nets won the Atlantic division last year by a total of 11 games, winning 69 games and putting together one of the best teams in league history that ended with them winning their first title since Yourkers was the GM. The question for this article to start out is pretty obvious: Is Goga Bitadze(16 PPG, 13 RPG, 3.7 BPG last year) worth that 11 games? I don't think so, hence why I have them number 1. They still have arguably the best perimeter trio in the league, led by Ray Lumpp who makes 27, 11 and 5 look easy. The drop off from Goga to Irv will be huge, especially on the boards, but I don't see the Wizards with an older Frank Baumholtz and still no obvious answer at shooting guard topping the Nets, even if it should be closer than last year.
Wizards
(UCF: #1, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #2, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Frank Baumholtz
SG Paul Walther
SF Drazen Daliapagic
PF Bob Pettit
C Neil Johnston
Key Fred Schaus
Key Yuri Ozerov
Key Sharmorie Ponds
It was a quiet offseason from the Wizards. All of their main players remain under contract from last season and they were capped out. It's not a bad thing though as with the downgrade that the Nets saw this offseason, I think the Wizards enter the season as the favorite in the East. They have a nice balance offensively and defensively. Pettit/Johnston return to form one of the best frontcourt duo in the league (Grizz are right there too). They should combine for close to 35ppg and 7 blocks. Baumholtz and Drazen give them plenty of scoring and while the backcourt lacks defensive ability, their big men are able to mask their weakness. Ozerov and Schaus provide nice depth options and overall I think this is a very strong roster.
Nothing I said above should take away from the job that Svedda has done putting this roster together the last 3 seasons. They took more of a chisel approach rather than the hammer they'd used 3 years ago this off season, but with Johnston and Pettit still growing as players and Drazen still 26 years old, thats not a bad thing. I think the thing that holds them back is the shooting guard position, as Walther is solid but can't really be expected to be a starter on a title winning team. They have obvious talent around him to make it up, but they also seem short on the outside on the bench. Sharmorie looks like a solid young fill in for Frank when he needs to sit down, I just don't think him and Schaus are enough when the starters have to sit. Yuri Ozerov leads the charge off the bench, and he might just be the best bench big in the league. Wizards should have another 55+ win season, and fall just short of an Atlantic divisional title.
Knicks
(UCF: #3, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #4, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Everett Case
SG Togo Palazzi
SF Cliff Hagan
PF George Williams
C Robert Bobroczky
Key Ron Shavlik
Key Jarace Walker
Key Francisco Buscato
The Knicks really squandered an opportunity this offseason to build a team to compete with the Nets and Wizards. They appeared to be MIA the past week and remain 3mil under the cap and failed to sign a starting SG or any depth of note. They were very fortunate that Everett Case signed another sweetheart extension. To have a 1-2 combo of Case/Hagan under contract for 16mil combined should be the foundation for a great roster. Williams/Bobroczky return to give them a solid low post duo, but outside of these 4, there probably isn’t a playoff rotation caliber player on the roster.
This one was tough. The Knicks, Heat, and Magic all have their talent and all could end up in the playoffs depending on the strength of the central. I put the Knicks here because the trio of Cliff Hagan, George Williams, and Everett Case is too talented not to make the playoffs in my opinion. The Knicks are wasting prime years of a 26 year old small forward who took less than market value, because they should have capitalized and built a contender. Case is a game managing point guard, but he does that as well as anyone in the league. I'd love to see George Williams do 28 per game like he did in the preseason, but chance are he settles into a 20 point, 11 rebound type game that he has played for the last 2 seasons. Robert Bobroczky seemingly regressed last season, but he is still a 15 point, 14 rebound, 3.5 block type player that you need to be a title contender. He should drive the engine defensively. The issue is their bench is terrible and they don't have a starting level shooting guard on the roster, at all. They should settle in at 45 wins, make the playoffs, and lose in the first round.
76ers
(UCF: #4, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #3, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Jalen Lecque
SG Eddie Palubinskas
SF Frank Selvy
PF Levon Tostig
C Chuck Share
Key Slater Martin
Key Jim Loscutoff
Key Tommaso Felici
I like this roster and the team that Slough is building. Lecque, Palubinskas, and Selvy is a young, fun backcourt trio that are all on the same timeline and could be the foundation of the team for the foreseeable future. Share/Tostig should provide good rebounding and shot blocking and allow the young guards to score. Felici is a guy to watch this season and has the make/age/situation for a guy who could really blossom if given the chance to start. It’s also nice to see Slater Martin and Sean MacDonald on the same roster as they will be always linked in my mind as 2 busts from what turned out to be a loaded draft.
The Knicks really should be in this position, but after an off season that saw them miss opportunities with 6 million in cap, some enticing pieces, and the second to last season where Case had a cheap as heck contract, their loss is the 76ers gain. I actually think the 76ers are the 4th or 5th best team in the East. Jalen Lecque is the big question coming out of the team though, can the young NC State grad take over the keys to the team and run with them or is Slater Martin the more safe choice to lead this team where they want to go. Eddie Palubinskas and Frank Selvy are the engine for this team though, and together they should once again combine to average 50+ points. Neither are ideal at small forward defensively, and that needs to be addressed eventually. The 76ers have a ton of options for their bigs, with really only Share's name being written in pen as the starter, everyone else at this point is in pencil at the 4. Tostig has the pedigree, but is it time to see what Felici can do, at 23 years old? Filip Petrusev got the start in preseason sim #1, and did impress, but knowing Slough he wants more stocks. Either way, I think Philly is safely the 3rd best team in the Atlantic with the Knicks question mark at GM and their weakness at SG.
Magic
(UCF: #5, Playoffs: No) (Rog: #5, Playoffs: Yes)
PG DJ Thomas
SG Sid Tanenbaum
SF LeBron James Jr
PF Jamie Pradilla
C Kresmir Cosic
Key Tyrese Maxey
Key Emiliano Rodriguez
Key Tarzan Cooper
The Magic kicked off their offseason by unloading Toles contract to get under the hardcap for a couple of young pieces. Beyond the young guys they got in return, the roster pretty much remains intact from how they finished the season. The team is relying on some older players LBJ (34), Thomas (33), Cooper (33), Pradilla (31) to lead them. Can LBJ be the best player on a playoff team at age 34? The team does have some large expiring contracts and can easily make moves in either direction depending on how the season goes.
The Magic return everyone but Toles, who they shipped off after reaching cap hell. This team should be led by the do it all small forward, 34 year old Lebron James Jr. James is a future Hall of Famer, but no contender's best team starts with him. The Magic are seemingly back in transition, with a decent combination of old and young, but they lack a true top end scorer, DJ Thomas isn't that, though this team should be the most balanced offensive team with no one in their starting 5 scoring under 15 a game. They can all put up solid offensive numbers. They also will load the floor with 5 shooters at all times. They just don't have a superstar to take over games, hence they are this low. Not much more to say about this team, other than I think they sneak in the playoffs, but dont be surprised if Charles pulls a big trade to shock us all out of his ass.
Heat
(UCF: #6, Playoffs: No) (Rog: #6, Playoffs: No)
PG Andy Phillips
SG Richie Guerin
SF Kiyan Anthony
PF Tarik Biberovic
C Oton Jankovic
Key Don Otten
Key Jaden McDaniels
Key Jules Dandrea
Most of the main pieces from last year return. The main change is at PG, finally getting rid of Slater Martin for Andy Phillips. It was time for the Martin experience to end, but the swap is probably neutral at best. Like last season, this team will probably go as far as the Guerin/Kiyan combo takes them. I think Don is ready to pull the plug on this team if the right offer is presented. He only has Guerin and McDaniel under contract for next season and those are the only 2 pieces that have a long term future with the team. Otten, Jankovic, Biberovic, Kiyan are all players that could help contender that are on good, expiring contracts.
Talk about a team in transition, the Heat have had Richie Guerin for years and seem to be on the cusp. Sadly they had some GM issues and the GM who started it all didn't get to finish it all. Now with a vet GM, they seem ready to take the next step, whether that is forward or back is anyone's guess. This year looks to be a year where everyone looks at the roster, thinks Guerin is amazing, but the team just misses the playoffs. My biggest issue with this team is that despite the ratings showing A, neither of their starting bigs have ever shown the capacity to grab 13+ rebounds a game, and that is pretty critical to a team's success. The Heat were middle of the pack there last year, and without a brutally great offense, or a stifling defense, that can't work as a contender. Lastly this team is led by 35 year old Andy Phillips, a guy who in his prime wasn't a good scorer, and now is looking like he might struggle to score 10 a game. The issues just pile up, and despite the Richie Guerin show being an entertaining one, they just don't look like they are going to be all that good.
Celtics
(UCF: #7, Playoffs: No) (Rog: #7, Playoffs: No)
PG Joe Smith
SG Sam Jones
SF Elgin Baylor
PF Oscar Furlong
C Jean-Paul Beugnot
Key Ed Mikan
Key Hubert Ausbie
Key Nico Carvacho
I know that Baylor, Jones, and JPB are all only 23 years old and provide a nice trio to build with over the next 5 years, but I can’t help but think that the Celtics missed an opportunity to build a contender around them now while they are still cheap. Jones will likely require the max to keep beyond this season and then they are locked in to them as their 3 best players instead of having them as support pieces. Besides that’s, like most of the Atlantic, the Celtics had a quiet offseason. They are returning their starting 5 and added Ed Mikan on the MLE. Depth will be an issue and beyond their top 6 they probably don’t have any other real rotational players on the roster. PF has been a big hole for a few seasons now and maybe Mikan can provide more than Furlong has.
With no bench, lacking rebounding, and a team full of guys you look at and say "what the fuck happened there?". Elgin Baylor is a through and through superstar, there is no doubts about that. He might be the best player in the league at this point, might be. Issue is we cant really know for sure because this team is on course for another near .500 year where they look great in stretches, but their fatal flaws are just that deadly. They look like they are either going to start a guy at power forward who is one of the bigger busts in league history(Ed Mikan) or a guy who just averaged 4.7 rebounds a game in a preseason sim. Jones looked like he took a step last year, but his stats just don't look like he'll be the star everyone thought he'd be. They are a A rebounding big away from being a playoff team, but they are worlds away from a contender, and this is one of the biggest WTF stories in any league I've ever been in. You have to feel for naterade.
My analysis is on top, Rog on the bottom:
Nets
(UCF: #2, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #1, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Ray Lumpp
SG Frank Ramsey
SF George Yardley
PF Irv Rothenberg
C Leroy Edwards
Key Nassir Little
Key Johnny Green
Key DJ Carton
It was a tough offseason for the Nets. We started off by reading the contract restructure rule wrong and ended up having to cut about 12 mil in salary to get under the hard cap. Unfortunately it cost the Nets Goga Bitadze and their depth with Austin Wiley and Gene Vance. 4 of the 5 starters return from last year though, with 3 of them being named to All NBN teams last year. They will need to carry the team and will need the young players to step up and provide adequate depth. Unless the team is hit hard by injuries, which they would probably struggle to overcome, this should still be a team that fights for homecourt advantage in the East. I'm expecting to go all in once again this season to try and win back to back and then tear it down next offseason and rebuild.
The Nets won the Atlantic division last year by a total of 11 games, winning 69 games and putting together one of the best teams in league history that ended with them winning their first title since Yourkers was the GM. The question for this article to start out is pretty obvious: Is Goga Bitadze(16 PPG, 13 RPG, 3.7 BPG last year) worth that 11 games? I don't think so, hence why I have them number 1. They still have arguably the best perimeter trio in the league, led by Ray Lumpp who makes 27, 11 and 5 look easy. The drop off from Goga to Irv will be huge, especially on the boards, but I don't see the Wizards with an older Frank Baumholtz and still no obvious answer at shooting guard topping the Nets, even if it should be closer than last year.
Wizards
(UCF: #1, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #2, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Frank Baumholtz
SG Paul Walther
SF Drazen Daliapagic
PF Bob Pettit
C Neil Johnston
Key Fred Schaus
Key Yuri Ozerov
Key Sharmorie Ponds
It was a quiet offseason from the Wizards. All of their main players remain under contract from last season and they were capped out. It's not a bad thing though as with the downgrade that the Nets saw this offseason, I think the Wizards enter the season as the favorite in the East. They have a nice balance offensively and defensively. Pettit/Johnston return to form one of the best frontcourt duo in the league (Grizz are right there too). They should combine for close to 35ppg and 7 blocks. Baumholtz and Drazen give them plenty of scoring and while the backcourt lacks defensive ability, their big men are able to mask their weakness. Ozerov and Schaus provide nice depth options and overall I think this is a very strong roster.
Nothing I said above should take away from the job that Svedda has done putting this roster together the last 3 seasons. They took more of a chisel approach rather than the hammer they'd used 3 years ago this off season, but with Johnston and Pettit still growing as players and Drazen still 26 years old, thats not a bad thing. I think the thing that holds them back is the shooting guard position, as Walther is solid but can't really be expected to be a starter on a title winning team. They have obvious talent around him to make it up, but they also seem short on the outside on the bench. Sharmorie looks like a solid young fill in for Frank when he needs to sit down, I just don't think him and Schaus are enough when the starters have to sit. Yuri Ozerov leads the charge off the bench, and he might just be the best bench big in the league. Wizards should have another 55+ win season, and fall just short of an Atlantic divisional title.
Knicks
(UCF: #3, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #4, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Everett Case
SG Togo Palazzi
SF Cliff Hagan
PF George Williams
C Robert Bobroczky
Key Ron Shavlik
Key Jarace Walker
Key Francisco Buscato
The Knicks really squandered an opportunity this offseason to build a team to compete with the Nets and Wizards. They appeared to be MIA the past week and remain 3mil under the cap and failed to sign a starting SG or any depth of note. They were very fortunate that Everett Case signed another sweetheart extension. To have a 1-2 combo of Case/Hagan under contract for 16mil combined should be the foundation for a great roster. Williams/Bobroczky return to give them a solid low post duo, but outside of these 4, there probably isn’t a playoff rotation caliber player on the roster.
This one was tough. The Knicks, Heat, and Magic all have their talent and all could end up in the playoffs depending on the strength of the central. I put the Knicks here because the trio of Cliff Hagan, George Williams, and Everett Case is too talented not to make the playoffs in my opinion. The Knicks are wasting prime years of a 26 year old small forward who took less than market value, because they should have capitalized and built a contender. Case is a game managing point guard, but he does that as well as anyone in the league. I'd love to see George Williams do 28 per game like he did in the preseason, but chance are he settles into a 20 point, 11 rebound type game that he has played for the last 2 seasons. Robert Bobroczky seemingly regressed last season, but he is still a 15 point, 14 rebound, 3.5 block type player that you need to be a title contender. He should drive the engine defensively. The issue is their bench is terrible and they don't have a starting level shooting guard on the roster, at all. They should settle in at 45 wins, make the playoffs, and lose in the first round.
76ers
(UCF: #4, Playoffs: Yes) (Rog: #3, Playoffs: Yes)
PG Jalen Lecque
SG Eddie Palubinskas
SF Frank Selvy
PF Levon Tostig
C Chuck Share
Key Slater Martin
Key Jim Loscutoff
Key Tommaso Felici
I like this roster and the team that Slough is building. Lecque, Palubinskas, and Selvy is a young, fun backcourt trio that are all on the same timeline and could be the foundation of the team for the foreseeable future. Share/Tostig should provide good rebounding and shot blocking and allow the young guards to score. Felici is a guy to watch this season and has the make/age/situation for a guy who could really blossom if given the chance to start. It’s also nice to see Slater Martin and Sean MacDonald on the same roster as they will be always linked in my mind as 2 busts from what turned out to be a loaded draft.
The Knicks really should be in this position, but after an off season that saw them miss opportunities with 6 million in cap, some enticing pieces, and the second to last season where Case had a cheap as heck contract, their loss is the 76ers gain. I actually think the 76ers are the 4th or 5th best team in the East. Jalen Lecque is the big question coming out of the team though, can the young NC State grad take over the keys to the team and run with them or is Slater Martin the more safe choice to lead this team where they want to go. Eddie Palubinskas and Frank Selvy are the engine for this team though, and together they should once again combine to average 50+ points. Neither are ideal at small forward defensively, and that needs to be addressed eventually. The 76ers have a ton of options for their bigs, with really only Share's name being written in pen as the starter, everyone else at this point is in pencil at the 4. Tostig has the pedigree, but is it time to see what Felici can do, at 23 years old? Filip Petrusev got the start in preseason sim #1, and did impress, but knowing Slough he wants more stocks. Either way, I think Philly is safely the 3rd best team in the Atlantic with the Knicks question mark at GM and their weakness at SG.
Magic
(UCF: #5, Playoffs: No) (Rog: #5, Playoffs: Yes)
PG DJ Thomas
SG Sid Tanenbaum
SF LeBron James Jr
PF Jamie Pradilla
C Kresmir Cosic
Key Tyrese Maxey
Key Emiliano Rodriguez
Key Tarzan Cooper
The Magic kicked off their offseason by unloading Toles contract to get under the hardcap for a couple of young pieces. Beyond the young guys they got in return, the roster pretty much remains intact from how they finished the season. The team is relying on some older players LBJ (34), Thomas (33), Cooper (33), Pradilla (31) to lead them. Can LBJ be the best player on a playoff team at age 34? The team does have some large expiring contracts and can easily make moves in either direction depending on how the season goes.
The Magic return everyone but Toles, who they shipped off after reaching cap hell. This team should be led by the do it all small forward, 34 year old Lebron James Jr. James is a future Hall of Famer, but no contender's best team starts with him. The Magic are seemingly back in transition, with a decent combination of old and young, but they lack a true top end scorer, DJ Thomas isn't that, though this team should be the most balanced offensive team with no one in their starting 5 scoring under 15 a game. They can all put up solid offensive numbers. They also will load the floor with 5 shooters at all times. They just don't have a superstar to take over games, hence they are this low. Not much more to say about this team, other than I think they sneak in the playoffs, but dont be surprised if Charles pulls a big trade to shock us all out of his ass.
Heat
(UCF: #6, Playoffs: No) (Rog: #6, Playoffs: No)
PG Andy Phillips
SG Richie Guerin
SF Kiyan Anthony
PF Tarik Biberovic
C Oton Jankovic
Key Don Otten
Key Jaden McDaniels
Key Jules Dandrea
Most of the main pieces from last year return. The main change is at PG, finally getting rid of Slater Martin for Andy Phillips. It was time for the Martin experience to end, but the swap is probably neutral at best. Like last season, this team will probably go as far as the Guerin/Kiyan combo takes them. I think Don is ready to pull the plug on this team if the right offer is presented. He only has Guerin and McDaniel under contract for next season and those are the only 2 pieces that have a long term future with the team. Otten, Jankovic, Biberovic, Kiyan are all players that could help contender that are on good, expiring contracts.
Talk about a team in transition, the Heat have had Richie Guerin for years and seem to be on the cusp. Sadly they had some GM issues and the GM who started it all didn't get to finish it all. Now with a vet GM, they seem ready to take the next step, whether that is forward or back is anyone's guess. This year looks to be a year where everyone looks at the roster, thinks Guerin is amazing, but the team just misses the playoffs. My biggest issue with this team is that despite the ratings showing A, neither of their starting bigs have ever shown the capacity to grab 13+ rebounds a game, and that is pretty critical to a team's success. The Heat were middle of the pack there last year, and without a brutally great offense, or a stifling defense, that can't work as a contender. Lastly this team is led by 35 year old Andy Phillips, a guy who in his prime wasn't a good scorer, and now is looking like he might struggle to score 10 a game. The issues just pile up, and despite the Richie Guerin show being an entertaining one, they just don't look like they are going to be all that good.
Celtics
(UCF: #7, Playoffs: No) (Rog: #7, Playoffs: No)
PG Joe Smith
SG Sam Jones
SF Elgin Baylor
PF Oscar Furlong
C Jean-Paul Beugnot
Key Ed Mikan
Key Hubert Ausbie
Key Nico Carvacho
I know that Baylor, Jones, and JPB are all only 23 years old and provide a nice trio to build with over the next 5 years, but I can’t help but think that the Celtics missed an opportunity to build a contender around them now while they are still cheap. Jones will likely require the max to keep beyond this season and then they are locked in to them as their 3 best players instead of having them as support pieces. Besides that’s, like most of the Atlantic, the Celtics had a quiet offseason. They are returning their starting 5 and added Ed Mikan on the MLE. Depth will be an issue and beyond their top 6 they probably don’t have any other real rotational players on the roster. PF has been a big hole for a few seasons now and maybe Mikan can provide more than Furlong has.
With no bench, lacking rebounding, and a team full of guys you look at and say "what the fuck happened there?". Elgin Baylor is a through and through superstar, there is no doubts about that. He might be the best player in the league at this point, might be. Issue is we cant really know for sure because this team is on course for another near .500 year where they look great in stretches, but their fatal flaws are just that deadly. They look like they are either going to start a guy at power forward who is one of the bigger busts in league history(Ed Mikan) or a guy who just averaged 4.7 rebounds a game in a preseason sim. Jones looked like he took a step last year, but his stats just don't look like he'll be the star everyone thought he'd be. They are a A rebounding big away from being a playoff team, but they are worlds away from a contender, and this is one of the biggest WTF stories in any league I've ever been in. You have to feel for naterade.
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